Serious Question for the Vintage Collectors - AKA I need help

TheRoach

I am a modern collector and always have been. I can appreciate the vintage stuff, but I cannot relate so it makes it less fun for me to collect. Anyway, my mom remarried a few years ago and she lived with her husband and his mother. Unfortunately, my stepfather's mother died about 2 years ago. After they cleaned up her stuff, they found a small stack of cards in a little cedar box she kept for he whole life. after reserach, I realized that they were E. Callahan Hall of Fame cards from like 1951 or so. It looked to be a complete set, but after buying the big Baseball Beckett, I realized there was some late additions.

I didn't mention this before, but my stepfather gave me the cards because he knew that I collected baseball cards. So now that I owned them, I decided to get a idea of what they were selling for on Ebay. I said before, I don't collect vintage, but I am a pro when it comes to grading a card with my eyes. A few of the cards have the "ghosting" or text from the back slightly coming through the front. But for the most part, these cards are in phenomenal shape! Sharp corners, edges, etc.. the centering is usually off from top to bottom, kinda like 65/35 I'd say.

Ok, to make a long story short, I noticed one card on Ebay in like PSA 8 form was selling for hundreds more than anything else. It was the Albert E. Chandler card. he was the High Commissioner of Baseball at one time. I quickly flew through my little stack and found it! No bull$hit, it is the best conditioned card out of the whole stack! Razor corners, smooth edges, very slight "ghosting" and 50/50 centering side to side. The only slight downfall this card has is the centering from top to bottom. It's maybe 70/30. Other than that, the card is flawless. Not even a slight ding on any of the corners, and the surface is still brighter with no yellowing on the front or back. My question to anyone that could help would be:

Is this really the scarcest card in the set like one Ebayer said in his description?

What would this card be worth in a PSA 9 grade?

Is there a decent market for these cards?

I can send anyone a scan if they want to see it. I am just looking for a bit of help before I submit it to PSA. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out. I appreciate it.


TheRoach

theBobs

Jay can answer better. Also, search old threads here as Zardoz broke a huge collection awhile back.

Happy Chandler is one of the rarest cards in the set.

aro13

roach - Chandler is the scarcest card in the set and the most expensive. There have been 0 nines currently graded and 6 8's.
The Chandler lists in the SMR for $1000 in PSA 9.
I think there is a decent market for these cards. In the case of some of the cards, Barrow, Connelly, Landis, Ban Johnson, Spalding, they do not appear in many sets and for people trying to put together Hall of Fame collections these are good options. There are 5 people currently on the registry working on this set. Zardoz who is #1 on the finest list sold off his cards (I believe last year) and did quite well from what I remember.
If you are interested in selling them individually before getting them graded (or after) I would be interested in the Barrow and Connelly cards.

TheRoach

Thank you guys very much. I really appreciate the help. I will go check my others for the guys you listed and get back to you. Thanks again!


TheRoach

theBobs

Give Jay a call tomorrow (qualitycards.com). He will gladly fill you in. He used to have a few in inventory, not sure if they are still there...

jimrupprecht

Tha Callahan HOF set was produced for the HOF by the same company that printed the "Who's Who in Baseball" books. The set was originally produced in 1950, then updated in 1952, 1954 and 1955 as new members were inducted into the HOF. There are 82 unique cards in the base set. There are also 10 variations currently known for a total of 92 cards in the extended set.

Many of the 1950 sets were produced and sold, however the updated sets were printed in very low numbers and the cards from them (and some of the variations) are quite scarce. The Chandler card is from the 1952 printing. Though not the scarcest nor hardest to find card in the set, it trades quite high as it is one of the few cards he appears on. A properly-graded PSA-8 example will bring between $600 and $1000. If a Mint-9 example ever came up for sale, it would sell for at least $3,000 and could make twice that or more in the right venue. The rarest cards in the set are the 1955 additions, among which is the DiMaggio. Properly-graded PSA-8 examples of this card trade between $800 and $1,200.

The set is exceptionally condition sensitive... the high-gloss finish scratches quite easily, and the stock was heavilly bleached and very brittle. Mint-9 cards are quite exceptional, and if a Callahan ever ends up in a PSA-10 holder it will almost certainly not deserver to be there. As you examine these cards, handle them very carefully... Simply shuffling through them can scratch them enough to lower their condition one or more grade points.

The "set" Zardoz has listed in the registry came from a group he purchased, graded and sold a year ago. On the low end, his PSA-8 "commons" traded for $20-$30 while, IIRC, his Chandler and DiMaggio cards each brought more than $900.

I've been collecting and researching this set since the mid 1980s. To date, 1500 or so of these cards have been graded by PSA... I personally have been responsible for more than 30 percent to those submissions (either myself or through dealers). If you'd like checklists, rarity information, pricing, etc., please PM or email me and I'd be happy to oblige. I also have fairly extensive contacts with collectors who are building this set and are looking for some of the cards.

(Edited to say) Oh, one more thing... disregard both the SMR and the set-registry weightings for this set... neither is remotely accurate.

-
Jim

TheRoach

Thanks Jim! I appreciate your insight very much. After looking through them once again, it appears there may be alot more 7's and 8's than 9's. very small little imperfections in the corners. Little dings here and there I suppose.

I am sending in the following cards and would appreciate it if someone could give me an idea of what to look for if they came back as an 8 or a 9. I have a pretty good feeling on these particular ones.


Albert B. Chandler

Mel Ott

Lefty Grove

Cy Young

Rube Waddell

Jimmie Collins

Buck Ewing


I have a Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, but both have small dings in the right corner. Not a bend at all. Both would qualify as an 8 or so in my opinion. I also have a Lou Gehrig that is really nice with no scratches or dings on the corners, but the whole bottom looks like it was slightly rough cut. Great centering as well on this baby.


Thanks again for the help and I would appreciate any ballpark values to expect on the few cards I listed above if they were to come back in PSA 8 or 9 condition.

Who else is not really a big name, but a tough one to find in decent shape that I might look out for? Thanks again!


Sincerely,

TheRoach

jimrupprecht

Ok, here goes.... this will be long. Pricing is for properly graded PSA 8 cards.

1950 Issue "commons"... these can be had for $20 - $40 each depending on the player
**Eddie Collins, **George Sissler, **Mickey Cochrane, **Charles Gehringer, Grover Alexander, Cap Anson, Roger Bresnahan, Dan Brouthers, Mordecai Brown, Morgan Bulkeley, Jesse Burkett, Alexander Cartwright, Henry Chadwick, Frank Chance, Jack Chesbro, Fred Clarke, Jimmie Collins, Charles Comiskey, Candy Cummings, Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Johnny Evers, Buck Ewing, Jimmie Foxx, Frank Frisch, Clark Griffith, Lefty Grove, Rogers Hornsby, Carl Hubbell, Hughie Jennings, Ban Johnson, Willie Keeler, Mike Kelly, Napoleon Lajoie, Kenesaw Landis, Connie Mack, Christy Mathewson, Tommy McCarthy, Joe McGinnity, John McGraw, Kid Nichols, Jim O'Rourke, Mel Ott, Herb Pennock, Eddie Plank, Charles Radbourne, Wilbert Robinson, Albert G. Spaulding, Tris Speaker, Joe Tinker, Pie Traynor, Rube Waddell, Hans Wagner, Ed Walsh, George Wright, Museum Exterior (...playing days are concluded), Museum Interior (no date).

**Eddie Collins: two back variations ("Eddie had every"... and "He was brilliant..." Second is more rare)
**George Sissler: two back variations ("Sissler today is"... and "Sissler was chosen..." Second is more rare)
**Mickey Cochrane: Name misspelled Cochran on the 1950 version, corrected later. Correct version is more rare)
**Charles Gehringer: Cap color variations (light vs. dark). At one time I believed that a dark cap variation existed and that everything graded out there right now was the white cap var. I am becoming more convinced each day that the reverse is true and that the cap was darkened very early in the printing process. In any case, (thought there are a couple I have not seen) all of the graded cards are one variation, and the other one is exceptionally rare.
The museum cards are both low pop...

1950 Issue cards that bring a premium
Ty Cobb ($75-$125), Lou Gehrig($100-150), Walter Johnson($20-$100... this one trades higher because it is listed higher in the Standard Catalog), Babe Ruth($125-$200), Cy Young ($50-$100).

1952 Update... included in about 10-15% of all sets sold.
Albert B. "Happy" Chandler ($600-$1000, trades high because this one one of his only cards)
Harry Heilmann (Two versions... one with an incomplete frame, the other with a complete frame... complete frame trades $35-$45, incomplete $50-$60)
Paul Waner (Two versions... one with an incomplete frame, the other with a complete frame... complete frame trades $35-$45, incomplete $50-$60)

1954 Update... included in less than 10 % of all sets. Pop scarcity dictates price here. These should trade $50-$75 but have gone as high as $250
Edward Barrow, Tom Connolly, Dizzy Dean, Bill Klem, Walter "Rabbit" Maranville, Al Simmons, Bill Terry, Bobby Wallace, Harry Wright, **Chief Bender (immortal name), **Bill Dickey (...right handed...), **Bill Dickey (... right handed... removed), Museum Exterior (...to all baseball men), Museum Interior (1954 date)

Both Dickey vars appear at about the same frequency. Some of these cards are extremely low pop... The only PSA 8 museum exterior card has never come to market.

1955 Update... included in less than 5% of all sets. Again, pop scarcity dictates price. Unless otherwise noted, these should trade $80-$100 but have gone as high as $300 in the rare instances that they have come to the market
**Chief Bender (died in 1954), Frank "Homerun" Baker, Joe DiMaggio ($800 - $1200), Ted Lyons, Ray Schalk, Dazzy Vance

Pops for PSA 8/9 are Bender (2/0), Baker (2/0), DiMaggio (7/1), Lyons (2/1), Shalk (1/0), Vance (3/0)

In terms of grading, watch for edge chipping and surface scratches. PSA doesn't seem to downgrade 8s for bleed across or bleed through, but bleed acrosses generally do not get 9s.

A few cards were designed to be printed off-center (the Al Simmons is the easiest to see this) Look at this image I poached from Mike Wheat Cards . PSA usually remembers this and correctly does not add a qualifier to the holder.

Hope all this helps!

-Jim

TheRoach

WoW Jim! Thank you very much. You vintage guys aren't that bad after all. Just kidding. Anyway, I really appreiate all that super info on the set. I went through them and realized that I more than likely just have the 1950 set. I am not sure how I got the "Happy" Chandler though. I am going to be sending in My Gehrig, Chandler, Gehringer, Ruth, and Cy Young any day now to PSA.

Can you tell from the scan if the Gehringer is the light cap version or not? The scan didn't come out too good, but that's the best I can do. maybe if I scan one at a time, it will come out better. The only thing that looks a bit dark is the bill of his hat. I am going to say I have the light version. Is that the more scarce one?

Again, thanks for your help and I will definitely post my grades once I get them. I am open to selling them once I get them back. As for all the others, I will try to sell the lot.

I almost forgot. I looked these cards up and down and they are practically glossy still. Very vibrant and white also. No yellowing. I know that has reprint written all over it, but I can assure you that these couldn't possibly be reprints. Taken out of a small cedar box after my stepfather's mother died. She had them sitting in there for who knows how many years. That box kept them well preserved and scratch free.


TheRoach

TheRoach

JimRupprecht, please send me your email address. I am at Pedroks20@sbcglobal.net I would like to send you a scan of these cards. Thanks!



TheRoach