Mastronet GAI, SGC, PSA comparable of similar cards

aro13

I usually track the final values for most Mastronet cards to compare to future sales and the different grading company comparables.
Here are the head to head results from this auction for similar GAI, SGC and PSA cards. All prices are before the buyers premium is added. I tracked most, but here are all of similar cards and a couple of other GAI cards.

Lot #1500 GAI 8 T205 Walter Johnson $9882
SMR is $20,000 so either the SMR is way off or the card would have sold for more in another holder.

Lot #1156 SGC 8 1933 Goudey Ruth #144 $13,915
Lot #1523 PSA 8 1933 Goudey Ruth #144 $15,307
With premium the PSA 8 sold for $17,600 SMR is $17,500

Lot #1158 SGC 8 1933 Goudey Ott #127 $1685
Lot #1508 PSA 8 1933 Goudey Ott #127 $2244
With premium the PSA 8 sold for $2581 SMR is $2000

Lot #1549 GAI 7.5 1934 Gehrig #61 $6677
With premium the GAI 7.5 sold for $7679
SMR for a 7 is $4200 for an 8 $9500
This card sold for more because of the half grade apparently.

Lot #1594 GAI 9 1948 Bowman Berra #6 $4560
SMR for a 9 is $5850 and the card sold for $5244 with premium.

Lot #1173 SGC 8.5 1951 Bowman Mantle #253 $15,307
Lot #1605 PSA 8 1951 Bowman Mantle #253 $15,307
Lot #1606 PSA 9 1951 Bowman Mantle #253 $40,726
SMR for PSA 8 is $16,500 with premium the 8 sold for 17,600
SMR for PSA 9 is $55,000 with premium the 9 sold for 46,800
Other than the fact that the SGC half grade did not sell for any premium the relevant fact is the PSA 9 continues to drop in price.

Lot #1595 GAI 8.5 1951 Bowman Ford #1 $7345
SMR for PSA 8 is $6000 and a PSA 9 is $50,000
There was a premium for the half grade.

Lot #1184 GAI 8.5 1952 Topps Robinson #312 $6599
Lot #1643 PSA 8 1952 Topps Robinson #312 $2796
SMR for 8 is $3500 and the PSA 8 was $3200 with premium
Significant premium for the half grade.

Lot #1640 PSA 6 1952 Topps Mantle #311 $14471
Lot #1871 GAI 7 1952 Topps Mantle #311 $13456
SMR for 6 is $10,000 for a 7 is $15,000 so apparently the GAI sold in line.

Both a 52 Bowman #1 GAI 9 Berra and a 52 Bowman PSA 8 #101 Mantle sold for SMR.

Lot #1188 SGC 8 1953 Topps Mantle #82 $5016
Lot #1655 PSA 8 1953 Topps Mantle #82 $6070
The SGC card looked better too. SMR 7000 PSA 8 sold for $6900 with premium.

Lot #1193 SGC 8.5 1953 Topps Paige #220 $2040
Lot #1657 PSA 8 1953 Topps Paige #220 $2040
Clearly no advantage for the half grade. SMR is $2200.

Lot #1213 PSA 9 1957 Topps Sluggers #400 $4957
Lot #1691 SGC 9 1957 Topps Sluggers #400 $4096
SMR is $5000

Lot #1227 PSA 9 1961 Topps Mantle AS #475 $2796
Lot #1729 SGC 9 1961 Topps Mantle AS #475 $2310
SMR is $4000 - the Mantle sold for quite a bit lower.

Lot #1256 SGC 9 1971 Topps Rose #100 $3384
Lot #1758 PSA 9 1971 Topps Rose #100 $4957
SMR is $6500 The PSA 9 sold for $5700 with premium.

In general PSA cards sold for more than their SGC counterparts and the half grade did nothing for SGC sales.

GAI 1/2 grades did very well and sold for more than a PSA 8 would have. In most of the cards I tracked GAI did fairly well in relation to SMR and some prior PSA sales.

For the most part SMR was accurate in relation to high grade star and Hall of Famer cards.

hbsturn

Aro13-

Thanks for this compilation and comparison of prices. It helps us all gain a little insight into the market for certain cards in certain grades.............. Harold

Vargha

Hard to believe that the SMR (and selling price) for a 51 Bowman Mantle PSA 9 was $90K not too long ago.

jrdolan

I think part of the attraction of half-grades for investors (as opposed to those who just want that card regardless of holder), is that they feel there is a possibility the 8.5 for example will cross to PSA 9 if submitted raw. A small possibility, perhaps, but they like the gamble because they figure the downside is PSA 8. Not much of a gamble, if they paid an 8 price for the 8.5.

Since I think SGC grades well (though a bit forgiving on centering) and sells cheap, I would say SGC half-points are a decent investment on a card that would pay off big if it was a grade higher in PSA. GAI less so, apparently, because people are paying extra for those half-points up front.

Ironically and perhaps unfortunately for those companies, some of their half-pointers will end up in PSA holders, whether they achieved the higher grade or not. Kinda reversing what some dealers are doing, which is kinda amusing if you think about it.

As I say, this is in reference only to those who turn over cards, not those who just want a lovely Mantle or whatever slabbed by a reputable grader.

Mantlefan

Excellent analysis aro. I agree that with high grade star cards, GAI and SGC hold their own with PSA.

Commons are a far different matter. The Registry has inflated the prices of high grade vintage commons by a tremendous factor. Most dealers with vintage commons will choose PSA.

aro13

Frank - In the past few Mastro auctions the similar cards have really varied, i.e. SGC sometimes outsells PSA or GAI or vice versa, but in this auction I was a little surprised that the star cards did so much better in PSA holders than SGC holders and that the GAI half/grade was a big factor but the SGC half/grade was no factor.

murcerfan

It was interesting to see that Mastro chose SGC to grade the lots from Richard Egan's collection, which were among the most significant offerings in the auction IMO.

edited to add a link to one that did pretty good
and it's not even Baker pictured on the card

waitiltheytrytobuy

<< <i>...but in this auction I was a little surprised that the star cards did so much better in PSA holders than SGC holders and that the GAI half/grade was a big factor but the SGC half/grade was no factor. >>


Albie,

I know you're trying your best to be "objective" but that's a selective misrepresentation. Here's why.

aro13

murcerfan - Yeah, I noticed that most of the pre-1930 material was either in SGC holders or left raw. Mastronet sells for huge dollars so obviously they felt that SGC was more respected in that area. It was interesting that GAI got little of those submissions.

waittiltheytrytobuy - I do not think it was selective. It was the only cards that were directly the same in all holders. Had PSA or GAI had a 41 Playball Dimaggio or a 54 Bowman Williams in PSA 8 or 9, I would have used that card as a comparable. Plus, all of the cards I mentioned were big cards or Hall of Famers they were not "commons". Anybody can show cards from all of the grading companies that sold for multiples of SMR in a Mastronet auction - that is not news.

waitiltheytrytobuy

Albie,

Sure it is. Take a look at the SGC graded cards you failed to mention. I'm seeing over $50,000 for two different N172s (both auction records), $41,515 for a T206 Ty Cobb (SGC 20, with Cobb back), and $12,863 for a T208.

Also, you neglected to mention that a 1941 Play Ball Joe DiMaggio, SGC 92, sold for $16,002. I don't care what auction you're talking about. That's a HUGE price over any other modern sale of that card in NM-MT condition. And then there's another omission -- the 1954 Bowman Ted Williams, SGC 92 that was hammered down at $15,128. That's much more than current retail for NM-MT, no matter what auction you're talking about.

If you can find other PSA 8s that sold for these types of impressive margins (maybe there are some, I haven't checked all the lots), then feel free to post them.

COSTANZA

srs1a

Very nice analysis aro13. I think it is obvious where the "heat" is coming from.

pc

none of these cards sold unless the checks cleared.