1959 #362 Dolan Nichols -- what's the story?

jrdolan

I pulled a #362 Dolan Nichols from a box of 1959 commons years ago, because his first name is the same as my last ... not many Dolans in the history of MLB! The SMR on him is up there with the star cards, however. Does anyone know why the scarcity and high value? It's away at PSA and likely to come back EX-MT.

charliehustle14

JR...There are two variations on this card...something to do with a line on the back. I don't have anything with me at I can reference to tell you which is which. Perhaps some other vintage collector knows.

Charlie

jrdolan

Really? SMR doesn't list any variation. I can't remember if there's a line on the back.

charliehustle14

JR:

Just rummaged through my briefcase and found the March SMR. It lists the card number 362 as "Dolan Nichols Error". In giving a quick look at the Beckett online price guide, it shows 362A as "With option line" and 362B as "ERR". By line, I meant a line of text. Sorry...just don't remember what the exact variation is. Maybe you'll get lucky and the higher-priced one will come back from PSA.

Also, I checked the completed auctions for this card (none currently listed) and the PSA graded cards don't indicate on the label which variation is encapsulated. I thought that they generally specified which variation is graded. If nobody answers this by the time I get home tonight, I'll see what I can find out for ya.

Charlie

Stonegate

Hey JR,

On the back of the card look underneath the art cartoon on the top right half. There is a small asterisk and bold black, but small, type that says *Optioned to ------ on -------. Cards with the Optioned statement are scarcer than cards without. For some reason, this was done on cards #316,321,322,336,and 362 (your card) in that set.

Good Luck!
Kevin

jrdolan

Oh man. I suddenly think I spent $10 to encapsulate a common! Guess I'll find out when it comes back. Why doesn't SMR online mention any variation? Anyway, I'll think of it as framing a card that has meaning to a Dolan like me. Thanks for your help, guys.

Griffins

The cards without the option lines are killers to find. Those would be the ones mentioned in SMR- with the line is pretty easy.

mariner

Griffins is correct....the ones without the trade or option lines are the rare ones and worth considerably more than the ones with the statements printed on the back.

MorrellMan

Ditto Griffins and Mariner; the "no option line" variation is the tough one.

NickM

It's not an error. Topps added a line to the text during the print run, creating a variation.

SMR really should know better.

Nick