Al Rosen - Mr Mint - Passes

[Fred]

Well, there goes the Mr. Mint Kumbaya Tour.....

[mrvster]

I spoke with him the first time this year.......he was very pleasant......very nice to me......we had a conversation about his wagners .......he was sincere

sometimes this hobby gets very intense....

remember, we cant take any of this with us......they are just wordly possesions....


the very short time I spoke with him, he put a smile on my face....


..rest in peace Mr. Mint...

my sympathy to his family for their loss...

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by mrvster

I spoke with him the first time this year.......he was very pleasant......very nice to me......we had a conversation about his wagners .......he was sincere

sometimes this hobby gets very intense....

remember, we cant take any of this with us......they are just wordly possesions....


the very short time I spoke with him, he put a smile on my face....


..rest in peace Mr. Mint...

my sympathy to his family for their loss...

Very well said MrVster!

Even if you thought he was a jerk or you did not have good dealings with him, there is NO QUESTION that he raised awareness and prices for the truly rare pieces out there. He was also an incredible marketer. How else do you explain the 1952 find? The 1955 Bowman find? And I'm sure many others. He was fun to watch, fun to be caught up in the emotion and craziness of this hobby. That itself is worth the price of admission.

He will forever be remembered by hobbyists and I am glad he brought that passion to the hobby as it got me motivated many years ago. RIP "Mr. Mint".

Peace, Pap

[DICKTOWLE]

2 years ago at a show, I was with my son Adam and a man yelled Towle get over here, it was Allen in a wheelchair. He said just wanted to tell me good luck with your company "gonewiththestain". We shared the story of when he wanted to work with me and why he came up with magic bottle of liquid to remove stains on the back of card, we had a great laugh over that. He was a gentle giant speaking with my son I.

Yes he was rough over the years to a lot of people, but at the end of the conversation, he hugged me from the chair and like Al saying " now get the hell out of hear with a smile" This is our memories of the true "MR MINT"

[conor912]

I never knew the guy, but even as a kid seeing his ads I thought he came off as a sleazy used car salesman type.

Personally, I fail to see how someone so obviously in it for the money and not the cards was really that good for the hobby at the end of the day.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by conor912

I never knew the guy, but even as a kid seeing his ads I thought he came off as a sleazy used car salesman type.

Personally, I fail to see how someone so obviously in it for the money and not the cards was really that good for the hobby at the end of the day.

Well hobbys that dont make any money are never as popular has hobbys that can show big money even if its only a small percentage of people making money...

Im sure we will be seeing an auction of his items within 2 years...

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

Well hobbys that dont make any money are never as popular has hobbys that can show big money even if its only a small percentage of people making money...

Im sure we will be seeing an auction of his items within 2 years...

Does he have anything? He liked to flip stuff immediately.

[Fred]

Jake L, there are a few different ways to look at Mr. Mint and what people believe he's done "for the hobby".

He did help to bring card collecting to the forefront but if you were a true collector and didn't care about the value of cards and you're on a limited budget then that attention only made it harder for you to collect because of the price escalation that took place when all that attention was brought to the hobby.

It turned from a hobby to a business and a lot of the fun went with it because now if you truly loved the cardboard, your dollar didn't go as far after all of the attention that was brought to it.

This is not to say that without Mr. Mint the price escalation wouldn't have come around.

I guess the sad part about all of the attention is that it brought all of the low life ass holes into the hobby. This resulted in a lot of manipulated value to the hobby which made the hobby less fun for the true collector.

My thought is that a true collector is someone that doesn't look at their collection as a "portfolio" but rather something that gives them joy when they look at it. Ooops, I hope I didn't open a can of worms and step on some peoples egos.

[ngnichols]

Originally Posted by conor912

I never knew the guy, but even as a kid seeing his ads I thought he came off as a sleazy used car salesman type.

Personally, I fail to see how someone so obviously in it for the money and not the cards was really that good for the hobby at the end of the day.

I'm first and foremost in it for the money. I like finding bad-ass cards and getting them to people who truly want them and are willing to pay me for my time/efforts to get it to them. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate them any less than you or anyone else. It just means that I'm not emotionally attached to them. I just ask people to respect what I have available and the effort I've gone through to get it.

I never knew the guy personally and have only heard stories about him. After seeing that YouTube video, I don't think he and I would get along too well. I don't care who I'm talking to, I always treat people's cards/items with respect and don't just throw stuff around. It's not mine until I hand them cash and I handle things in a way that represents that.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by ngnichols

I'm first and foremost in it for the money. I like finding bad-ass cards and getting them to people who truly want them and are willing to pay me for my time/efforts to get it to them. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate them any less than you or anyone else. It just means that I'm not emotionally attached to them. I just ask people to respect what I have available and the effort I've gone through to get it.

I never knew the guy personally and have only heard stories about him. After seeing that YouTube video, I don't think he and I would get along too well. I don't care who I'm talking to, I always treat people's cards/items with respect and don't just throw stuff around. It's not mine until I hand them cash and I handle things in a way that represents that.

Nate:

Knowing you as I do, although you state (And I'll agree) that profit if your primary motive, you are also friendly and honest to your customers on the buying/selling part of this business.

One of the major differences between you and Al is that Al was a salesman/vest-pocked coin dealer before going into sports carts and you work with customers who are on the high-end of the socio-economic ladder. As such, you apply your people and customer service skills to the people who come to your table at shows and Alan created and then a schtick to maintain.

Alan would have been with his name recognition an asset to my shows and you are an asset to my shows because of how your comport yourself.

Regards
Rich

[chris6net]

Having many dealings with Rosen in the 80's and early 90's I always thought he was an asshole. But one day in the early 90's when I saw him berate an elderly gentleman at one of the Philly Shows who had a box of cards to the point where the man was shaken and thought he might need medical assistance. As morbid as it sounds he was not a good man in his prime and am not sad at hearing of his passing.
As per my religion I hope he is in a better place.

[turtleguy64]

I was fascinated by his SCD ads in years past.In his auction listings ,he would always say "Bought these from a show guy....." I practically drooled at his printed auction offerings.Finally took the plunge and bought a partial 1958 bb card set.They were exactly as described.Paid a lot but they were so beautiful to behold,got PSA 8's on many of them.Then he calls me and says that buyer of the 1969 partial bb set could not come up with the money.Would I like them,he would knock a few hundred off.Boy,did I jump at that chance.And like the '58s,I got a ton of high PSA grades for the better cards.Yes,he rubbed many people the wrong way but in some manner he made himself into a hobby icon.My prayers to his family.His "finds " will forever live in the hobby lore.RIP,my friend.

[bobbvc]

Say what you will, and I only have vague memories of him at a show or two when I was very young, but I learned a lot from his book. Also, we seem to be losing more "characters" than we're gaining these days.

[dchamp515]

1988 I saw my first Mr. Mint Ad buying 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan for $50.
I couldn't believe a card a year and a half old was worth that much.
I brought a 800 ct. box of pack fresh cards with 4 Jordans to a card shop and got a whopping $175 in trade. Got a bunch of off grade 75 minis.
I sure wish I never saw his Buy Ads.

[jerrys]

Known Alan since his first National setup in the 1984 NSCC in Parsippany, NJ. I never had any business dealings with Alan but once when he ran phone auctions I was on the phone to make a bid on a baseball card when a voice said "the auction is over" - an abrupt hang-up. His auctions ended at exactly midnight.
RIP
I added some other characters with a picture of Alan from 1999 - I do not recall where this show was held.

n1.jpg

n2.jpg

n3.jpg

[bobw]

Some of the photos look like they are from the old Ft Washington show

[rdixon1208]

Never knew him. I did see this video years ago (on this forum) and it kind of stuck with me. Seems like the guy was a real POS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXNgJXt7cMY