Ruth sporting news psa 4 rookie in REA

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by griffon512

high eye appeal is a way that the hobby has created greater scarcity value in the same way a third party grade has in the past, and i think that trend is here to stay!

I think this is a very astute point.

Generally speaking, the hobby ascribes great value to scarity. We love to spend money on cards with low pops. But what if you could quantify the % of perfectly centered/registered examples of a particular issue? My gut says that the pop of these cards, at any grade, would be incredibly low. I’ve probably seen 90% of the publicly traded Red Cobb portraits sold in the last five years, and I’ve seen more cards with a Ty Cobb back than I have seen perfectly centered/registered versions (with any back). Clearly, this is both subjective and anecdotal, but my sense is that cards that were perfectly printed and cut at the factory make up a smaller population than we give them credit for, and that should keep premiums healthy.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I think this is a very astute point.

what if you could quantify the % of perfectly centered/registered examples of a particular issue?

Well said. I try to do just that with the cards I collect. Very early on it struck me that while I could pick from many 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles, I could not find any that were dead centered. To date I have only come across a literal handful that I'd call dead centered to the eye, across all grades. Of course many other classic cards have similar situations, and their focused/centered specimens are always hotly contested when they surface.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Well said. I try to do just that with the cards I collect. Very early on it struck me that while I could pick from many 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles, I could not find any that were dead centered. To date I have only come across a literal handful that I'd call dead centered to the eye, across all grades. Of course many other classic cards have similar situations, and their focused/centered specimens are always hotly contested when they surface.

I remember when you grabbed that Mantle Matt, and to this day, I’ve never seen one with better centering. It’s perfect! Same issue with the Ruth Rookie. Try finding one that has nearly perfect centering....virtually impossible. Even the REA one that just sold somewhat favored the upper edge. When you find these cards with 45/55 to 50:50 centering all around, expect to pay stratospheric pricing.

[oldjudge]

Ruth can come with good centering.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Ruth can come with good centering.

Stop bragging Jay....LOL! FYI, I also own a very nice centered 3.5. Tough to find. All kidding aside, your card is awesome Jay.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Ruth can come with good centering.

Nice card, Jay!!

[ValKehl]

Sam, you said, "Generally speaking, the hobby ascribes great value to scarity." IMHO, this is true ONLY for scarce cards in the popularly-collected sets.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

Sam, you said, "Generally speaking, the hobby ascribes great value to scarity." IMHO, this is true ONLY for scarce cards in the popularly-collected sets.

+1