Thursday, January 31, 2008
My T202 Wheats Were Both PSA/DNA Certified!
Hooray! That is excellent news. They are both on their way back to me:
04221888 1912 T202 W.DAHLEN/Z.WHEAT PSA/DNA CERTIFIED 1MK
04221889 1912 T202 W.DAHLEN/Z.WHEAT PSA/DNA
CERTIFIED 1
I do not know if I'll have time to get one of them off to REA, but hopefully I will. Can't wait to see them!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My First PSA/DNA Submission
A little bumpy in terms of customer service and turnaround times, but my first installment of PSA/DNA submitted signed
pre-war cards are on their way back to me. I cannot wait to get them. The T202 Wheats are still outstanding, and
had to be resubmitted on a separate form because there is a "tall boy" requirement -- yes, I know, this sounds ridiculous,
but it is true.
In any event, these are they and I can't wait to get them:
03096872 T206 PIEDMONT GEORGE MCBRIDE PSA/DNA Grade 3
03096873 T206 PIEDMONT CHIEF MEYERS PSA/DNA
Grade 1
03096874 T206 PIEDMONT LARRY DOYLE PORT.-PSA/DNA Grade 3
03096875 1911 T205 GOLD BORDER
LARRY DOYLE PSA/DNA No Grade
03096876 1909 E95 LARRY DOYLE PSA/DNA Grade 3
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Lionel Carter Writes Back!
I was surprised and elated to find a letter from Lionel Carter in my mailbox. I have scanned it in its entirety
and put it on the Checking In With Lionel Carter Page of my website, in the Interviews & Articles link. Among
other things, Mr. Carter explains that he got the Eddie Plank in a Charles Bray auction on May 10, 1957. This amends
his story that he told by telephone that he acquired in in 1935, but given the level of detail it is pretty clear Mr. Carter
did his research. I am amazed that he has such detailed records of its acquisition. And I wonder whether he has
similar records for all of his cards, most of which now reside in Lionel Carter branded slips in SGC holders.
Mr. Carter sealed his letter with an old stamp of what appears to be his head superimposed on a drawing of a baseball
player. Mr. Carter certainly has a grand sense of humor!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Goudey Got It?
I have taken the plunge, and purchased my first (five, actually) signed 1933 Goudey cards. I will be creating a
signed 33 Goudey page and asking for contributions from collectors of these signed gum cards. It is a little modern
for me, and so I am taking it slowly. For now, I will not be listing every signed card between WWI and WWII. I'm
going to limit it to Goudeys, and preferably 1933 Goudeys. Though I do have a nice scan of a signed 1934 Goudey Gehrig
to share, so I may have to rethink this whole approach.
In any event, thanks to Doug (and tangentially James) for making these available. I will be sharing scans upon
receipt!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Gavelsnipe.com Burned Me!
Should've gotten a bid on that sweet signed T206 Snodgrass on ebay today, but Gavelsnipe put my snipe in 1 seconds AFTER
the auction ended! Unbelievable. Or, well, believeable but very very very disappointing. At least the card
went to a collector who truly appreciates the scarcity, value and just plain awesomeness of signed T206 cards.
If you want to sell or trade that one, just let me know!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
T206 Mad Libs
I just added to the Article section of my website a story told through the words of the names in the T206 set.
I clearly borrowed a phrase from Ogden Nash's 1949 poem, "Line-Up For Yesterday: An ABC Of Baseball Immortals":
E is for Evers,
His jaw in advance;
Never
afraid
To Tinker with Chance.
I hope you enjoy it. And if you have any other phrases, sentences or entire paragraphs
with T206 player names that you'd like me to publish on my website, be sure to e-mail your ideas to: SignedT206@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I Love Collecting Autographed Cards
...but you do have to be careful about provenance, etc. And, where there is risk, you had better have a certification
from a reliable source. Of course there will never be any guarantees of authenticity unless you were the guy who obtained
the autograph in person. Some cannot get beyond that and can never collect autographs of deceased players.
The way I view it is from more of an economic perspective.
Take an A.P. Leifield signed T206 card. How much would I pay in today's dollars to be the actual person obtaining Leifield's
signature in person, i.e., to have that individual experience and knowledge that Leifield signed it himself. Let's say I'd
pay $1,000 for that experience. Well, without that knowledge, how much am I willing to bet that a signature -- from a well
established autograph collection from a period in which Leifield was alive and well and known to be signing -- is authentic?
$200? $300? maybe $400? Sure. You are able to obtain these signatures at a discount given the lack of personal knowledge,
is my point. And, when the provenance is shaky and weak, or nonexistent, the discount is even higher.
The signed T206 cards in my collection have been obtained primarily from two well-known collections of autographs that
were compiled in the 1950's and 1960's. In one case, I actually have recorded the story of the guy who says he obtained them
in the mail and in person (renown autograph collector Jeff Morey). Those cards line up well in a number of ways with the cards
I already had that were obtained from a similar collection to Morey's.
So, again, it is all about provenance, learning about the signature -- where it came from, who authenticated it, what
they were thinking, etc. But is there risk even there? Sure. And the risk goes up astronomically when you are talking about
Ruth, Johnson and Wagner.
But before people cast aspersions on autographed items generally, I would recommend they sit down with a reputable authenticator
at a show (JSA will be in White Plains this weekend) and talk to them about about authenticating signatures. I have
spoken to them, and their explanations are very enlightening and really helped guide my perspective on authenticating signatures.
If you are just eyeballing it from a scan against another scan, you really are doing a disservice by giving an opinion one
way or another. The truth is you'll never know 100%, and then the question becomes how sure are you and how much are you willing
to pay for that level of certainty?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Signed T205 Davy Jones
Click my Trade Bait & Links link at the top of my home page in order to see my signed T205 Davy
Jones card that I am trading for other signed pre-war cards I do not already have. With this card, I hope to acquire
other signed cards that are not yet part of my private collection.
In the coming days, I hope to add a few more cards to this list. So be sure to check back in soon. I am expecting
about a half dozen signed cards back from PSA/DNA this week (or next, but hopefully this). Be sure to send me an e-mail
at
SignedT206@gmail.com if you are interested or have anything interesting to swap.
In particular, I am looking for signed cards that were issued in 1935 or ealier. So, yes, I am willing to consider
broadening my horizons into Goudey land, or DeLong land. I am not particularly interested in 1938 Goudey or any Play
Ball issues. I have to draw the line somewhere!
Take care and thanks for reading!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Checking Back In With Lionel Carter
I received a note in the mail from Lionel Carter today. It was written on an index card, stamped and then sent
to my attention. I was, of course, very happy to receive it.
I will, of course, be eagerly awaiting Carter's book, "Carter and the Cavalry." Carter's experiences during World
War II in the horse cavalry and then being "dismounted" in the jungles of New Britain and New Guinea sounds incredibly fascinating.
I doubt he discovered my Eddie Plank while fighting the enemy during WWII, but this story should make for a terrific read.
I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Ebay Seller Warning: You Won't See Any Bidding Wars
Wouldn't I just love to get $1,200 for one of my signed T206 cards?
I've sold a number of doubles from my signed T206 card collection -- and will be selling a few more in weeks to come
-- but I have never even come close to achieving $1,000 for one, let alone $1,200. Where were these bidders when I was
selling my doubles of Chief Meyers on ebay last month?
It just goes to show you how flawed the ebay bidding system is in terms of generating the most coin for your card.
Because of ebay's fixed ending time, and the prevalance of sniping, if two people really want a card, there will not be a
bidding war. Instead, both people will place a snipe early and walk away content that they put their best foot forward.
But you never know whether one of them would up their so-called "best offer" snipe in the face of news that they would not
be winning that card.
That is precisely what happened here. Two (or more) people really wanted that Meyers, and they bid against each
other, without the benefit of a fixed time end to that auction. As such, when I have rare signed cards to sell in the
future, I am likely to put them into a more favorable auction format. Sometimes ebay just doesn't help you realize the
prices you deserve.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Shared Images Are Going Up
I am slowly growing my shared images file, which I lovingly refer to as my Signed Card Wantlist (i.e., signed cards that
I know exist, but don't own -- and, of course, desperately want). Most of these will be signed T206 cards that I have
acquired scans of, but there will be a few other type cards as well.
For example, please take a look at the E96 page. I have just added a signed E96 Rube Marquard to go with the signed
E96 Connie Mack, both of which have been electronically borrowed from private collections. The Marquard signature tells
a story all by itself, since Marquard couldn't help himself from signing both the card and the scrapbook holding the card
in one swoop of his pen.
I again thank the owner of the Marquard (and again the Mack) for making these amazing cards available to the collecting
public via this website.
If you, or someone you know, has any other scans of signed pre-WWI baseball cards they would like to share, please send
me an e-mail:
SignedT206@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
In this election atmosphere, I got swept up by a poll myself
I have added a poll section to the home page of T206Collector.com in order to help determine the direction I should be
taking this site. Personally, I believe the hobby pioneer interviews with Lionel Carter and Jeff Morey are driving most
of the traffic here, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about that -- if anything.
So, if you have a moment, please vote in my poll. I can't promise you anything other than that I will certainly
take your opinions heavily into consideration.
Thanks again for showing up!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Are You Reading My Blog? If So, I Have A Question
From time to time, I will be reaching out to visitors to T206Collector.com to help me out with the direction of this
website. We have had great early feedback on the audio interviews with hobby pioneers Lionel Carter and Jeff Morey,
and I would like to continue that success.
One of the things that I did when Mr. Morey's cards arrived was videotape them coming out of the envelope and then my
putting each into a toploader with a penny sleeve, describing the cards and the signatures along the way. Would that
be interesting content for me to upload to the website? Or is watching someone else (i.e., me) opening an envelope of
cards just received in the mail too mundane for the casual observer. Well, if you've got an opinion either way (or both
ways), please shoot me an e-mail:
This way, I'll see that you're paying attention and, more importantly, I'll be able to continue to offer content that
makes return trips to this website worth your while.
Thanks for your support!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Collector Comments Should Not Go Unnoticed
I have been the welcome recipient of some very nice e-mails about the J.W. Morey Interview. In some cases, collectors
of autographs and autographed cards have written to me to share their experiences, some of which were very similar to Mr.
Morey's. As a result, I thought it was an important addition to the J.W. Morey page to include those collectors' comments.
Please click on the link below the J.W. Morey Transcript link to read them.
In particular, I found humorous one collector's pursuit of Rube Marquard's autograph on a deadball era caramel card.
Apparently, Marquard started his signature on the card and then realized that he would quickly run out of room. Rather
than try to scrunch the rest of his name within the borders of the card, Marquard continued, pen in hand, to scribe his name
onto the scrapbook that held the card. The collector still has the signature intact, with both the card and scrapbook
together, and will hopefully be forwarding me a photograph of this unique collectible and collecting experience for the Collector's
Comment section of the J.W. Morey page. Check back again soon.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Lionel Carter Answers A Few Questions About His Plank
Shortly after I won Lionel Carter's Eddie Plank in the Mastro auction in April 2007, I sent him a letter asking him a
few questions about where he got it. I worked through Doug Allen, President and Chief Operating Officeer at Mastro Auctions,
to ensure that the letter got to Mr. Carter. Having gotten no response nearly 8 months later, I thought it might be
time to call Mr. Carter myself and ask him a few questions about the Plank. He was more than happy to talk with
me, and his comments were insightful and infused with his good humor.
With his gracious permission, T206Collector.com will be broadcasting my 15 minute telephone interview with Mr. Carter,
which was more like two collectors talking about baseball cards than a fact-finding mission. Mr. Carter told me how
he acquired the Plank, and then he shared an experience he had with Jefferson Burdick as well as his views on collecting cards
and his ultimate sale. A transcript of the recording will also be available. Look for this to be broadcast either
tonight or tomorrow. And thanks again for checking in!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Buy, Sell or Trade
Since I opened my website a few weeks ago, I have gotten a lot of nice e-mails and posts on the Net54 board about it.
But the one thing I haven't gotten very much of are good old fashioned trade offers. In the coming days, I hope to have
the following signed cards available for sale or trade: T205 Davy Jones, T202 Zack Wheat, T206 Doyle Portrait, T206
McBride and T206 Meyers Portrait. Please let me know if you have any signed pre-war cards you'd like to trade for these.
And, of course, offers to purchase outright are always welcome.
I am considering consigning these to some of the major auction houses, including Robert Edwards and Huggins & Scott.
But, what I really want, are signed pre-war cards I don't have yet. So, whether you're sitting on a Nap Rucker, Donie
Bush or even Ty Cobb signed cards and you'd like to sell or trade -- please shoot me an e-mail. My contact information
is at the top.
In addition, if you are aware of, or have scans of, signed T206 cards that I have not mentioned on this website, please
also send me an e-mail, with scans if you have them. I am considering putting up a gallery page of signed T206
cards that I don't have but know are out there somewhere!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
365 Day Countdown to the 100th Year Anniversary
Well, folks, we are just 365 days -- 1 full year -- away from the 100th Anniversary of the magnificent white bordered
set we all know as T206. Our friend the Monster turns 100 next year and all through 2008, T206Collector.com will be
counting down to the centennial. It will be a lot of fun seeing how everybody (or anybody) chooses to mark the occasion
of T206's 100th birthday.
Some wonder whether all of the publicity (again, if any) will increase demand for the tiny little cigarette cards with
deadball players on them. I know some speculators think there might be a little bump and are considering holding onto
some of their cardboard "investments" a little longer. I think the market is showing just the opposite signs -- SGC
60 T206 cards are now routinely selling for under $100, many for under $90 or even $80. Prices for these almost always
had been three figures in 2006, but demand it seems is down and/or supply is up. My feeling is a lot of people who thought
T206 cards were more scarce than they really were are finding them a bit easier than expected. But prices for the true
rarities are still up and the market for signed T206 cards is still quite strong, though I still maintain there is a lot of
room for growth here. I also think SGC 60 cards under $90 are a reasonable investment. I put together 520 T206
cards, most of them by purchasing raw lots in bulk, and only 30 or so of them were graded SGC 60 or higher. The SGC
40's and lower are quite plentiful, and even the SGC 50's to some extent are readily found. But SGC 60 and higher are
a bit tougher to locate. I would keep those on your radar screen in 2008.
But above all, keep on doing the collecting that you do. Or make a New Year's resolution to change the focus of
your collection or your collecting strategy. My simple goal this year will be to obtain a total of 50 different signed
T206 cards. If I get only half as many as I got last year, I will be in pretty good shape. But I'm afraid that
I've exhausted the "easier" signed card supply and that any futher additions will be quite rare and hard to come by.
Remember, I had a grand total of 4 signed T206 cards from April 2004 to April 2007. Now I've got 31. So I added
27 in 2007. Will I add 28 in 2008? Probably not. But I can dream....
