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Welcome to T206Collector.com! What began as a destination for T206 collectors has evolved into the largest
collection of autographed pre-World War I baseball cards anywhere. If you have a signed pre-war card that you don't
see on these pages, please make sure to let me know about it!
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100 Years of T206
(1909-2009)
T206Collector.com is proud to celebtrate 100 years of the Magnificent White Bordered set we all know and love
as T206. This magnificent example of Christy Mathewson's portrait is one of the crown jewels of my collection -- an
absolute blazer!
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What's New?
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Click Here For My New Blog!
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The Latest Signed Deadball Cards
| Click Pic To See More Signed T206 Cards! |
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| Fred C. Snodgrass |
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Updated Morey Interview Page
An Interview With J.W. Morey
Click the above link to hear all about Jeff Morey's pursuit of deadball autographs. This page has been recently
updated to include images of Morey's signed Ty Cobb items that were acquired over breakfast at Cooperstown's Otesaga Hotel
in 1960. It also includes a downloadable black and white copy of Morey's collection before he consigned it to Mastro
Auctions circa 2001.
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T206Collector.com Is A Proud Sponsor Of
Jeff Morey's
"The Autograph Review"
A bi-monthly publication
on the autograph hobby with an in depth look at collecting pursuits is available for $14.95 a year by writing to Morey
at 305 Carlton Road, Syracuse, NY 13207. Back issues are also available -- eight random issues for only $9.95, plus
$3.00 postage and handling. Morey has been publishing "TAR" for over 30 years and has never missed a date.
T206Collector Blog Has Moved
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Monday, March 31, 2008
Signed T201 Zack Wheat (Huggins & Scott)
I'll probably post about this card again before it ends on Wednesday evening, but I wanted to hilight this auction since
this card was once a part of the T206Collector.com collection. I traded it plus an SGC 70 T206 Eddie Collins for my
T206 signed Wheat last fall, and figured it might wind up with H&S. While I do not have a financial stake in the
card -- and indeed may even wind up bidding to get it back! -- I am very interested to see what it sells for since (a) I own
a different one; and (b) I am selling a signed T202 of Wheat in the April Mastro auction.
If you are considering getting into signed pre-war cards, this one is a very nice example that presents very well.
It comes from the Pittsburgh find of early 2007. Good luck!
Friday, March 28, 2008
The set that was #521; and the climb to #522 -- on hold?
With the auction season almost fully upon us, it is time to reflect on purchasing/bidding strategies. As tempted
as I am to re-enter the market for PSA 5 and SGC 60 T206 cards, I recognize that there are likely to be a few items of interest
in REA or Mastro or Huggins and Scott that will make sense for me to bid on. As such, I can't start blowing the savings
on cards that are readily available on ebay every day of the week. Anyone else have this dilemma?
I'm sure some of you have seen the signed items that will be available, but I encourage you to pay particular attention
to the signed T202 of Zack Wheat in the Mastro Auction. That card was formerly the cornerstone of my signed HOF pre-war
card collection, but I have decided to part with it because I received a double, albeit in lesser condition. I'll try
not to waste too much space advertising my auctions here, but I am very excited to be a part of the Mastro auction this April.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
No Plank In REA? No Problem!
For $30,000 you can walk away with this bad boy:
20_W0QQitemZ120225220633QQihZ002QQcategoryZ57993QQrdZ1
QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem
Now, is it worth $30,000? Hard to say. Since no one is jumping at the chance to own it at that price -- and
the seller indicates he'll accept offers -- you'd have to say for the time being, "No." But over time it may.
And who's to say how much time.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Robert Edward Auctions
Is now online -- very exciting. I found it quite interesting that there are not 1, not 2 but 3 Sherry Magie error
cards being offered by REA this year:
http://bid.robertedwardauctions.com/lotseek.aspx?A=True&Adv=True&SType=1&Search=magie&show=1&auc=14
...but not a single Plank. It will be interesting to see what these go for. My guess is I got in on the cheap,
picking mine up for under $5K a year ago. I doubt the trimmed one can be had for less than $6K.
Lots of T206 cards in this auction -- I think over 100 lots worth. As one collector recently said, if you take T206
and reprints off of ebay, there would be little else by way over pre-WWI cards out there. Makes you really think about
the overall population and scarcity of T206 cards. Sure we collect them because they're nearly 100 years old.
But there were so many produced; even with how old they are they're still lurking about all over the place.
Monday, March 24, 2008
SGC Graded 60/Ex/5 ...or SGC 40/VG/3
I am starting to get the bug back for unsigned T206 cards. Over the weekend, I came awfully close to picking up
some common T206 cards graded 60 by SGC, but I didn't pull the trigger. While I put together my first set of T206 cards
by purchasing in bulk with raw cards, I do not think I want to go that route again. If I do re-enter the world of unsigned
T206 cards, I will want to maintain a condition focus that was absent the last time around. At the same time, I recognize
that one of the reasons I ignored condition for much of the latter part of my collection was just so that I could reach 521
faster. Having done that, I find that the SGC 60's have quite an allure this time around.
Of course, when I began my T206 set back in the tail end of the 1990's, I was focused on PSA 5 cards, too. So perhaps
after I get back into it -- if and when I get back into it -- I'll start scooping up blocks of cards. But I'm not sure
there is too much value there anymore. You used to be able to pick up a lot of 10 or 15 T206 cards for $10 or less per
card. No longer. Now you're paying $15-$20 per card at least -- and at those prices, you're not even getting a
fair number of SGC 40's. Heck, I'd rather just pick up SGC 40's...
...Hey, that's not a bad idea!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Welcome Home, Lefty!
Last night on ebay I was able to snare a signed rookie card of Hall of Fame southpaw Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (1927 W560
Strip Card). Since a 1933 Goudey Grove was one of my very first vintage card acquisitions when I was just 16 years old,
this particular card brings my collecting interests full circle nearly 20 years later. I am aware of at least one signed
1933 Goudey Grove in a private collection -- and yes, I would much prefer that color and beauty of that one -- but there is
something to be said for getting the player's first card signed. Plus this is my first card from the 1920's that I have
been able to obtain with a player's signature. So it adds a little more consistency to my signed pre-war card collection.
Interestingly, the number of available signed pre-war cards has really diminished in the marketplace over the past three
months. Indeed, the Grove marks my first signed card acquisition since December -- and it's not like I've been missing
any new ones on ebay. They're just not out there, folks. And if they are out there, they are being snapped up
by hungry pre-war autographed card collectors like myself.
In this regard, I would like to note that I find it almost bizarre that I haven't gotten a single offer on my signed T205
Larry Doyle card. As far as I know, there are two in existence -- and I own the other one. Why that isn't getting
any nibbles is beyond me.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Signed Cards Continue To Amaze Me
I received an interesting question from a signed card collector today, asking me about the merits of cards that have
been signed on the back. And it got me to writing more about my fascination with signed cards. My interest in
signed cards truly has gotten the best of me. The difference between holding a signed T206 of Doyle and an unsigned
T206 of Doyle is really dramatic for me -- the signed one means so much more, since it actually connects that Player to his
card; and also harkens back to when a previous collector some time in the past 100 years owned that card and sought Doyle's
signature. In short, the card and its history come to life with a signature.
But regarding whether a signature on the back or front is more desireable, I do not think there is a right answer. The
beauty of the signature is based on a number of factors, some of which are indescribable -- sometimes you just say, "Wow!
Beautiful signature." I really like some of my on reverse signatures -- Bridwell and Livingston come to mind -- but
the standout signatures in my collection are all on the front. The blue ink signature on my T201 Leifield is absolutely
stunning and vivid in its presentation.
So, while I have noticed that some cards demand a premium when signed on the front -- signed cards are so rare that it
often doesn't matter. In any event, as far as I can tell, Bridwell only signed on the back. So it's not like you
can compare a Bridwell front sig with a Bridwell reverse sig.
In any event, please keep on sending me your questions about signed cards or T206 generally. I would be happy to
respond! Send them to SignedT206@gmail.com
Monday, March 10, 2008
More From Lionel Carter
Imagine my excitement when my phoned me to tell me that I had another letter from Lionel Carter waiting for me when I
get home tonight. Mr. Carter and I have continued our correspondence about the precide whereabouts of where he acquired
the Eddie Plank. I look forward to our continued dialogue in his letter and will, of course, be sharing all of these
correspondence on my website on the Lionel Carter page.
Thanks for checking in!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Kuhn Collection -- T206 Clark Griffith
I don't know exactly what it was about this card, but I really found it fascinating. It was described as "Commissioner
Bowie Kuhn's first baseball card" and he supposedly treasured it because his first baseball experience was as a scoreboard
attendant for Clark Griffith's Washington Senators.
I just thought it was an interesting twist on T206 and is quite
in keeping with my research on T206 collectors and signed T206 cards as well, to the extent that this one has a personal touch,
too, if not a signature. For just under $500 with juice I couldn't resist -- though in the back of my head I recognize that
I just paid about $450 more than this card is worth without the provenance of the owner. Still, a Hall of Famers card owned
by a Hall of Famer.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
More T206s? I'm not so sure
I've been getting a lot of requests from my poll lately that viewers want to see more T206 cards. The biggest problem
I have with this is I'm not so sure I want to be purchasing any additional unsigned T206 cards any time soon. I do,
however, have some interesting ideas and ways in which to enhance the T206 collecting experience. In the near future,
I hope to unfold some of these ideas on this website. It will take some doing and a bit of elbow grease -- well, internet
grease -- to make some of these things happen. But in the end, I hope it will lend some additional functionality to
this website.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Have You Seen SGC's New Website?
It is totally smoking! Ironically, I used its high speed and efficiency to finally delete all of my stale and outdated
registries. But eventually, I'll climb back in and start adding to it. It is super fast and easy to use.
And if you use images with your cards, it tiles them in a really cool way. All in all a greate experience.
Kudos to SGC! They really know their customers and design their support and services accordingly.
Check it out here:
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Mastro Auctions Here We Come!
I am quite happy to be back and posting after a brief hiatus away from my home and my computer. I hope to be posting
more regularly in the coming days, weeks and months. Thanks for checking back in regularly and your e-mails of support
and requests for additional material to be added has have not gone unnoticed.
The latest news from my collection is that I have decided to consign 4 signed cards from my collection to Mastro Auctions
in April. The decision was not made lightly as there are a number of great auction houses out there. But Mastro
made the most competitive offer and was frankly the easiest to deal with. Since they were also the people that brought
me the Lionel Carter Plank, it was an easy fit.
The four cards have all been PSA authenticated and are as follows:
T202 ZACK WHEAT PSA 1 (PSA/DNA Cert. 04221889)
T206 GEORGE MCBRIDE PSA 3 (PSA/DNA Cert. 03096872)
T206 CHIEF MEYERS PSA 1 (PSA/DNA Cert. 03096873)
T206 LARRY DOYLE PORT. PSA 3 (PSA/DNA Cert. 03096874)
I have no idea what they will bring in a Mastro auction. I do know that I have been relatively unhappy with ebay
hammer prices on signed cards I have sold recently so I figured Mastro may be a better way to go to reach more specialized
collectors. I'll keep you posted on the results.
In the meantime, if you visit the signed T202 page or signed E95 page you can see the PSA/DNA certified T202 Wheat that
I am keeping (as well as the one I am selling) and the PSA/DNA certified E95 Doyle -- this one is a true BLAZER and I will
not be parting with it any time soon.
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