Thoughts on a rookie card at auction???
dizzyfoxx
Posts: 9,823 ✭✭✭
dizzyfoxx
Posts: 9,823 ✭✭✭
dizzyfoxx
Posts: 9,823 ✭✭✭
...There's always time for coin collecting. 
Comments
Well, SMR is $410, but there are only 2 10's in the pop report. So I guess it's worth $1795 at least.
It's a lot more than I would have probably paid for it, but I'm not in the 76 Topps registry or a die-hard Steelers fan, so really it's worth what anyone is willing to pay for it. I'll assume you were the buyer based on the ebay id and your id here. I think the Walter Payton's run about $2250-$3000 in PSA 10, and while his popularity is certainly more broad, there are also a lot more copies (30 something IIRC).
Nice card regardless!
-Josh
My eBay Store
BigCrumbs! I made over $250 last year!
<< <i>Yeah, that label is stunning. >>
That label could say "Eat at Joe's" and it wouldn't change the pristine condition of that card, or any card that I've seen at that level. I've found within this hobby that people do get hung up on labels of the top grading companies, but the reality of it is, that's what it's all about. Sure one could own this card for 20 bucks raw and beat up, but to have the absolute "best of the best" of anything, is always a tremendous coup and will ALWAYS command a monstrous premium. There is no avoiding it no matter how much you try.
Besides, the prevailing belief is that PSA has become more liberal when it comes to awarding 10's from the '70s and '80s. Today's 1/2 could be next year's 1/8. Unless you're a Registry label whore - and we've all been guilty of it at times - you should be glad you didn't win this, diz.
<< <i>I just think the 10 grade is something of a fiction. I suppose there are cards out there that warrant the grade, but this doesn't look like one of them for reasons Southerncards already mentioned. I have no idea how many 9's there are of this card or what they sell for, but I'd be willing to bet that, say, 20 percent of them are at least as nice as this one and could probably be had for 20 percent of the price.
Besides, the prevailing belief is that PSA has become more liberal when it comes to awarding 10's from the '70s and '80s. Today's 1/2 could be next year's 1/8. Unless you're a Registry label whore - and we've all been guilty of it at times - you should be glad you didn't win this, diz. >>
I hear what you're saying but I must admit, I want that card! As far as the comment on the "notching" on the edges, that is actually a very slight rough cut and nothing defines originality like a "rough cut". The centering is absolutely pristine in my opinion and certainly worthy of GEM MINT status. To completely critique the centering, the top border is perfect, the left border is perfect, the bottom border is perfect, the right border is 99.9% perfect. I doubt anyone can produce an example of this card with more uniform and perfect 50-50 centering. The color, focus, and gloss appear to be un-improveable. I must say that I seriously doubt there are many 9's out there that would hold up against this example. I also disagree on the point that PSA is becoming more liberal in awarding PSA 10's, in fact, I think to achieve such a feat is nothing less than remarkable. If you look throughout the pop reports of 1970's football cards, the % of GEM MINT 10 examples of any cards is just so miniscule, it's incredible.
I don't have a problem with 10's being awarded to cards with very gentle rough cuts, but it looks like the right border is slightly uneven to me - as in a tad narrower at the bottom. It's not sitting perfectly in the holder, which doesn't help one make such judgments, but at first glance it just doesn't radiate perfection. One could say that we're splitting hairs over a few pixels, but to me, there should be virtually no debate on a card that has a grade of 10.
<< <i>Patience, diz, patience.
I don't have a problem with 10's being awarded to cards with very gentle rough cuts, but it looks like the right border is slightly uneven to me - as in a tad narrower at the bottom. It's not sitting perfectly in the holder, which doesn't help one make such judgments, but at first glance it just doesn't radiate perfection. One could say that we're splitting hairs over a few pixels, but to me, there should be virtually no debate on a card that has a grade of 10. >>
yawie99,
you certainly have a valid argument. Although we must consider the complete requirements for a "10", especially a PSA 10 which is the most revered. PSA's definition of Gem Mint= A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card. Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. A PSA Gem Mint 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it doesn't impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.
IMHO, this card is virtually flawless and many would consider it completely flawless. The only thing that can be said to argue complete perfection, is the ever-so-slightest tilt at the right border, but the centering can certainly still be considered a true 50-50. The only thing the scan doesn't really clarify are the corners being undeniably razor sharp, but my guess would be they definitely are.
Save a few bucks
<< <i>Any thoughts on this one would be appreciated.
I like this seller! I've bought a lot of vintage football from this nice Floridian Seller.
I purchased a 1976 Topps Bradshaw PSA 10 from The Football Card Store.
It had a simular high-priced pricetag, I do not remember exactly how much!
Guess what?
He bought it back from me (at a nice profit!) some months later!
A very reliable seller of vintage football!
rbd
edit: The question was, is this 1976 Topps Lambert RC PSA 10 worth $1795? Well, one collector said, oh yes it is!
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Smokestack Lightning (Live) 1968
Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Hat (Live) 1971
<< <i>I like this one better....
Save a few bucks >>
<< <i>Very nice. You could crack this card and have it come back as an 8. Worth $12. Hold on, fella! >>
...and once again,
<< <i>The question was, is this 1976 Topps Lambert RC PSA 10 worth $1795? Well, one collector said, oh yes it is! >>
<< <i>dizzyfoxx - you asked for thoughts on a rookiecard, and have been given several candid objective opinions. I am left wondering though about your motives for this question. You seem to have your mind made up and have been argumentatice everyone that disagrees with you. What is it that you really wanted to know??? or are you just trolling.... >>
My objective here was completely substantiated. First of all, yawie99, you are absolutely RIGHT! If this card, or any PSA 10 in existence, were cracked out, and re-submitted, the odds of it returning as a PSA 10 are not good. The important thing to remember is that grading is and always will be completely subjective. Once a given card achieves the insertion into a PSA 10 slab, the submitter should be ecstatic for there can be such a fine line between a 9 and a 10. This Lambert rookie I'm referring to is a card that has every viable asset required to be placed into a "10" holder and to attempt to argue otherwise is an effort in futility. My argumentative approach here is simply based on the fact that when a card like this belongs to a given collector or dealer, it's always "the best example on earth" according to the owner of the card. When others who see it, and want to own it but don't, or can't, then you always see little "jabs" thrown to be-little such a monumental example of a given card. The bottom line is, this card in PSA 10, like any card at that lofty elite level, will always create envy by those who care about these little pieces of cardboard. I know that I wish I owned it.
That realization is one of the reasons I recently broke up my '53-54 Parkhurst hockey set, which had a set rating of almost 7.9. Many of my 8's were just smokin' hot cards - perhaps 9's on a really good day. But some others were virtually indistinguishable from the 7's they had upgraded. In fact, in at least one case I kept a 7 because it was simply a nicer card than the 8 I had purchased to upgrade it. Additionally, one of the last upgrades I purchased for the set was a low pop second-tier Hall of Famer for which I paid well over SMR. After excitedly ripping open the package, I compared the card to my 7 and could only muster an "eh." When I compared what I paid for the 8 to what I paid for the 7, my thought changed to "This is just stupid."
Somewhat relatedly, I've also been thinking lately about the concept of value - specifically how much of the value of any given graded card is related to the slab and number on the flip and how much is dependent on the cardboard itself. That issue was one of the other underlying forces behind my Parkie sell-off and is one of the factors driving me more and more into "collector grade" pre-war stuff. I look at it this way: If I had cracked my Parkies out of their slabs before selling them, I obviously would've taken a bath. But if I were to crack out my C56's (a 36-card 1910-11 hockey set that I've completed with a GPA of about 4.0-4.5) before selling them, I doubt the difference in realized prices would be that dramatic - with perhaps a couple of exceptions.
Anyway, I hope I made at least a little bit of sense - 'tis late, ya know - but I wanted to try and better explain my reasoning. I'm certainly not saying the Lambert is not a very nice card, but $1,700 seems like pure folly to me.
<< <i>I just think the 10 grade is something of a fiction. I suppose there are cards out there that warrant the grade, but this doesn't look like one of them for reasons Southerncards already mentioned. I have no idea how many 9's there are of this card or what they sell for, but I'd be willing to bet that, say, 20 percent of them are at least as nice as this one and could probably be had for 20 percent of the price.
Besides, the prevailing belief is that PSA has become more liberal when it comes to awarding 10's from the '70s and '80s. Today's 1/2 could be next year's 1/8. Unless you're a Registry label whore - and we've all been guilty of it at times - you should be glad you didn't win this, diz. >>
Do you think PSA mis-graded this PSA 10? 1961 Nu-Card. Notice the Top of the circle is too close to the edge (off-centered a little, don't you think?). This card could grade a PSA 9 o/c, if re-submitteed to PSA., how do I know this? ...well, no way to know for sure, but take a look at another Nu-Card with a grade of PSA 10: Now this '61 Nu-Card looks like a PSA 10!. Did u notice "how centered" the oval portrait is on this example?
Subjective grading? ...the PSA grader, in my opinion, did not take that "oval" in consideration, and graded an "off-centered" card a PSA 10, no?
rbd
edit: Here's one of my "Registry Label Whore" sets: #1 Nu-Card PSA Registry Set. Yawie99 had a good point in one of his above posts, if I win this "off-centered" PSA 10, do I keep my "well-centered" PSA 9, or "up-grade" my set with an "off-centered" PSA 10? So confusing?
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Smokestack Lightning (Live) 1968
Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Hat (Live) 1971
I'm not a Steeler flunky, but SMR has to realize this and raise the prices (preferably after I get my Bradshaw).
BTW - Great game yesterday. Bettis' was saved from being Jackie Smith.
PS: Steeler fans: Good luck next week, guess if the Browns can't be there ...well you know...got to take one of the teams....Steelers are a lesser evil....remember..."The Drive", "The Fumble", The "Elway".....and so on
Now back to the Lambert rookie, it is without a question worthy of the GEM MINT 10 grade from what is visible from the scan. Again, I'm assuming the corners are "lethal" and the gloss is "dripping". Now for the price, I have learned long ago that the SMR values are basically "tossed out the window" for cards like this- almost 30 years old, low pop, HOF'r, rookie, enormously popular player, etc. I feel this card is easily worth $2000 (even if there were 5 of them) but especially being that there are only 2 "10's" out of almost 360 submissions. I've seen cards like this sell in auctions for 500%-800% over SMR, and the same card is re-sold later for a profit. There just are too many collectors who simply want to own the absolute best of the best and would pay 500% over SMR for a "10" all day long instead of buying five+ 9's of the same card (you know what I mean). PSA 9's are tough to get but PSA 10's are like trying to find teeth on a hen. PSA is not going away and if anything, their popularity and increasing collector base, is going to cause the incredible prices for 10's to continue to escalate.