1993 Finest Refractors - HUNDREDS of them for sale!
mouschi
Posts: 687 ✭✭✭✭
These listings were posted on another forum by the user smapdi. There are a few auctions running now with HUNDREDS of '93 Finest refractors. Keep in mind: These were seeded at 1 a box, with the boxes going for around $650 each now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-710-1993-Finest-Refractor-1-50-w-Whitaker-Schilling-Sheffield-NMMT-PWCC/401681514790 - 710 refractors currently at over $2,000
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-510-1993-Finest-Refractor-51-100-w-Wade-Boggs-Grace-Molitor-NM-MT-PWCC/143083437040 - 510 refractors currently at over $2,500
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-800-1993-Finest-Refractor-101-150-w-Clemens-Clark-Gooden-Larkin-NMMT-PWCC/401681514791 - 800 refractors at $6,200 currently :eek:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hoard-1000-1993-Finest-Refractor-151-199-w-Mussina-Winfield-Raines-NMMT-PWCC/401681516804 - 1,000 refractors at $8,200 currently :eek::eek::eek:
This sparked a bit of debate as to what the print run is on these. It has long been said that they were limited to 241 copies. I did some sleuthing and found that between the PSA and BGS POP reports, nearly 300 Frank Thomas cards have been graded.
Surely, a lot of these are due to re-subbing, but to think anywhere near 100% of the print run has been graded is kind of silly.
Though 241 copies may seem huge by today's standards (I'll write more on this later), consider the Donruss Elite cards with monstrous 10,000 print runs and how well they sell. The '93 Finest is riddled with centering and refractor line issues, so when you find a well-centered, refractor line-free version of your guy, it can go for some good coin. Even if it comes out that the print run is double of what has been said all these years, I don't think that affects the value at this point.
Comments
Tanner, those links would work if the "[/url]" portion was removed from the active part, such that the url ended with the item number rather than included that extra coding.
I wonder how these lots were amassed, seeing as how only 1 refractor was issued per box (proven by the recent box break).
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
Wasn’t there a collector hoarding all these? It has to be him letting these go. Good to see a bunch released to the market. I might have to pick a couple up.
Thanks - done!
Wow - would have to think the price of the common refractors will come down. Looks like the hoarder is keeping most of the best HOF still.
Yeah, his name was Phil Gold. He used to have a publicly accessible spreadsheet showing his hoard, but the link doesn't work anymore.
Here's a really old article about the set where he is mentioned:
https://www.psacard.com/articles/articleview/4504/1993-topps-refractors-new-era-modern-sportscards
The last statement I could find by him was 2015 where he had a little over 3,800 of these refractors
Yeah, my first thought when I saw these was wondering if this was part of Phil G's hoard.
He seems like more of an arson guy
Currently Collecting:
Flickr: https://flickr.com/gp/184724292@N07/686763
I currently have 23 of Luis Gonzalez. I am interested in any of these that may be available.
TY for posting the article.
The quote, "PSA 10s of star players sell for prices in another stratosphere. Kent estimates that his two PSA 10 Ryans, for example, might fetch $12,000 to $15,000 each if offered publicly because of the scarcity and demand," from 2005 is an interesting time capsule.
I checked VCP. At the height of the boom in 2016, someone paid $12k+ for a Ryan, but most cards in this set in PSA 10 condition never broke $5k...ever. Even Griffey is in the $5-7 range today...
From a seller standpoint, selling this right after the holidays was not optimal. Unless there was a critical need for cash, I believe the seller left money on the table.
Looking at the scans, most of the stars and semi-stars such as Clemens, Will Clark, and Smoltz were o/c and likely not worth sending in for grading. I would be willing to bet that the others were cherry picked for PSA 10 candidates and the remainder is what was consigned.
eBay Store
Greg Maddux #1 Master SetGreg Maddux #2 Basic Set
Is PhilG still around?
@philipjgolden
I tried E-mailing Phil a couple of days ago but the address I have
is inactive. I tried PM and no response. When I was working on my
1994 Pinnacle Art. Prf. set he gave me 17 of the last 22 I needed.
No charge no trade. An amazing gift. There was no return address,
just a small box sent by UPS. To this day I would buy him a steak
dinner for his generosity.
Hi Folks,
Phil Gold passed away April 1st, 2017. He had congestive heart failure. I've been tasked with executing his estate. It's taken me some time to get to this point in the process. These are indeed his cards, although I can't say whether anyone else chose to consign 1993 Topps Finest Baseball Refractors with PWCC this round.
He'd have been happy about the attention they're getting, and I'm sure he would've taken up @Tibor on the steak dinner.
My condolences to Phil Gold's family and you. I will make a donation
in his name at the local "No Kill " shelter.
RIP Phil.