When PSA 1 (MK) ‘Poor’ is a joyous occasion! - New 1933 ZeeNut PCL Joe DeMaggio (Batting) found...

1951WheatiesPremium

I had posted this in December pickups stating I wasnt sure if it would get a numeric grade. Well, the verdict is in...

PSA 1 (MK)

I’m over the moon, fellas! OVER THE MOON! Just the 200th card from the set graded by PSA, only the 10th graded without a coupon and just the 6th to earn a numeric grade (VG 3 is highest). This little beauty hits the pop report tomorrow...

1933-1936 ZeeNut PCL Joe ‘DeMaggio’ DiMaggio (Batting)

I really enjoy sharing our thoughts on sports, our new pickups and advice and information around here. So it feels good to share this special little guy with all of you - especially around the holidays!

May God Bless you and yours and may Santa bring you all the scarcest card on your wish list!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

PSARich

Love those old regional cards. Regardless of the grade, they are beauties and a reflection of their time. Congratulations!

perkdog

Congrats! That is absolutely awesome

1951WheatiesPremium

@perkdog said:
Congrats! That is absolutely awesome

Thanks, Paul!

This card was the reason that whole debate started over Joe’s Yankee ranking (and then the comparisons to Ted) in the first place!

JBrules

Way to go!!!! Congrats.

perkdog

@1951WheatiesPremium said:

@perkdog said:
Congrats! That is absolutely awesome

Thanks, Paul!

This card was the reason that whole debate started over Joe’s Yankee ranking (and then the comparisons to Ted) in the first place!

Well that’s a good reason Tim! I can totally relate to how ecstatic you must be, I’ve had a few really tough cards for my set come back altered after taking a chance on EBay and being disappointed after holding my breath for almost a month waiting. Again congrats

LOTSOS

Super excited for you! It's always nice when you get positive results on a sub you think may be close one way or the other.

1951WheatiesPremium

@LOTSOS said:
Super excited for you! It's always nice when you get positive results on a sub you think may be close one way or the other.

Thanks - as I mentioned , I’d have been happy with ‘Authentic’, too. The card is rare enough where I’d have been happy no matter what.

This is just a huge bonus. And a pretty good bump to it’s value, I’d guess...

miwlvrn

Awesome, congrats! I've got some items in my own collection where I was thrilled with a Poor 1 (MK) result myself as opposed to just Authentic, so I can appreciate your feelings there!

Stone193

I’m over the moon, fellas! OVER THE MOON!

Congratulations Tim.

I sure like your enthusiasm too!

1951WheatiesPremium

@Stone193 said:

I’m over the moon, fellas! OVER THE MOON!

Congratulations Tim.

I sure like your enthusiasm too!

Much appreciated, Mike.

Can’t wait until he gets home next week.

addicted2ebay

That’s a sweet card in any grade!

1951WheatiesPremium

Looks even sweeter now...

CW

Classic early rookie card of a legend. Congrats! Looks great in the new holder.

1951WheatiesPremium

@CW said:
Classic early rookie card of a legend. Congrats! Looks great in the new holder.

Thank you so much.

I love it.

1951WheatiesPremium

I was wondering if anyone had any VCP Data on this issue?

PSA APR has captured only one sale...

baseballfan

great looking card, congrats!!

Estil

Okay if no one else is gonna ask this I will, what's the point of a PSA 1 having a qualifier? Isn't PSA 1 already the lowest grade? It kinda makes it sound like a PSA 0.5 or PSA -1 or something

Anyway I'm guessing that's an exceptionally rare card right?

1951WheatiesPremium

@Estil

I think the MK qualifier is there for accuracy and to put the card in its proper place on the report. There’s a bit of writing on the back ‘1934 CARD’, ‘Joe D’, SF 33-35’ and ‘NY 36-51’ were all in pencil. I’m unbothered by it but it’s supposed to be blank and so PSA discloses it. A similar looking card may have no writing on the back and be deemed ‘better’.

Yes, these are pretty rare (at least in terms of the population reports for SGC and PSA). The 1933-36 ZeeNut PCL Set has two Joe DeMaggio cards; the ‘Batting’ pose is from 1934 and the ‘Throwing’ pose is from 1935. This is just the 10th PSA graded copy* to surface of the ‘Batting’ pose card; the top is a VG (3) and I guess, depending on your point of view, mine is in ‘6th place’ as there are 5 graded higher and 4 lower, those that have been deemed ‘’Authentic.’ These cards are considered ‘hand cut’ because they’ve lost their ‘Coupon’ at the bottom, which made these cards longer and were redeemable for prizes back in 1934. There are two copies of the ‘Batting’ card with the coupon still attached in PSA slabs.

*SGC has 7 copies on their pop report.

1951WheatiesPremium

PSA Population Report

Estil

Wow, a card with "3" as the best grade? That is exceptionally rare...and not fake rare like all those billions of 1/1 stamped cards but honest to goodness for real exceptionally rare.

1951WheatiesPremium

@Estil said:
Wow, a card with "3" as the best grade? That is exceptionally rare...and not fake rare like all those billions of 1/1 stamped cards but honest to goodness for real exceptionally rare.

Indeed.

As such, I’d like to mention with

@ReggieCleveland
@LarkinCollector

These two gentlemen helped me know what to look for in the first place. I lived in the 1951-1989 world as a collector most of my life but have recently moved into some items of the prewar period. Their help with navigating player checklists gave me an idea of what I might see out there for Yankees Rookies...

Thanks to you both.

ReggieCleveland

That's an awfully nice thing to say, Tim, but I'd say your passion for finding it led you to it more than anything I could have done. It always makes me happy to see the perfect hobby marriage of card & collector and this definitely fits that description. I hope you get to enjoy the card for a very long time.

Arthur

1951WheatiesPremium

@ReggieCleveland said:
That's an awfully nice thing to say, Tim, but I'd say your passion for finding it led you to it more than anything I could have done. It always makes me happy to see the perfect hobby marriage of card & collector and this definitely fits that description. I hope you get to enjoy the card for a very long time.

Arthur

Somehow, I missed this comment.

I appreciate your humility and reiterate my gratitude.

These pre-1950s Yankees issues are a blast though my wish list has grown immensely...

LarkinCollector

And I missed both of your comments, but echo Arthur's thoughts. Glad you're having fun and always enjoy seeing your latest discoveries

1951WheatiesPremium

@LarkinCollector

Much obliged to you as well.

Confession? I look at it every day. More than once. Still. Wonder when it wears off. Hopefully never...

addicted2ebay

I owned that card in a 2.5 years ago.. wish I had it back! Very rare.

1951WheatiesPremium

@addicted2ebay said:
I owned that card in a 2.5 years ago.. wish I had it back! Very rare.

Very cool - do you by any chance have a picture? Haven’t seen the 2.5 but have seen most of the others at this point. Also, a bit cheeky, but when did you move it and what did you get? Trade? Sale? Auction? Of course that’s only if you don’t mind sharing such details.

It’s up near the top of my collection for ‘best card I own’ - for sure. I plan on holding onto it a long time. On price alone, it’s truly a case of ‘Ill never see that card again once I let it go’ for me.

I’m still somewhat shocked that this card was just the 10th in a PSA slab; they’ve always been described as ‘exceedingly rare’ in any auction listing I could find for it (as I tried to come up with both an offer and a value) but I do wonder how many more are out there raw. DiMaggio was a very popular player and I know there are many old school collectors that keep a vast majority (even the entirety) of their collection raw.

It’s just such a pretty little piece once in PSA plastic...

thesouthdoesitagain

I use to own the 1934 'batting' version in Auth from REA in 2014, sold it a yr later to a Net54 member (Ian). I believe he has a autographed version of one as well.
That's why I been after the WWG 1936 card, his RC. I missed out last year, along with the Pebble Beach stuff in a auction.

1951WheatiesPremium

@thesouthdoesitagain said:
I use to own the 1934 'batting' version in Auth from REA in 2014, sold it a yr later to a Net54 member (Ian). I believe he has a autographed version of one as well.
That's why I been after the WWG 1936 card, his RC. I missed out last year, along with the Pebble Beach stuff in a auction.

Came across it data mining. Really nice looking.

stevek

I know this sounds funny, but i sorta like the pencil writing on the back of that card...considering the grade, that it's not on the front of the card, and the card has a blank back.

To me it sorta adds "flavor" to the card for some reason.

1951WheatiesPremium

@stevek

I appreciate the kind words. Really; I’m crazy for this card and I am happy any time it’s brought up. I guess that’s rather obvious but i don’t have a ton of people in my life who have any idea what’s so special about it. Two of my friends collect like I do; that’s about it.

While I typically don’t buy marked cards from 1951 forward (though I’d never say never), I don’t mind them on the vintage blank backed issues at all - especially if they pertain to the player. I like that it’s got some ‘flavor’ as you call it, too. Almost looks like someone was doing the dating work, the back for scratch workings. And obviously, it can help keep the prices down.

In researching the cards and set, I guess they were used fairly often for a game called ‘card shooting’ which sounded remarkably similar to the card flipping of my youth with a few subtle rule changes, like every schoolyard and neighborhood had. San Francisco, California being no different. I remember when I really needed a win, I had a certain ‘big guns’ I’d bust out only in those circumstances and I imagine this was one was someones big gun for a long time. He’s certainly got wear but it’s also very clean in the center of the card around the image of Joe. Fair to say, this card looks pretty well shot (pun intended). There’s no doubt about it. And yet measured against some of the peers I’ve found, this one ranks pretty high in terms of overall aesthetics. The part of the image lost top right is relatively unimportant and no crease touches Joe in any significant way. It’s just a little rough around the edges, sort of like the man himself.

In any event, this copy definately saw some action in its day before it found its way encased in the hobby’s most prestigious holder. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And with under 25 slabbed copies floating around, I don’t have much of a choice, now, do I?

stevek

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
@stevek

I appreciate the kind words. Really; I’m crazy for this card and I am happy any time it’s brought up. I guess that’s rather obvious but i don’t have a ton of people in my life who have any idea what’s so special about it. Two of my friends collect like I do; that’s about it.

While I typically don’t buy marked cards from 1951 forward (though I’d never say never), I don’t mind them on the vintage blank backed issues at all - especially if they pertain to the player. I like that it’s got some ‘flavor’ as you call it, too. Almost looks like someone was doing the dating work, the back for scratch workings. And obviously, it can help keep the prices down.

In researching the cards and set, I guess they were used fairly often for a game called ‘card shooting’ which sounded remarkably similar to the card flipping of my youth with a few subtle rule changes, like every schoolyard and neighborhood had. San Francisco, California being no different. I remember when I really needed a win, I had a certain ‘big guns’ I’d bust out only in those circumstances and I imagine this was one was someones big gun for a long time. He’s certainly got wear but it’s also very clean in the center of the card around the image of Joe. Fair to say, this card looks pretty well shot (pun intended). There’s no doubt about it. And yet measured against some of the peers I’ve found, this one ranks pretty high in terms of overall aesthetics. The part of the image lost top right is relatively unimportant and no crease touches Joe in any significant way. It’s just a little rough around the edges, sort of like the man himself.

In any event, this copy definately saw some action in its day before it found its way encased in the hobby’s most prestigious holder. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And with under 25 slabbed copies floating around, I don’t have much of a choice, now, do I?

That card presents extremely well for a PSA 1 (MK) for reasons you mentioned. If you ever decided to sell it, without a doubt that card would sell for way more than an "average" PSA 1 (MK) of the same card.

I'm going to take a guess on how many different times you've looked at it in the past 24 hours. I'm going to say around 10 because I think that's what most card collectors, including me, would have done with such an interesting card coming back from PSA.

addicted2ebay

@1951WheatiesPremium said:

@addicted2ebay said:
I owned that card in a 2.5 years ago.. wish I had it back! Very rare.

Very cool - do you by any chance have a picture? Haven’t seen the 2.5 but have seen most of the others at this point. Also, a bit cheeky, but when did you move it and what did you get? Trade? Sale? Auction? Of course that’s only if you don’t mind sharing such details.

It’s up near the top of my collection for ‘best card I own’ - for sure. I plan on holding onto it a long time. On price alone, it’s truly a case of ‘Ill never see that card again once I let it go’ for me.

I’m still somewhat shocked that this card was just the 10th in a PSA slab; they’ve always been described as ‘exceedingly rare’ in any auction listing I could find for it (as I tried to come up with both an offer and a value) but I do wonder how many more are out there raw. DiMaggio was a very popular player and I know there are many old school collectors that keep a vast majority (even the entirety) of their collection raw.

It’s just such a pretty little piece once in PSA plastic...

Sorry I did some looking (bought and sold so many cards I forget sometimes) but I owned the 3.5 batting joe with no coupon.

Bought for 3k then sold for 4K. Quietcornertrading later sold it for 7.5k
At the time I mostly just “flipped” cards but now I hang onto rare ones like that in my collection. Probably worth much more now.

I have dozens of stories about cards I sold quick that later ballooned in value unfortunately. The 79 opc Gretzky psa 9 and a 52 topps unopened wax pack were some of the biggest. Probably left 50k on the table.

1951WheatiesPremium

@stevek said:

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
@stevek

I appreciate the kind words. Really; I’m crazy for this card and I am happy any time it’s brought up. I guess that’s rather obvious but i don’t have a ton of people in my life who have any idea what’s so special about it. Two of my friends collect like I do; that’s about it.

While I typically don’t buy marked cards from 1951 forward (though I’d never say never), I don’t mind them on the vintage blank backed issues at all - especially if they pertain to the player. I like that it’s got some ‘flavor’ as you call it, too. Almost looks like someone was doing the dating work, the back for scratch workings. And obviously, it can help keep the prices down.

In researching the cards and set, I guess they were used fairly often for a game called ‘card shooting’ which sounded remarkably similar to the card flipping of my youth with a few subtle rule changes, like every schoolyard and neighborhood had. San Francisco, California being no different. I remember when I really needed a win, I had a certain ‘big guns’ I’d bust out only in those circumstances and I imagine this was one was someones big gun for a long time. He’s certainly got wear but it’s also very clean in the center of the card around the image of Joe. Fair to say, this card looks pretty well shot (pun intended). There’s no doubt about it. And yet measured against some of the peers I’ve found, this one ranks pretty high in terms of overall aesthetics. The part of the image lost top right is relatively unimportant and no crease touches Joe in any significant way. It’s just a little rough around the edges, sort of like the man himself.

In any event, this copy definately saw some action in its day before it found its way encased in the hobby’s most prestigious holder. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And with under 25 slabbed copies floating around, I don’t have much of a choice, now, do I?

That card presents extremely well for a PSA 1 (MK) for reasons you mentioned. If you ever decided to sell it, without a doubt that card would sell for way more than an "average" PSA 1 (MK) of the same card.

I'm going to take a guess on how many different times you've looked at it in the past 24 hours. I'm going to say around 10 because I think that's what most card collectors, including me, would have done with such an interesting card coming back from PSA.

If 10 is a ‘normal’ number where I’m not at all psychotic then sure! Let’s go with 10...