Show us and tell us about the card you would never sell
76collector
Posts: 986 ✭✭✭✭✭
OK, OK. I get it. If you offer me life changing money where I can put my kids through the best college and retire right now, of course I'd sell. But let's put it this way. What card in your collection would take at least an offer of 10x the current value of the card to get you to sell it ? For me it's my auto Rickey rc. Many of you know the story, but I will repeat the highlights. I've had the card since I was a kid, and got it auto'd with my son at the National. Some day I will give it to him. It's worth FAR more to me than it is to anyone else.
What is the Rickey rookie in your collection ?
Jeff
I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
18
Comments
Fun topic and great backstory to your Rickey!
Mine is a recent pickup and one I didn’t even know existed previously.
As a lifelong Dodgers and a southpaw nut (yes, we exist), this was an absolute must have.
3/4 of my Dodgers Mt. Rushmore on one card and hard signed. Jackie’s my 4th with much respect to Duke, Campy, Gil, Pee Wee and Big D.
Ironically, the non-HOFer was a bigger phenomenon than the other two icons combined.
Will truly never leave my PC, barring an emergency…and even then.
Beautiful card. Love how they used the Dodger blue sharpie to sign their autos.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
This card is part of my early collecting and for a long time as a kid was my ‘best card’.
Was used as collateral for my Dad to buy me a Frank Thomas jersey until the loan was paid. Used to go into his room as a 10 year old to visit it while parents were out and loan balance was still owing.
Also the first card I ever had graded in my late 20s.
Sold most of my collection 7 years ago but kept this one. Can’t imaging ever selling it, I don’t get attached to “stuff” but this Wayne is like family.
I grew up watching Michael Jordan at North Carolina and all throughout his career. I don’t think I will ever sell his Star cards.
It is odd, I truly NEVER sell anything but cannot think of a card I would not sell for 10x the current value. I guess nothing in my collection is so rare that I cannot replace it - so I would simply buy another one at 2-3x the current value and add other stuff along with it.
The closest for me would be my 1961 Billy Williams PSA 9 - simply because it is so difficult to find with any semblance of centering and is plagued with print dots. However, the price already reflects the difficulty so at 10X I would settle for an 8 That was just “OK” for my 1961 HOF set (down to the last few to complete) and I would buy a monster card or a bunch of cards to go with it.
My favorite cards in my collection come up often enough that I would take the 10x.
UPON FURTHER THOUGHT:
Some of the lesser players numbered to 10 in the 2019 Topps on Demand inspired by ‘55 Bowman set I would not sell at 10x because 10x would not be significant, and I am unlikely to find another. Still need an /10 Bichette and Sanchez to have them all. My 1/1s from that set also fall into this category, I will never get all 50 from the set (30 regular and 20 autos) but am up to 7 and hope to find more. This is a set I am fairly certain nobody cares about but me. It has been a fun project and helped me find something to collect while I reconciled how to move on when soured by the hobby after the trimming scandal. The card pictured is not mine just an example of one for sale on eBay as I have not taken photos or scanned mine.
If anyone has a Bichette or Sanchez like the one above, I would love to buy it!!!! So a card like the Loaisiga above would be the one I wouldn’t sell. Would never have guessed that until thinking about it for this thread.
The crown of my Rookie Cup autograph collection.
www.questfortherookiecup.com
I remember when Thurman died. I had a baseball game coming up the next day and I played catcher for 2 innings before moving back to SS. My own personal tribute as a Yankee fan.
BTW, SS was muuuuuuuuuuch easier. Love this card!
Signed 71 Munson may very well be "the" signed card grail of its decade. Hard pressed to think of another off the top of my head; obviously the big RCs like Brett and Schmidt are way up there, but Munson's tragic death and it being a rookie cup, a collector favorite action shot and set/design, more desirable than his RC... it is hard to top that. Plus the sheer rarity. It is simply not a piece you see in every collection, to say the least.
As a grade school kid of the 70's I grew up watching the Big Red Machine. I picked up this uncut Kahn's Johnny Bench rookie about 5 years ago. I doubt I would ever let this go as I would never be able to replace it. Perhaps one day one of the grading companies will produce a slab large enough to fit it.
It would take some silly silly offer but my Thurm isn’t going anywhere. I once hoped for 8.5 but today would probably grade a 5. Lol.
Love the items you guys are posting. Awesome stuff.
I played in all star games in central ohio against his son back in the 80's. We had a great team, and they always beat us, anyway. He was a hell of a ball player like his dad.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
That Bench Kahn’s is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
I have had this 30+ years.
The one that started it all…
…I have bought many cards since (and sold a few, too) and this one is my personal equivalent of Scrooge McDuck’s #1 dime…
…and graded at a time when I was scared to send cards my through the mail. 😬😂😉
Maybe when the Jersey City facilities open their doors, I’ll get into the holder I now (greatly) prefer.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Starting in 1980, my dad and I would go to the Niners' training camp in Rocklin. Until about 1984, you could literally stand outside the locker room and walk with the players as they went back to the dorm rooms where they stayed. They'd sign autographs and make small talk along the way. (After the Niners won a second Super Bowl, too many people showed up, so they roped space off for autographs. Most players still would stop to sign.)
These 3 were all signed in person over various years.
Funny note about the Rice autograph. I was old enough to drive myself, so I went on my own with a stack of about 20 Rice rookies. He was signing them as we walked. We got to his Porsche and there were still half or so left to sign. He joked, "How many of these do you have?" And then said "Get in." So I hopped in his Porsche and he signed the remaining ones while waiting in the drive-through at Burger King.
And edited to add: These are my three favorite players from my favorite team. Another reason I'd never sell them.
wow. what an awesome story, and a memory you will never forget. Now I wish I grew up in Cali, lol.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
The Rice story is incredible, what a great gesture and experience for you. Jealous.
Got this signed at halftime of a Seattle University game. The O'Brien brothers couldn't have been nicer and I will never sell it.
Great Card too. I still think 52-55 are the most eye appealing cards Topps ever produced. Love 54's.
Jeff
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
@HBaum shared with me an awesome story about Rickey. So, it got me to find the picture of us with him signing it, so I figured I'd share. This is probably a FULL topic in itself, but Rickey was one of the coolest players I've met. He made it a great experience, and I've had many other players not do that, and even make it seem like a burden that they are signing something for you.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
So I gotta ask: Did he also buy you BK?
I've posted about this one before but the story is that I purchased this card from my father(he owned a shop) back in the mid 80's as a teenager. I believe I paid $95 for it at the time and thought that it was a little much... according to the price guides but it was gorgeous and I had to have it. When grading came about, I sent it in and it has remained in that slab since.
Well, in 1999 I was getting divorced and needed some money. I sold it to a friend who wasn't a collector or even a baseball fan for that matter. I just told him it would be a good investment for him. Over the years I always told him I would one day buy it back. My father passed away in August 2017 and it really started weighing on me. About a year later was our 30 year high school reunion. My friend and his wife were there and we started discussing it. He completely understood why I wanted it back and we worked out a deal. He made money, as I promised, and I have the card back.
I can't imagine any reason why I would ever sell it. I guess if I got to a point that I really needed the money, maybe.
My biggest issue is that my daughters don't have any interest in cards and the sentimental value for them isn't the same as it is for me. Maybe that will change over time, but who know. For now, I'm just enjoying the car and the memories.
Great story, and an absolutely gorgeous card. Worthy of being a centerpiece of any collection.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
Beautiful Jackie and great story. On a side note, I am 100% adoptable, and I enjoy cards
I've been watching this thread since it was first posted, some really incredible cards with even better stories. I've been trying to figure out which card of mine would fit the bill. I have a few I'd never sell, my wife and sons got me a Walter Payton rookie for my birthday a couple of years ago, I've got a few rare cards from players I collect that just couldn't be replaced, but I think the one card that stands out above all the others is this one:
The first packs of cards I ever opened were 1979 Topps and from the first pack all I wanted was to find a Roger Staubach. I didn't fine one in the first packs I bought, but one day my best friend, a huge Redskins fan, came to school with a Staubach he'd pull the day before. I had to have it, we negotiated so much that his dad had to get involved, finally we settled on the Staubach being worth 2 all pros. I'm not sure what cards I traded him but I had the Staubach. It's been my favorite sports card of all time ever since. That original card is long gone, my childhood collection was destroyed in a basement flood when I was 10 or 11. I've spent the last decade or more chasing after this card. The PSA 10 I got from a collector that has now become a good friend. I've got packs with the card showing, Topps Vault proofs, autographed copies, all told I'm closing in on 100 1979 Topps Roger Staubach's. It's the one card I don't think I'd ever let go.
That's a gorgeous Munson! One of the best examples of that card I've ever seen.
www.questfortherookiecup.com
@Vagabond - Ha! Jerry did not buy me a Whopper. Didn't even offer. (Trust me, I was totally ok with that. I would have died from embarrassment if I had spilled anything in that car!)
Cool thread
Here’s my card I would have a tough time selling. It’s worth more to me than what it’s worth. I pulled this card before going into work one afternoon at my LCS. I believe it had to be 1993 since this was series two of Topps Stadium Club. I either sold the card or traded it a few months later, but I always loved the look of those Beam Teams especially Shaq’s.
Fast forward to the summer of 2016, my collecting best friend and I would frequent a candy store that still had old wax from the 80’s and 90’s. It was like going back in time every time we stepped foot in that place. It’s unfortunately dry now because other people found our honey hole
That day we both picked up a few boxes of 1992-93 Stadium Club basketball series 2 and some other goodies. As we made the pilgrimage back to his place to engage into some serious ripping. The first box didn’t yield anything good as far as Beam Team cards go, but box two made both of us jump up and down like two little kids winning a little league championship. We high fived each other for what seemed like 5 minutes. As I ripped my pack I noticed I pulled a beam team card, as I slowly moved the card above the beam team card down, I noticed a long arm above the rim which I knew I pulled the Shaq and within seconds of me yelling I hit Shaq baby , he yells out I hit MJ. I’m like are you serious like Dickey V would shout out calling an NCAA basketball game. Here’s the kicker we send in both cards to PSA and both cards pull 10’s. It will be hard for me to even consider selling this card, the memory alone is priceless.
I was in the 3rd grade when Garbage Pail Kids Series 3 came out, and all of the kids in my class were collecting them. I really wanted to start collecting them, so a kid in my class gave me this Joe Blow card that was in pretty rough shape. I finally convinced my mom to take me to the store so I could get a few packs, and that was the beginning of my card collecting experience. I started collecting basketball cards a couple of years later, but I'll always hang onto that Joe Blow card because it's the very first collector's card of any type that I ever owned.
Picked this one up about 6-7 years ago and will be the last one I would sell. Already made the mistake with my 1915 Cobb, and some cards you can’t replace unless you spend loads of money.
Gorgeous card, love the centering, and I can understand holding it until there was no choice but to sell. I sold my Mick rookie 4 or 5 years back, because life dealt me some expensive problems. I wish I hadn't had to sell it. Suffice it to say, it now sells for about 10x what I sold it for, so getting it back in the same condition will either never happen or will cost me dearly.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
I won't have too much trouble letting go of any of the cards when the time comes. Maybe a bit difficult with some of the inserts,rookies (Trout) that were pack pulled. They provided a great deal of excitement when the packs were ripped. So their selling will just be the letting go of the physical, but not the memory.
Even with the top edge issues that is one really nice Mantle.
Thank you for the nice comments guys. Top edge is not very visible unless I blow up the image like in this post, and I figure this cost me 2-3 grades on the card. Of course without it I would not be owning the card 😉 I did own a 53 Mantle PSA 8 back in 1999-2000 and sold it for a record price. Today that card would be an 8.5 since there were was not a .5 grade at that time. 76collector - feel your pain on the Mantle rookie sales. Sold them both around 2-3 years ago. I try not to think about them these days 😡
Always preferred the 53 over the 52. Has a patriotic fell to it, what with the red,white,blue colors.
Is anyone going to be offended if I submit two cards?
Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, I chased the hottest rookies and prospects like any other kid, but I also thought I had a really good appreciation of hall of famers and vintage. I grew up less than an hour from Cooperstown, and went to the Induction Ceremonies growing up starting in 1987. In the late 80s, Induction Ceremony weekend was not like it is now, with in person signings being jammed down your throat. There was certainly more of an emphasis on cards, especially vintage. I can't remember the year, but in either 1987 or 1988, I decided I was going to save for a Mickey Mantle card for the following year (I was around 7 or 8). I saved all year round, birthdays, Christmas, etc and saved over $40 for the next Induction Weekend (which was either 1988 or 1989, I can't remember). Over $40 for a 10 year old in 1988 or so was a ton of money.
I purchased this 1966, miscut Mickey Mantle at the VFW show (which is still happening by the way) and have been in love with it ever since. I believe I paid $35 for it, which I felt like was a steal since I didn't blow my entire budget. Finally got it slabbed in 2016 or so. I was so proud of this as a kid, to have the willpower to save this much money and work so hard to buy something. In addition, while my friends were huge into prospects, they certainly understood vintage and the power of Mickey Mantle. You have no idea the flex I had with this card amongst my friends. I would NEVER sell this card.
In the early 90s, I became a huge autograph hound, chasing minor league guys at Syracuse Chiefs and Utica Bluesox games. If there was a guy coming through the International League, I was probably going to get him. A huge focus was the Richmond Braves, who were absolutely loaded: Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Keith Mitchell, Javy Lopez, Mark Wohlers, Mike Kelly, etc. After they came through, the next big team on my agenda was going to be the Columbus Clippers in a couple of years, with Derek Jeter, Ruben Rivera, Mariano Rivera (although he wasnt a huge prospect), Jorge Posada and Brien Taylor (who would never make it to Columbus).
By the time 1995 rolled around when they were coming through town, I had moved onto other things. It was the summer going into my senior year of high school, and parties, drinking, girls, the mall and summer league sports were was more important than graphing at minor league stadiums chasing around guys who werent that much older than me. But when Columbus came into town, as a lifelong Yankees fan who had loaded up on cards of these guys, I still had to go chase them for one game.
The only went the first night of the series, which in my experience was always the best night to go. I remember getting Mo inside the stadium. He was quiet and sort of aloof, but signed. Nothing like the Mo we see now, but I believe he was more reserved then because he didnt speak English well. After the game the parking lot was sort of a madhouse. It always was when Columbus came into town. At one point, Ruben Rivera, Mo Rivera, and Posada had come out and were signing in the parking lot. I heard the clubhouse door open, and Jeter was standing there. Myself and another grapher ran over to him immediately; other people were focused on the other guys. Jeter took the others guy's binder first and must have signed 6-8 cards for him. I go next, hand him my binder (which I believe had 8 cards) and as he takes it other people realized what is going on and run over. He signs one, and hands it back to me. At the time I had a ton of 93 UD minors signed, and was disappointed that was not the one he signed. In hindsight, given that he signed his Topps gold rookie, I could not be happier.
In hindsight, I wish I would have double dipped him. But at the time I wasn't really into it, I was there because I was a Yankees fan who had followed these guys in their minor league career and had tons of cards of them. Happy I went! I got this slabbed also in 2016 or so. I would never sell this.
Fabulous stories!!! How could you ever sell such treasures? You couldn’t!!!
Thanks for sharing x 2.
Live long, and prosper.
Hey Cooptown,
Awesome Story! Yeah VFW card shows were always pretty cool.
@Cooptown , Great story, and of course not, it just shows your passion. Great stories and cards.
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman