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Getting ready to start buying again - some new photos
KendallCat
Posts: 2,978 ✭✭✭✭✭
Down in the man cave today with snow on the ground and watching college hoops and NFL playoffs, and got the cards out and trying to figure what to buy this year. My thoughts are:
*finish my Mantle run from the 50's
- add some key rookies - 54 Aaron, 55 Clemente, 86 Jordan
- Find a nice 15 CJ Shoeless to go with the Cobb
- Find a dead centered high end 1956 and 1957 Mantle - have some mid grades that are dead on but want to add an 8/8.5 of each.
- Finish my high grade Bench run.
Couple of photos of the current cards since I had them out.
Mantle run - all feature strong centering for the grade
Favorite 3 cards
Almost done with my 70's AS runs
Enjoy.
KC
6
Comments
Great looking cards. I think a '15 CJ Shoeless Joe would look nice with that Cobb.
Nice looking 52 mantle
~that '52 looks so well centered right to left I gotta believe is would sell like a 5 or 6.
Nice group, esp. the 53 MM. Always have liked his 1953 the best of his cards. 1965 second.
Beautiful cards. Finish the mantle run and I'd include bowman. You are so close anyway.
I decided not to do Bowman since I never collected Bowman cards. I had a nice 51 Mantle that someone offered me a record sale price as a private sale, and good thing was they had wanted one for 30 years since they were 11 and could finally get one now. I think both of us did pretty well on the deal, and glad someone got it who really appreciated it.
Very nice Keith.
I have to confess.
I don't look at my cards as much as I should.
My PSA grade for procrastination? 10!
Thank you Mike. I don't look at mine enough either, and with it being a slow time of year plus cold outside it gives me a chance to do it a little more. I have a large round table with several chairs on wheels down in the basement/man cave, and it is set in the middle of everything. I can watch one game on the theatre screen, and we have another tv in the bar area at a 90* angle so I can watch both at the same time.
My wife was actually measuring the space we built for a baseball card display storage area today, and hoping to get started on that project in the next couple of weeks. I don't have any vices like drinking or smoking so when I get a chance I spend a few extra bucks on cards. I had saved up for the basement man cave for a few years so we could have kids from our team, church group, and friends whenever we found a house with a basement which we did a few years ago, and my wife decorated it with all of the sports themed items. (See below)
Here is my card opening table
Superb Keith.
We don't have basements in my neck of the woods.
Sure wish we did - I'd like about 100 ft of wall space!
If I had your space?
I'd definitely have a Williams baseball pinball machine from the 50s.
The card table looks really comfortable - my wife likes playing games - I'd be stuck there often.
Thats a sweet MAN CAVE .... gotta get away from the riff-raff and disappear into paradise from time to time.
Amazing cards and man "space"! So what happens in the tent?? (JK, I have young kids and often have a tent set up in unusual locations
I also have a card space in the basement but my house being a bit older, was not constructed with the basement being a finished space in mind. Just remember to keep an eye on all the pipes in the house if you live in the Northern half of the U.S. The record cold this year has led to a lot of broken pipes and ruined rooms that sit below plumbing.
I wish I could collect Mantles like that, but have to stick with what I find to be sentimental, which is cards of players from my childhood (1980-1992). My actual childhood memories start around 1989 but you all know about the quality of cards from that era!
I'm envious of your ability to find those low grade cards that present very well. I think lately more people have caught on to that theme and they are selling at more appropriate prices for the grade. Of course, deals can still be had for the patient.
KC - always enjoy seeing your Mantles...great eye. Question for you regarding 56s. When measuring T/B centering what is accepted? The bottom vs the top left or top right side? My hunch is bottom vs top right. Thanks
Thank you for the comments. As far as storing stuff you are correct about pipes.. so none of the big boys will be down there - the really big boys usually stay at the bank for safe keeping.
I enjoy the Mantles and originally was going to do a run in PSA 8 or higher from 56-69 and 52 and 53 in the best grade I could find. I changed about halfway through and decided to go just through 1960 and find the best cards I could find eye appeal wise. Would still like to grab the best 56 and 57 in an 8/8.5 at some point and prices have come down 20-30% on the 56 Mantle for some reason. Use to be a $10-12k card in an 8 and $17-20k in an 8.5, but now fortunately for me it is now $6-8k and $15-17k in 8 and 8.5.
On the low grade cards I had to take some time to learn it and thank you for the nice words. When I first started collecting PSA cards I was a grade snob and looked at corners. I have looked at some cards I owned in the late 90's and look in horror at some of my purchases
These days I look first at two things - centering and overall eye appeal. I try to find cards that at first glance look like PSA 8's or higher, but due to some defect they are lower grades. The main thing with cards is to enjoy them personally - pick players, years... that appeal to YOU for either sentimental or aesthetic reasons. I don't collect certain cards despite their value because if they don't appeal to me why buy them. If all cards tomorrow were worth zero which ones would you enjoy having and looking at?
I look first at l/r on 56 cards since that is where imo the variances usually occur. T/b can be tricky with 56's since they always seem to slope down from top left to bottom right. I just recently found a nice lower grade 56 Mantle that had really strong centering and looks like an 8 to me but cost me maybe $600-700.
One thing to be careful of is people who use scans at an angle which can be used to hide centering flaws. I have seen some cards that look dead centered by how they are photographed - what people do is if the card is skewed to the left they take the photo from the left which negates the fact it is off to that side. Here is the 56 Mantle I referenced which looked to me much better than the grade. Hope this helps.
Cool, appreciate the insight. Agreed, if you don't look at the flip the card looks like a 7/8.
It took a few years to prevail upon KC, yet he eventually came around
Instagram: mattyc_collection
Really like the Bowman Mantle rookie. Very nice for the grade.
For the 1956 Mick centering, this is the card I use as a guide, below.
A lot of them also don't have perfect registration on the NY logo in the cap; something to look for on the '56 Mick.
Another common issue is if one tracks the bottom border horizontally, they will often have a gentle slope downward and to the right.
Instagram: mattyc_collection
Cool, thanks for the example. Will use this one as a reference point, going forward.