Card losses, sad but true...

[NiceDocter]

He didn’t mean they were stolen by Louis Van Oeyen lol he meant that he was the photographer !!! Nice play on words there…… and just in case you think he is still a suspect….. he passed away in 1946!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by NiceDocter

He didn’t mean they were stolen by Louis Van Oeyen lol he meant that he was the photographer !!! Nice play on words there…… and just in case you think he is still a suspect….. he passed away in 1946!

Even if dead I will still keep an eye out for this notorious Van Oeyen (lack of) character.

Brian

[gonefishin]

A few years back I purchased a small commerative Cal Ripken Jr boxed set. It contained cards, a couple of game used cards, and an autographed Ripken. It had a seal on the box. Stupid me, I used a box cutter to open the box. I cut too deep, and yes, I sliced the top card in the box. Yes, it was the autographed Ripken card! I still have it.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

My story has nothing to do with dollar value.

I bought my brother our first pack of cards when he was in the hospital getting his tonsils out. It was a 1981 Topps Rack Pack. I can still tell you a bunch of the cards in that pack!

We played with our cards hard until the mid 80's when we learned better. There were even the occasional purges as our mother got frustrated with our accumulations.

Somehow a 1981 Topps George Brett with "AP" in black crayon on the back survived all the purges, moves and other life events from the time I was 8 until I was about 30. It was the only card either of us had from that original pack.

I was moving in with my then girlfriend now wife, and somehow it disappeared in the move. I was and am heartbroken by it's loss as it was a tangible link to a huge part of my personal history. Rounded corners, creases and crayon writing on the reverse, I'd gladly shell out a hell of a lot more than the 5¢ it's worth today if someone told me they found it on the street outside of my house after I moved.

[ClementeFanOh]

About 12 years ago, I was removing a beautiful 1963 Fleer Roberto Clemente
from one of the old "screwdown" holders. It had been there for 15 years before
that, so 1 of the screws was resisting, I couldn't get it loose. I pulled the
loose plastic area away from the rest of the card and really put some torque
into the remaining screw. This action caused a reaction- my screwdriver slid
vertically the length of the entire card! I turned a "7" grade into a ".7" grade!

Trent King

[stkuhl]

In 1971 my Dad, brother, and I were in Oklahoma visiting my Dad's cousin. His chicken coup, about 8 ft by 12 ft, had 50's cards probably 6 inches deep covering the floor. We scooped up a shoebox full. Cards included 53-59 Topps, 53-55 Bowman, and 54-55 Bowman and Topps Football cards. Among the good cards were 4 or 5 56 Pee Wee Reese, a couple 56 Williams, and a 55 Clemente. Two years later when my Dad went back we told him go get ALL the cards. His cousin said the rats had eaten them. My Dad verified with his own two eyes the cards were gone. The cousin says to this day there were Mantles in the lot. What could have been.

[Casey2296]

When I was a broke 21 year old I sold a 1914 CJ Wagner, clean, centered, for $400 to cover bills, that's the only card I've ever regretted selling.

A self imposed loss for sure and I'll replace it someday but it taught me an important collecting lesson.