Looking for all info on Goudey cards I can find...

yankeeno7

I am thinking of starting a Goudey collection but have to admit I am not too educated on them.
I am looking for any and all information I can get on Goudey cards. SPs, variations, errors, or any tidbits or facts....known fakes, how to spot fakes, acceptable measurements, etc etc etc...
If you have a lot of knowledge and dont wish to post, feel free to email me at yankeeno7@aol.com
Thanks for the help!

Love of the Game

Stay away from the 38s!

Just kidding.

I love those Goudey cards, too, but found the '33 and '34 issues too intimidating. Lots of cards, four Ruths, lots of history of people rebuilding corners, bleaching borders, etc. But I wanted to collect a small, prewar set. So I decided to focus on the 1938s.

I figured with only 48 cards and only two really big-ticket ones, it would be an easy set to collect and complete.

WRONG.

I have 33 of the cards right now, and perhaps 10 of them are beaters. They are hard to find, even harder to find in nice condition, and even HARDER to find below SMR. Most of the cards, as has been pointed out numerous times on these boards, go for 1.5x or even 2x SMR, in any condition. A quick glance at the population report will show you that there have only been 1,800 cards graded from this set (not counting the 31 I just shipped off to PSA this morning). Compare this to 26,500 1933 Goudeys that PSA has graded. The set is immensely popular, and particularly scarce.

At the Fort Washington show recently, I went from table to table looking for '38 Goudeys. There were almost none to be had, with the exception of a handful of ridiculously overpriced ones at the 707 table and a few others I already had. After asking dealer after dealer, one guy finally said "There was a guy who came walking through the show yesterday, and bought every '38 Goudey he could get his hands on. That's why you can't find any."

For my money, I have found '38 Goudeys to be one of the toughest mainstream vintage sets to track down, perhaps second only to '52 Topps high numbers.

As far as fakes are concerned - the printing on the back of the '38 Goudeys is GREEN. Most of the fakes I've seen, the printing on the back is BLACK. If you're buying a raw card on Ebay, you need to see the back of the card. Also, on some fakes, the color of the card on the outside of the colored border is a lighter color than on the inside. The card I've seen the most fakes of is the #250 DiMaggio. For some reason, I've also seen a few Al Lopez low # fakes, and a few Van Lingle Mungo fakes.

Fritch Cards reprinted the whole set at one point, and once in a while, someone tries to sell them as authentic. The Dover Publishing Company reprinted a few, but they can be easily identified by the "Dover Reprint" line on the back of the card.

I would avoid buying either DiMaggio, Foxx, or Feller raw, unless you're buying from a really reputable seller.

When buying on Ebay, you have to look REALLY closely at the scans if you're looking at raw cards. The card stock is such that it hides wrinkles really well - but the cards have a LOT of wrinkles.

Most of the '38 Goudeys I've seen have really bad toning problems. But if you can find a nice, whitish one, they're beautiful.

Best of luck!

-Al

mikeschmidt

1933 Goudey #106 Leo Durocher! Best card there is.

Let me know if you need more info - I can post a scan. It is singular/unique.

mikeschmidt

And, actually - not to disagree with Novocent - but my impression is that the 1941 Goudey's are about 10-25x rarer than the 1938 goudeys. And they do not exist in high grade.

They're just ugly and don't have many stars - so many don't care. And since they're so freaking hard - many don't bother in the first place

Love of the Game

I'll bet you're right about the 41s - I've never even seen one! Funny, but I don't even think of that set when I think of Goudeys. Aren't there, like, only two players of note in that set?

That said, it's also probably the last prewar set, and it's Goudey's last set, so there are a couple of noteworthy reasons to collect it.

-Al

yankeeno7

Thanks for your information!

helionaut

I just came across a guy at a show last week who had some '41s and '38s. I think he had both PSA and raw cards. I've got his contact if anyone wants it.

Love of the Game

Does he have a website?

-Al