Ali RC PSA 9

addicted2ebay

Was looking to pick up a Ali RC for my collection and was surprised to see the fluctuation in price for a psa 9! Wow

It’s a amazing hobby when a card can go from 40k to 15k in a matter of a few months.

Reminds me of the 63 Topps psa 8.5 rose rc that sold for $41,000 in 2016 but now goes for 10k.

I think I’ll just look for a psa 5 lol

ReggieCleveland

Shall we have the Ali rookie card conversation for the umpteenth time?

That's not a criticism of you @addicted2ebay . I'm really not even criticizing the conversation, as I enjoy seeing people's take on it. But the problem is there will never be a hobby-wide consensus on what Ali's "rookie card" is. Because of this, different people go after different Ali cards as their #1. So on top of the usual "who is around for the auction when it goes live" stuff that happens with every major sportscard you also have to factor in that it's going to be even more divided up than usual. There's another issue as well.

People new to boxing cards don't understand its unique dynamic. They jump into it coming from a baseball/football background and assume that the market behaves the same way. They see Ali, think "he's the greatest of all-time," pick their rookie card (mostly the Hemmetts for newbs) and go all-in thinking it can only go up. It's the earliest issue for Ali, what could possibly prevent the impending windfall?

The four major sports operate, for the most part, linearly. You start at the beginning with highest demand and move forward in time with demand decreasing (yes, I know there are exceptions). Boxing cards don't do that at all. I can't think of a single fighter whose most in-demand card is their first. You'd probably be hard pressed for most fighters to put their first card in their top-5 or even top-10. Tell me what you think Jack Dempsey's rookie card is and I'll tell you 20 cards that are more in-demand, more rare, and more valuable.

But folks continue to try to put a square peg into a round hole. They want there to be a consensus Ali rookie and some believe they can will it to happen. In many cases a person's vote comes down to what they own. You've got to decide for yourself how you define a "card." There's some debate that the Hemmetts were even intended to be cut up. Some people don't count strip cards as "cards," or as qualifying as a rookie card, so where does the Hemmetts fit in for those people?

Personally, I don't care. None of the contenders that have been brought forth hold my interest. I'm much more interested in Ali's cards from 1966-1969. I just find some of those aesthetically more interesting and much more difficult to find. The whole rookie card thing was born out of a concept of rarity -- the older you go back the harder it is to find it. So for me, I just look at each Ali card on its own merits and judge their true rarity. If you do that, you'll find his rarest cards aren't the ones purported to be his earliest.

Arthur

wrestlingcardking

I agree with Arthur here..... on the other hand in the previous post addicted mentioned a PSA 5 and I just so happen to have one listed.....LOL. I know you it was a figure of speech. :-)