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Anyone know what happened to Dimitri Young’s Mays Rookie?
brad31
Posts: 3,040 ✭✭✭✭✭
Just saw this on Mile High Auctions. Anyone know how it ended up in this holder? Is it really the same card?
Must be a story somewhere.
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Actually story is in Mile High’s description. Wonder if PSA will not grade it a 9 or will not give it a number grade.
Good customer he was.
From Mile High:
Without a PSA 10 example of the Mays rookie card on record, the grade of PSA 9 was the highest in existence, with 8 specimens claiming that honor. In 2010, International Sports Authentication (ISA) launched to compete with the industry giants, and Dimitri so believed in the accuracy and integrity of the newly founded company that he crossed his card over to an ISA 9 MINT grade, instantly creating major hobby credibility and catalog acceptance for the Michigan-based firm.
Offering complete transparency the offered card was in a PSA MINT 9 holder and part of the famed Dimitri Young collection. Dimitri made the decision to transfer the card to a GAI 9.5 GEM MINT holder thereby removing from the PSA MINT holder. Understandably this sounds suspect today, but at the time GAI was gaining a great deal of marketshare and was quite popular within the industry. Upon GAI's fall from grace and the eventual closing of the business, the card was attempted to be regraded on a review basis back into a PSA MINT 9 holder. After several attempts it has become apparent that PSA will not regrade the card a MINT 9 and at that point the card was graded MINT 9 by ISA. Please note you are bidding on a ISA MINT 9 of Willie Mays 1951 Bowman rookie card and we are making absolutely no claims at all that the card will ever be regraded by PSA.
In the early 2000s I sold Dimitri his 1981 Topps PSA 10 Harold Baines which seemed difficult to find at the time. I opened several Rack boxes to get the 10. He was very "down to earth" when I spoke with him and sold him the Baines. Other than Marshal Fogel I don't think anyone had quite the number of ultra high grade cards. He was very very close to getting most all the 50's-80's major rookies in PSA 10 grade (absolutely amazing it seems to this day)..
I can see why PSA would be hesitant to reassign it a MINT 9. It also looks sad in that holder. Oh well, a decision made long ago. Dmitri was a superstar in our world for awhile. It was fun tracking the news on his latest purchases.
I remember at one of the Nationals in Baltimore,, Memory Lane Auctions had Dimitri at their booth signing autographs for free.
IMF
I know Young tried extremely hard to get an ‘81 Valenzuela in a 10. He told a story of opening up a lot of 1981 Topps and doesn’t think there will ever be one.
I agree with him on Fernando too. No way there’ll ever be a 10. Especially with grading as it is now.
Ill take that bet. You might not like the way it looks but it will happen.
Maybe spend a year scooping up as many of the nicest PSA 9 Fernando's one can find, crack them out and then send them all in at once. Try to time them such that the graders are at their happiest point in the year (holidays Christmas etc) Might this work???
When and if the Fernando 10 does show up the current Vegas odds that 4SC will be the submitter is -4500.
I pulled this from a Google search....
Former MLB all-star Dmitri Young famously bought un-opened vintage wax and set cases—including 1981 and 1982 Topps products—spending tens of thousands of dollars to rip cards, hunt for gem-mint rookie cards like Harold Baines and Cal Ripken Jr., and submit them directly to PSA.
Dmitri Young's Wax Box Strategy
The Hunt: Young bought massive quantities of early-1980s wax cases to find pristine "Gem Mint 10" rookie cards.
Hygiene Routine: He washed his hands meticulously before opening packs from his cases.
Submissions: Freshly ripped cards went straight into protective holders and off to PSA for grading.
The Collection: His massive, high-grade accumulation later realized millions when put on the auction block.