The Rosen '52 find

[MikeGarcia]

Originally Posted by Jobu

Instead of going back to 1986, I hope you'd go back to 1952 instead.

...



....Late September , early October , 1952 : ......you could buy three "FIVE CENTS " packs of those high number last series 1952 Topps Baseball Gum Cards or...... one of these...



....

[Tabe]

Are there any pictures of the find? Not individual cards but the big lot before being broken up?

[marzoumanian]

I just pulled out "True Mint" again. In the section about the 1952 Topps find you will find a gem mint Mantle photo and a gem mint Leo Durocher photo. In black and white. That's it. Rosen describes the guy with all the cards in Quincy, Mass., coming out with them on a big silver tray, "covered with cards piled high, 15 or 20 piles. I remember the cards were piled so high that I couldn't see over the top."
Unfortunately Rosen didn't expect to see this so he didn't bring a camera. As he tells it, all he cared about was the Mantles.
The book is definitely worth a read and I am sure you can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon. He tells some amazing stories. Good luck and peace.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Are there any pictures of the find? Not individual cards but the big lot before being broken up?

In case you haven't seen this?
https://www.psacard.com/articles/art...-baseball-find

And another Net54 thread about the find here.
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=276271

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by irv

In case you haven't seen this?
https://www.psacard.com/articles/art...-baseball-find

And another Net54 thread about the find here.
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=276271

Thanks. Yes, I'd seen those. Great stuff but not quite what I was hoping for. Perhaps not surprising that a guy with no sense of sentiment didn't record anything for posterity.

[Directly]

If you haven't seen this interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjckQNXP4Gs

[jimjim]

I’ve heard the story countless times, but I just watch the YouTube video. Can somebody clarify when Al Rosen said he paid the guy 10% instead of 20%... was that 10% of book value? If so, that’s insane.

[ocjack]

I think I recall Rosen saying in an interview that he sells cards because he can make money doing it. That if he could sell apples and make a huge profit, he would sell apples. So you're right, he had no "feelings" for the hobby other than as a way to make money.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by ocjack

I think I recall Rosen saying in an interview that he sells cards because he can make money doing it. That if he could sell apples and make a huge profit, he would sell apples. So you're right, he had no "feelings" for the hobby other than as a way to make money.

Agree that was the motivation

[SteveWhite]

Beckett #8 from 1986 page 267, it lists the 1952 Mickey Mantle high book at $2,900, middle $900, and low book at $250.

[flpm08]

I also remember the Rosen '52 find. Paul Lewicki , a card dealer and associate of Rosen, called me and offered the high number run for $12,000. I asked him what the Mantle was like. He said off-center and so I passed. I also think that find may have included 251 through 310, the semi-high series. The find that I remember more vividly was the Kansas City find of September 1985. This find i think included the last series 181-252 of 1950 Bowmans, 1951 Bowmans, 1952 Bowmans, 1953 Bowmans, 1952 Topps and maybe 1953 Topps. I happened to be visiting New Jersey at the time ( I live in California) and called John Broggi who I met at the 1985 National in Anaheim. He said " you would not believe what I got". I drove right down to his shop in Highland Park and I bought some beautiful 1952 Topps and 1953 Bowmans and eventually bought many 1951 Bowmans. I do not remember whether the find included high number 1952 Topps. Those were the days. Frank Martorana

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Are there any pictures of the find? Not individual cards but the big lot before being broken up?

Does anyone remember "Find II" which happened shortly after the 1952 find? The Paris, TN find of unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps baseball, 1954 and 1955 Bowman baseball and 1954 and 1955 Bowman football. Apparently there were over 500 unopened boxes of the baseball, and 250 unopened boxes of the football.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine during the era with stacks of the boxes shown as found. Anyone remember what publication this was??

In the Nov 20, 1987 issue of SCD, Rosen was offering;

- 1954 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $125.00 each or $2500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $150.00 each or $3000.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Topps baseball unopened packs for $200.00 each or $3500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $10.00 each or $1000.00 per box (120 1 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $20.00 each or $425.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)

[ruth-gehrig]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Does anyone remember "Find II" which happened shortly after the 1952 find? The Paris, TN find of unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps baseball, 1954 and 1955 Bowman baseball and 1954 and 1955 Bowman football. Apparently there were over 500 unopened boxes of the baseball, and 250 unopened boxes of the football.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine during the era with stacks of the boxes shown as found. Anyone remember what publication this was??

In the Nov 20, 1987 issue of SCD, Rosen was offering;

- 1954 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $125.00 each or $2500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $150.00 each or $3000.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Topps baseball unopened packs for $200.00 each or $3500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $10.00 each or $1000.00 per box (120 1 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $20.00 each or $425.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)

Wow! I would love to see those pictures for sure

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Does anyone remember "Find II" which happened shortly after the 1952 find? The Paris, TN find of unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps baseball, 1954 and 1955 Bowman baseball and 1954 and 1955 Bowman football. Apparently there were over 500 unopened boxes of the baseball, and 250 unopened boxes of the football.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine during the era with stacks of the boxes shown as found. Anyone remember what publication this was??

In the Nov 20, 1987 issue of SCD, Rosen was offering;

- 1954 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $125.00 each or $2500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $150.00 each or $3000.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Topps baseball unopened packs for $200.00 each or $3500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $10.00 each or $1000.00 per box (120 1 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $20.00 each or $425.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)

IIRC -- He also got some 1960 Packs in that deal. I know I opened a few of those packs at that time.

Rich

[jmoran19]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Does anyone remember "Find II" which happened shortly after the 1952 find? The Paris, TN find of unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps baseball, 1954 and 1955 Bowman baseball and 1954 and 1955 Bowman football. Apparently there were over 500 unopened boxes of the baseball, and 250 unopened boxes of the football.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine during the era with stacks of the boxes shown as found. Anyone remember what publication this was??

In the Nov 20, 1987 issue of SCD, Rosen was offering;

- 1954 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $125.00 each or $2500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $150.00 each or $3000.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Topps baseball unopened packs for $200.00 each or $3500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $10.00 each or $1000.00 per box (120 1 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $20.00 each or $425.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)

A majority of the boxes had bugs and were either opened or thrown away

[ruth-gehrig]

Also wasn't there significant moisture damage to alot of the packs?

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by jmoran19

A majority of the boxes had bugs and were either opened or thrown away

I remember reading about the unopened Bowman boxes when they were found, and then later hearing that many were damaged by bugs. They said that some packs were opened but the cards were ruined, even though there wasn't any obvious bug damage. I don't remember ever seeing any mint cards being shown off that were pulled from those packs.

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by jmoran19

A majority of the boxes had bugs and were either opened or thrown away

& a bunch had moisture stains as well

Many years ago a friend bought a '54 Bowman Football pack on the cheap
& wanted to open it for kicks.

Every card was damaged, but the pack incl Otto Graham
I seemed more impressed then him, so he sold me the opened pack
& a few years later had SGC grade the 3 best cards.

& Yes! I still have 'em

[Jay Wolt]

Here's the Otto

[Rich Klein]

Paris Tennessee to be exact.

Many of the people who opened the packs did get sick for a while after opening them. But it was a kick to open some of those packs back in the day.

Rich

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Does anyone remember "Find II" which happened shortly after the 1952 find? The Paris, TN find of unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps baseball, 1954 and 1955 Bowman baseball and 1954 and 1955 Bowman football. Apparently there were over 500 unopened boxes of the baseball, and 250 unopened boxes of the football.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine during the era with stacks of the boxes shown as found. Anyone remember what publication this was??

In the Nov 20, 1987 issue of SCD, Rosen was offering;

- 1954 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $125.00 each or $2500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Bowman baseball unopened packs for $150.00 each or $3000.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1955 Topps baseball unopened packs for $200.00 each or $3500.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $10.00 each or $1000.00 per box (120 1 cent packs)
- 1954 Bowman football unopened packs for $20.00 each or $425.00 per box (24 5 cent packs)

In Tennessee, if I recall?