Attendance at this year's National continued to be very strong on Friday. While no figures are made available during the show, it wouldn't be surprising if this year's event is among the most well attended since the wild and wooly early 1990s. The crowd is an interesting mix. Vintage card collectors and investors, autograph collectors, those looking for certain memorabilia … [Read more...]
Notes: Mantle’s Message, Big Vintage Buy, Famous Belt for Auction
Promoters asked Mickey Mantle to sign all kinds of autograph inscriptions when he did shows in the 1980s and early 90s. Much of the time he obliged. Caught at the right (or wrong) time, Mantle was also known to sign a few baseballs with phrases that weren’t necessarily ‘G’ rated. Sometimes Mantle scribbled messages that were just funny and one of those is coming to auction … [Read more...]
’60 Topps Set Bought, Sold for $40,000 in Short Order
One of the better 1960 Topps Baseball card sets in the hobby was broken up and sold recently with several cards either setting or approaching hobby records. New Jersey-based Just Collect offered the set, which had been virtually a lifetime project for a collector who opted to sell after a move to the west coast. All 572 cards had been graded by PSA, with none rating lower … [Read more...]
Collection of Vintage Autographed Cards at Auction
A huge collection of nearly 500 individual autographed trading cards, all encapsulated and authenticated by PSA/DNA, is up for auction card-by-card. Dating from the late 1930s through the recent past, the cards are being offered by New Jersey-based Just Collect. “We started assembling them back in the summer and early fall, when we bought two very large autograph … [Read more...]
Vintage Buy of the Week: Ultra-Rare 1915 E106 Nap Lajoie
Many average collectors may have never seen one in person or even known they exist but you could probably round up every 1915 E106 American Caramel card and fit them into a good-sized shoe box. It’s one of those early sets that rarely gets any attention but is thousands of times harder to collect than something like T206. In cooperation with Just Collect, our Vintage Buy of … [Read more...]
Vintage Buy of the Week: Hockey Card Bonanza
Sometimes you just have to choose. A long-time hockey card collector has picked one hobby over another and the result will send more than two dozen vintage hockey card sets, near sets and single cards into the marketplace later this fall. Our Vintage Buy of the Week from Just Collect involves a collector of automobiles and cards from Philadelphia came to the realization … [Read more...]
Vintage Buy of the Week: All ‘7’ 1957 Topps Near Set
While some novice collectors who might consider buying graded cards get scared away when they see prices for near mint to mint and mint pre-1960s cards, the truth is that dropping down to the near mint ‘7’ or ex/mt ‘6’ level can provide some very attractive, high quality cards at fairly reasonable prices. The owner of the collection that makes up our Vintage Buy of the Week … [Read more...]
Vintage Buy of the Week: Cards Avoid Dumpster, Head for Auction
There are still people out there who aren’t sure old baseball cards are worth saving. Maybe it’s the multitude of stories in the mainstream media lamenting the “death of baseball cards” as they reference the infamous era of the late 1980s and early 90s. Whatever the case, one Canadian man resisted the urge to pitch an old box of cards he’d collected as a youngster in the … [Read more...]
Cobb, Young, Wagner, Mantle Highlight New Just Collect Auction
Dozens of rare and high grade vintage cards, including a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, T206 Cy Young and 1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb are being offered at auction this week as Just Collect brings some of its major recent purchases to market. The company’s auction runs through Sunday night on eBay, with bidding now underway. Many of the cards being offered originated in the … [Read more...]
Chris Levy: National is About Meeting Old, New Friends
Looking back at my first National - Atlantic City in 2003 - I am struck by how much both I and the hobby I love has changed in just a decade. Having frequently attended recent Nationals and regional shows, participated in online discussion groups, and been part of numerous auctions and transactions, I found that every few feet I stepped brought me closer to a friend or an … [Read more...]