1979 value of 1967 Topps Brooks Robinson

[zljones]

Yea I also noticed that the 1957 Topps Sandy Koufax card was a big deal back then as well, nowadays it does not seem to have any major significance over the other 50s card.

[GasHouseGang]

Another card from back then that was "hot" was the 1966 Gaylord Perry. It is a high number and is short printed but I think it was being sold for more back then than it is now. I remember seeing it at one of the Nationals for several hundred dollars back in the early 1980's.

[steve B]

Back then there was also a bigger fluctuation between retirement and HOF election. As the player approached retirement there was a bit of a surge as people gathered rookies and other cards thought to be particularly difficult. Then a drop off after retirement, usually about 3 years of decline. Then 2 years of sizeable increase anticipating election. The more likely someone was to be a first year electee, the bigger the runup. Especially if they were well liked. Then a predictable dropoff about a year after election once the publicity died down.

There were similar price bumps around landmark events, 400HR, 3000 hits.

I was never organized enough, but a HS friend made some decent money buying particular cards in bulk during the lulls,and selling during the upswing.

Todays publicity makes stuff like that much harder, the landmarks are expected and anticipated for years, and HOF election doesn't carry quite the impact it once did.

For bigger fun, try to track regional pricing, another aspect of the pricing that's greatly diminished.

Steve B

[vintagechris]

I recently read in an old SCD about the Brooks Robinson card. The SCD was from 1979 or 1980. I forget what exactly it said, but everyone thought it was rare and there were buy ads for $25 each.

To me it seems like there was just more assumed scarcity for issues. One writer wrote every issue about how he couldn't find any 1935 National Chicle FB cards.

There for awhile, 1980 Topps Super cards were considered rare as well. I got a chuckle out of that one.

[sox1903wschamp]

That 67 Brooks was hyped severely in 79 and 80. And because of the hype, they were coming out of the woodwork. I was at a show in St.Louis in April of 1980 and they had "instant auctions" for walk in material and this card was auctioned several times that weekend. I was thinking it can't be that scarce.....

Other over valued cards at the time relative to the rest of the set was the 72 Carew and Garvey and the 70 Bench. The woodwork has taken care of bringing the values down relative to cards in those respective sets.

[zljones]

Originally Posted by sox1903wschamp

That 67 Brooks was hyped severely in 79 and 80. And because of the hype, they were coming out of the woodwork. I was at a show in St.Louis in April of 1980 and they had "instant auctions" for walk in material and this card was auctioned several times that weekend. I was thinking it can't be that scarce.....

Other over valued cards at the time relative to the rest of the set was the 72 Carew and Garvey and the 70 Bench. The woodwork has taken care of bringing the values down relative to cards in those respective sets.

Thanks for that detailed account. That helps my understanding greatly.

[Mark70Z]

To me the internet changed a whole lot about collecting. I was a Brooksie collector back then (still am...) and everything you purchased was through personal contacts and ads in magazines. As it was stated it was thought that the '67 card was hard to find and it drove up the price. Now you can view this particular card, in all variety of conditions, daily.

[U240robert]

I agree with the above, I collected back then and remember clearly the '67 Robinson being very expensive, for the times.
I also remember how valuable the Garvey Rookie, Carew/Garvey '72 Topps high numbers were. On the flip side, it wasn't until the late 1980's before Nolan Ryans cards really took off. In the 70's his cards were normal star/to above common prices.
I still have the very first Beckett/Eckes Price guide- one of my favorite reads when I was a kid. The book nearly doubled in size in one year !

[darkhorse9]

I can absolutely confirm that the Brooks Robinson card was the key card in that set. At that time the full set was selling for about $70, however. I know that because that's what I paid for my set.

[mrmopar]

I also remember the 72 Garvey used to be much more expensive than his rookie. I don't recall how high it got (maybe $50-60 or more?) but that has evened out over time now.