'51 Murphy SP -- How high will it go?
XanaduNow
Posts: 1,718
1951 Topps Ringside Bob Murphy SP PSA 8OC
A straight PSA 8 went for over $12,000 in 2002. I almost get the feeling that the seller isn't entirely aware of what they've got. They only accept money orders and cashier's checks and they don't nearly talk up the story behind the card or its enormous rarity. I'm very curious to see how high thius card ends at and whether the transaction is completed.
One to watch.
Arthur
A straight PSA 8 went for over $12,000 in 2002. I almost get the feeling that the seller isn't entirely aware of what they've got. They only accept money orders and cashier's checks and they don't nearly talk up the story behind the card or its enormous rarity. I'm very curious to see how high thius card ends at and whether the transaction is completed.
One to watch.
Arthur
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Comments
Arthur
That's a sweet card - the SMR for an 8 is 4K.
So much for the SMR - since they reported the higher sale - why didn't they adjust the SMR?
So, if it's off, then based on the grade - and being pretty much way OC - I would guess? 12-1500$?
If the card doesn't come up very often - based on it being an SP - a bidding war could put the card in the 4K range perhaps.
I'm guessing that you're doing the set?
If so, good luck if you're gonna take a shot at it.
mike
<< <i>Arthur, what's the story with the card? >>
Boxing card rarities generally consist of a group of three cards: the 1948 Leaf Rocky Graziano, the 1956 Topps Adventure "The Black Uhlan of the Rhine" (Max Schmeling) and the 1951 Topps Ringside Bob Murphy.
The reason for the Schmeling card's scarcity is pretty easy to understand. The card depicts Schmeling in a boxing pose with a solid orange background, the only other addition being a rather large Nazi swastika in the upper left portion of the card. Schmeling was pulled pretty early in production due to its offensive nature. Currently, there have been 79 of these cards graded by PSA with 2 9's and 2 9Q.
While the reason for the Graziano rarity isn't as clear there are certainly much less of them. PSA has graded 3 at this point with the highest grade being a lone 5. From what I understand, there aren't more than a few other copies known to exist. A PSA 4 Graziano sold for almost $18,000 in 2001.
The Murphy SP is harder to find than the Schmeling but not as hard as the Graziano. While there isn't a clear cut reason as to why the Murphy is so hard to find the value has increased dramatically in the past decade. I've actually read excerpts from boxing card collecting books noting the scarcity of the card and stating that Mint copies have been known to go for around $200. So much for that. In 2002 a PSA 8 sold for $12,000. PSA has graded 42 copies of the Murphy (with 4 8's and 3 8Q) and 2 copies of the Murphy/Fitzsimmons (1 '8' and 1 '6'). Murphy wasn't an extraorinarily popular boxer back then and I haven't read or heard a generally accepted theory as to why the card is so scarce. Typically, when all three of these respective "complete" sets sell it is common and accepted for them to be sold without the rarity.
These three are the most recognizable and popular rarities in 20th century boxing cards.
Hope that helped.
Arthur
I cry though at the fact I'll probably never get my Graziano...
A '56 Adventure Schmeling ended recently at $373.99 and that, too, was under less than ideal conditions. Seller FB was pretty good but no PayPal and the pic is now down from the auction page. I hope both these turn out well for all parties involved.
Arthur