Memory Lane acquisition

Big80s

I received a mass email from them this morning regarding a giant PSA collection they recently acquired for auction. They're saying it's possibly the largest PSA collection to ever go to auction. The collector has nearly every major baseball set (graded) from 1887 till 1970.

Does anyone know who's collection this was? It's absolutely incredible.

LINK TO DESCRIPTION

mccardguy1

This isnt Mr. Crandell is it?

MBMiller25

Dr. Steve Soloway's

Big80s

Are there any collections out there that compete with something like this? Donald Spence, maybe?

Sean1125

<< <i>The list of those now available for sale includes the legendary 524-card T206 (set rating 5.74); both Allen & Ginter sets (4.83 and 6.58), 1888 Goodwin’s Champions (5.41), 1909 American Caramel, 1909 Dockman & Sons Gum, 1909 Philadelphia Caramel, 1909 Ramly, 1910 American Caramel Pirated (90.9% complete), 1910 Philadelphia Caramel (93.3% complete), 1910 Standard Caramel, 1911 Mecca Double Folders, 1911 T205, 1911 Turkey Red, 1912 Hassan Triple Folders, T207 (each near complete), 1913 Fatima Team, 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack (7.50 rating), 1921 American Caramel E121 Series of 80 (69.8% complete), 1922 American Caramel E-210 and 121, 1927 York Caramels basic type 1 and type 2 (90% complete), an incredible 1932 U.S. Caramel that is 100% complete with an 8.0 rating, 1933 Delong, 1933 Goudey, 1933 Goudey Sport Kings (7.89 rating), 1934 Goudey, 1934-36 Diamond Stars (71.7% complete), 1935 Goudey (80.5% complete), 1941 Play Ball, 1948 Bowman (8.0 rating), 1948-49 Leaf, complete runs of all major Topps and Bowman issues, nearly all in near mint or better overall grade including the 1952 Topps, 1953 Topps and 1951 Bowman issues, 1959 Fleer Ted Williams (8.72 rating) and various insert and secondary sets from the late 1960s and early 70’s, all in high grade. >>

Southsider

I wish he had some vintage football, too.

MBMiller25

We are splitting hairs here, but I would say Spence and Crandall have more extensive collections than Soloway.

Big80s

It's pretty exciting to see a collection of this size actually become available for sale. I'm sure some of the other big collections will probably gobble up a good portion of this one, as well.

Here's the info from the email blast they sent out this morning:






Not too shabby...

fiveniner

WOW!!!!!!

Archaninator

Acquisition or consignment?

Big80s

Here's the title of the email:
"BREAKING NEWS! Memory Lane Acquires Largest PSA Graded Collection Ever Offered!‏"

But regardless - it's going to be for sale.

VitoCo1972

Do we know why he's selling? I wonder how they'll break up the sets. Some SPs in sets like 49 Leaf would go for far more broken up I would think.

dzolot

Wow!! What an incredible collection!!!

Archaninator

.

Big80s

<< <i>Do we know why he's selling? I wonder how they'll break up the sets. Some SPs in sets like 49 Leaf would go for far more broken up I would think. >>



"For now, all are being offered by Memory Lane as complete sets, providing a seldom seen opportunity for collectors. Many are ‘master sets’ featuring hard to find variations. Regardless of the measuring stick, their combined value runs well into seven figures. "

It sounds to me like, they might be selling them as complete or near sets. But I agree with you - are you really going to sell the T206 set as a complete set - or do you pull the big cards to sell individually. Maybe the seller requested it be done this way. Who knows.

OckhamsRazor

It would be tough to find enough buyers to purchase 90+ high-end, expensive sets to begin with, let alone realizing a price on each set that makes sense from a profitability perspective. Offsetting that is the incremental expense that would be incurred by breaking each set and selling the components off individually. My guess is they will initially allocate some time and effort to selling the collection in set form where it makes sense to try and realize a relatively quick sale. Once they have cleared out what they can, the rest can be broken out and sold over time either in one of their auctions or via their site or ebay. As a dealer, it wouldn't necessarily hurt to have some fresh inventory.

CollectorAtWork

Since this is Memory Lane, they'll probably try to put these on their Own It Now site, which is basically the same as a BIN with a high price threshold. I think JP Cohen of Memory Lane has also engineered some private sales. I think he was one of those involved in selling the T206 Wagner PSA 8 to Kendrick. So, they'll probably try to hit up on some of the whales like Kendrick, Spence, Crandell, etc. Whatever is left, they'll probably feature in their auctions over time. This is all speculation, of course.

captainthreeputt

Wow! I know for a fact the JP is good friends with Donald Spence, but I cannot imagine Donald Spence selling his collection, but you never know. Those grades are outrageous, so it just might be. I guess we should compare them to the registry, it should be easy to figure out

captainthreeputt

Well guys, I went and checked the registry and the first three sets on the list belong to none other than Steve Soloway. So I will assume it is his collection.

SOM

<< <i>I wonder if you would receive a better deal cutting out the broker and dealing directly with Steve? >>



Steve is a practicing medical doctor, in New Jersey.

Making deals directly with him is likely the last thing on his mind.

MBMiller25

Guys, I know for a fact its Steve Soloway's collection being sold, as I personally discussed it with him. He will not be entertaining anything outside of Memory Lane. Hope that information helps.

stown

Holy schnikes!



Probably not the best time to sell but hopefully it works out for everyone involved.

OckhamsRazor

It looks like Memory Lane has finally listed the prices for these sets. Kudos to Dr. Soloway for amassing such a tremendous collection. Its really quite stunning.

70ToppsFanatic

As usual, the prices are a bit inflated.