1977 Modesto Rickey Henderson (The Ultimate Minor League Card)

uncutsheetbuyer

No Reserve!! High Grade. Better than the Ripken O's. The Ripken Orange O's and Modesto Henderson do have close to the same amount graded by PSA. Both equally rare. Now granted the Orange Ripken is much harder to find high grade, A PSA 5 copy just brought $12k. You also commonly see the Ripken card being traded thru all auction sites from time to time. But when do you ever see the Henderson in ANY grade ? Yet top of the pops condition. Based on rarity and the fact Henderson is highly collectible with his Topps Rookie PSA 10 bringing $20k, is the Modesto PSA 8 Henderson a safe investment early based on rarity to a Topps which has 10,000 graded and a PSA 10 trades for $20k ? I saw the only ever publicly offered Modesto Henderson on ebay a few weeks ago for $19,500 buy now. Debated that, but felt it was priced a tad high. However now with this low pop card being run off at NO RESERVE, is this card a good buy at $12k comparable prices to the PSA 5 Ripken which is as equally rare ? Should be interesting. NO TENS with only 1 PSA 9 in population. I bet the solo PSA 9 would be a $20k beauty. It is the highest grade of the rarest HOF Minor League card. The next best thing would be the PSA 8 I believe. Best Ricky Henderson Card Ever!!

CollectorAtWork

This should be in BST. The ultimate minor league card is the Baltimore News Babe Ruth followed closely by the t210 Joe Jackson

vols1

I have not seen it, but isn't there a 1978 Mexican Pacific League Henderson?

uncutsheetbuyer

Yes the Ruth is a monster. Far out of my league!! I was referring to Modern rarity.

mattyc_collection

Not sure if this is advertising that auction or a genuine discussion of the card (or the former trying to masquerade as the latter), but if we're talking strictly investment as per the post, I think it is safe to say the Topps rookie card in PSA 10 will always have a bigger pool of buyers, thus making it the safer play. Minor league cards of that era are awesome, very cool pieces that especially appeal to hardcore player collectors, and some of them have fetched big sums (the Ripken O's and Schmidt PR League come to mind) but that's still a smaller pool of prospective buyers compared to the standard card. With this in mind, it's the kind of card one would just have to be very patient with on resale, as when it finds that player collector with the right pockets, it can sell big. I just think a PSA 10 Topps RC sells much faster, and that is part of what constitutes the safest investment.

Rarity is definitely a part of the equation also, but sometimes such extreme rarity can actually contribute to a relatively lower demand. For example, there's a UNC Wagner card from 1910 that's a charming piece and has only two known examples; it sells for several grand, which is nothing to sneeze at, but that's nowhere near some of his relatively more "common," yet also more popular issues. Sometimes a card is just so rare that it prevents many people from getting to know it and thus desire it.

With respect to the ebay ask of the 19.5k, no doubt a big ask price on ebay helps link a card to a dollar figure in prospective buyers' minds, but an aggressive ask is still not a confirmed, legit sale.

That's all pertaining to the question raised about which is the safer spend. If one is a passionate Rickey or minor league card collector, that is clearly one serious card.

I, too, assumed we were talking about minor league cards of that same general era, as opposed to the Ruth, Shoeless, and Joe D Zeenut Batting, for example.

uncutsheetbuyer

I did mean modern cards, secondly I post very little but read all of the awesome board members posts on card evaluation. The highest end modern league has always been an interest to me based on rarity and the fact they are established players already in the HOF making it a safer buy and rarer than the regular more popular Topps base rookies. The Topps Rickey Henderson gem I have had one years ago and the rarity is what gets me more. Was looking for the educated high end collectors input.

mattyc_collection

Rarity is a factor, and if we're talking about what one prefers as a function of personal taste, then whatever one likes is the right call. However with respect to the original post inquiring about safety of investment as compared to the Topps RC, I think rarity must be tempered with considerations of number of buyers, ease of sale, demand, etc. I do believe the 1980 Henderson trades much closer to 10k than 20k. I'd therefore be more comfortable betting 12k on a truly gem Topps RC than the Minor League card, if it was a choice between the two.

uncutsheetbuyer

The last Rickey Topps sold for around $20k. I knew where one was hiding and took a shot at it, but was informed it had sold private leaving me with nothing. Since I regret selling mine in the past for just north of 10k two years ago. Trying to find the card again has been a near impossible task. Now this pops up and I have never seen one.

mattyc_collection

I'd always try to confirm a private sale like that (with such a huge jump) through both buyer and seller; you'd be amazed at how often such things can be exaggerated. Especially if the intel can inform your future offerings on the card.

Edit to add:

Also, considering the enormous price jump from the best PSA 9s to the PSA 10s, one could have the minor league card and an amazing PSA 9 for the price of the PSA 10. That would be my choice as a collector. The price increase from PSA 9 Henderson RC to the PSA 10 is astronomical, while the difference in actual card is infinitesimal. There are some 9s out there that are indistinguishable from some of the 10s, for a mere fraction of the cost. For example, the Dmitri Young 10 is one of the worst buys I can recall. The card has poor centering and multiple PD. There are 9s out there that absolutely blow that 10 away. Can save a bundle, own essentially the same card, and chase another desired piece with the new war chest.

I would be surprised to see the Topps PSA 10 approach the 20k mark at auction. And if it does, it makes spending a few hundred dollars for an elite 9 a great value, as opposed to paying 19k more for a card that may very well be identical-- except for the TPG sticker, of course,

Dpeck100

Thanks for pointing this card out. I love following these rarely seen issues.

I know a guy who has a PSA 6 and this is one of the few baseball cards I have tried to buy in recent years.

ergoism

I love this card and will enjoy following this auction. However, the sales pitch to start the thread is just too much.

wrestlingcardking

I like this card and checked out the auction....does PSA have issues with authenticating this card?

rtimmer

Good luck with the auction. I agree that's a very rare card but I find it rather ugly and I predict it will go for less than $12k and if it does I am not sure I would call that a good deal.

Dpeck100

Over 5k.

This is going to be a fun one to watch for sure.

Dpeck100

Sitting comfortably at 7k.

This one has a lot of eye balls. 113 watchers currently.

Obviously a lot of those are people like me who are just spectators but after seeing what happened to the Ripken card anything is possible on this one.

rtimmer

<< <i>Good luck with the auction. I agree that's a very rare card but I find it rather ugly and I predict it will go for less than $12k and if it does I am not sure I would call that a good deal. >>



Just closed at $7k, looks like it was well below the $12k prediction so hopefully for your sake you were the buyer and not the seller after all.

jeffcbay

Since the latest 1980 Charlotte O's Orange Border Police Issue Cal Ripken Jr. in PSA 4 sold for $13,479.15 (after commission), I would say old Rickey doesn't hold a candle.

lawnmowerman

That's amazing Jeff. 15 graded. Any idea of how many were actually produced?

jeffcbay

Here is a write-up on the card from RipkenInTheMinors.com. Probably 50 cards or less in existence, and very condition-sensitive since they were given out to children as stadium giveaways, as single cards.

Ironmanfan

<< <i>Here is a write-up on the card from RipkenInTheMinors.com. Probably 50 cards or less in existence, and very condition-sensitive since they were given out to children as stadium giveaways, as single cards. >>



actually given out by the Charlotte PD on the streets to kids (with safety messages on the reverse)....not even necceasarily as a Ballpark Giveaway card....Card stock was poor and lets face it, how many did the cops actually give to kids coupled by what kid actually kept them (early 20's no name ballpalyers)?

rare card indeed....I was lucky to pick up my card (and set) in 1988 for $300 (which was a lot back then).

IMF

lawnmowerman

Awesome stuff guys. Thanks for the info!

jeffcbay

Back in February a BGS 8 sold for $22,515 in a Huggins & Scott Auction. lol

lawnmowerman

<< <i>Back in February a BGS 8 sold for $22,515 in a Huggins & Scott Auction. lol >>



Going from 2,300 in 06 for an SGC 80 to that is crazy. I guess people realized the scarcity?

vols1

<< <i>Back in February a BGS 8 sold for $22,515 in a Huggins & Scott Auction. lol >>



BGS has that much premium?