$1,000 burning a hole in my pocket.... what should I buy?

larryallen73 · May 5, 2008 1:51AM

Ok, well my coin sales are done. I netted a little over $2,000. I sent 135 cards to PSA last week on the $5 special. I spent a couple hundred on misc Dodger and UCLA cards. I have about a grand left. Any thoughts on what I should buy? I am speaking of spending the money on sports cards before anybody starts a witty reply of other items that could be purchased for a grand. Also, I have investments so don't need the advice that I normally give people who starts these type of threads. I am looking for a card or cards, pre 1970. Sure if somebody thinks a certain card, or segement of cards, is under valued I would look at that. However, future appreciation is not my primary focus. Looking to improve my collection with a cool card or cards. Maybe to phrase the question another way, what sports card(s) would YOU buy if you had a grand burning a hole in your pocket? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 1:52AM

Vintage Football - There is a PSA 8 Unitas rookie on eBay right now for about a grand - great card - great investment

Edited for spelling

fattymacs · May 5, 2008 1:57AM

I don't know which exact card, but I'd stick to:

1. Mantle
2. Clemente
3. Mays
4. Williams
5. Koufax
6. Aaron
7. Rose
8. Kaline/Killebrew/Snider/Yogi
9. Any other star from the Yankees

CDsNuts · May 5, 2008 2:00AM

Along the same lines as what Vito's thinking, I would pick a group of 50s and 60s key cards in mid-high grade. For a grand, you could get all of the following:

- A PSA 7 Dr. J RC
- A PSA 6 Bob Gibson RC
- A PSA 6 Frank Robinson RC
- A PSA 6 Oscar Robertson RC
- A PSA 5 Unitas RC
- A PSA 7 Gale Sayers RC

storm888 · May 5, 2008 2:03AM

A PSA Mantle card is safe.

But, I would wait a few months for prices to decrease.

cwazzy · May 5, 2008 2:05AM

I would go with a PSA 6 '54 Topps Aaron rookie.

Chris

SportsItUpCards · May 5, 2008 2:18AM

An unopened box of a good vintage product.

Giovanni

RipublicaninMass · May 5, 2008 2:24AM

Psa 4 t205 Walter Johnson

DavidPuddy · May 5, 2008 2:41AM

A bunch of lap dances?

Blackborder · May 5, 2008 2:51AM

T-206 HOFer

larryallen73 · May 5, 2008 2:53AM

All (except the lapdance suggestion) are good thoughts. Thank you to all. I did anticipate the lap dance type response but I guess my original post was not clear.

Am curious Lee, do you like the mix of cards as an "investment" or just to have more cool cards? That is, I have heard some people suggest lower grade cards could be good investments since the premium paid for the higher grade can be so extreme.

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 3:04AM

<< All (except the lapdance suggestion) are good thoughts. Thank you to all. I did anticipate the lap dance type response but I guess my original post was not clear.

Am curious Lee, do you like the mix of cards as an "investment" or just to have more cool cards? That is, I have heard some people suggest lower grade cards could be good investments since the premium paid for the higher grade can be so extreme. >>

I think the prices on lower/mid grade cards are only going to decrease. I wouldn't invest in anything worse than a 7. I say that because as collections are unearthed and graded, it's unlikely there will be 500 more Unitas rookies in PSA 8 but it's very likely more 5's will surface. I know this is all common knowledge, but I figured I'd state the obvious.

hofautos · May 5, 2008 3:17AM

A nice 48 leaf jackie robinson or 54 Hank Aaron

bsidegrve · May 5, 2008 3:53AM

Best looking,well centered of any of these football cards....

48 Sammy Baugh
57 Johnny Unitas
57 Bart Star
58 Jim Brown
65 Joe Namath
66 Dick Butkus
66 Gale Sayers

CDsNuts · May 5, 2008 4:12AM

Vito- I disagree. The artificial premium placed on cards with slightly fewer miniscule flaws will come back down to earth at some point. A 7 should not sell for twice as much as a 6. An 8 should not sell for 3 times as much as a 7. A 9 shouldn't sell for 15 times that. These so-called high grade cards will not maintain their outrageous value as people begin to realize it makes more sense to have 3 PSA 7 Unitas RCs than one 8 with only slightly better eye appeal. Your argument that there will be an even bigger separation from one grade to the next simply because of supply is not rational because the market is already acting irrationally and it will not continue to act even more irrational over the long run. The notion that a PSA 5 Johnny Unitas RC will be worth less than $200 in the future just doesn't make any sense to me, but I can certainly see a $20,000 PSA 9 Unitas RC losing value.

larry, to answer your question, I just prefer to have many really good cards than one great card, especially if that great card can be included in the really good cards in only slightly lesser condition. That's just my preference, and I'd also consider it to be a better investment. I also get more enoyment out of having a well-rounded collection that will at least maintain its value over the long run, rather than a couple very valuable cards by today's standards, that may or may not maintain their value in the future.

julen23 · May 5, 2008 4:13AM

buy nice '86 fleer basketball set + stickers.

J

i dont think this set will ever b discounted either, so solid investment.

NickM · May 5, 2008 4:19AM

For a bit less than $1000, you could get 3 players in PSA 5 from the 1951 Topps Connie Mack All-Stars set - tell me adding vintage Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, and Mickey Cochrane tallboys in bright colors wouldn't be very cool, especially if you display your cards.

There would probably be enough money left over for a PSA 7 rookie of a late '50s or early '60s less popular HOFer, such as Mazeroski, Bunning, B. Williams, Aparicio, Perry, or Cepeda. One of those is fairly cool in its own right.

Nick

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 4:29AM

<< Vito- I disagree. The artificial premium placed on cards with slightly fewer miniscule flaws will come back down to earth at some point. A 7 should not sell for twice as much as a 6. An 8 should not sell for 3 times as much as a 7. A 9 shouldn't sell for 15 times that. These so-called high grade cards will not maintain their outrageous value as people begin to realize it makes more sense to have 3 PSA 7 Unitas RCs than one 8 with only slightly better eye appeal. Your argument that there will be an even bigger separation from one grade to the next simply because of supply is not rational because the market is already acting irrationally and it will not continue to act even more irrational over the long run. The notion that a PSA 5 Johnny Unitas RC will be worth less than $200 in the future just doesn't make any sense to me, but I can certainly see a $20,000 PSA 9 Unitas RC losing value.
>>

Lee, I tend to disagree for this reason...there will always be crazy rich people who collect cards. Those people will always want to have what is considered the "best" That said, I agree that there should not be a 500% difference between a 5 and an 8. That's just ridiculous. I do stick to my theory that if there are 1000 Unitas rookies out there to be graded, it is very likely that of those 1000, there will be more than likely (and I'm kind of talking out you know what here) 50 2's 50 3's 100 4's 400 5's 200 6's 100 7's 50 8's 23 9's and 2 10's. That would sound fairly rational to me. Now, if that's the case, and SMR on a 5 is 200 and SMR on an 8 is 1000, shouldn't the values of all cards when the pop report goes up decrease slightly based on supply and demand? Now, I would agree that the value of a 9 would drop more than that of a 5 because there are less people that can afford a 9, but the value of the 5 has to decrease as well, no? Plus, because there are fewer 9's than 5's and the percentages will still equal out in the end, wouldn't the market as a whole be effected the same way by and influx of a particular graded card?

I don't know. I've only been into grading cards for a year. I'm perfectly content to let someone set me straight on the issue.

CDsNuts · May 5, 2008 4:33AM

It's really all just guesswork. If I really knew what was gonna happen in the future I'd be a rich man by now.

fkw · May 5, 2008 6:52AM

IMO If you want to make money on your investment, you will be better off buying a truly rare Nineteenth Century - PreWar "type card".
Let supply and demand work for you.

Modern cards of Mantle, Clemente, etc. are extremely common and no big deal to advanced collectors.

PS. When the Bronx Baby Boomers start leaving us......... Mickey Mantle cards will eventually drop in value to where they should be. Most fans from outside the Bronx know that Mantle was just an average HOFer with numbers similar to or less than Killebrew, F.Robinson, Mathews, Banks, etc.

average Mantle season
450 At Bats
29 HRs
83 RBIs
.298 AVE

calaban7 · May 5, 2008 7:05AM

If you like , you could always buy me a birthday present.

I'm just kidding, but if you change your mind, I'll help you out.

Ahmanfan · May 5, 2008 7:08AM

Good points by Vito and CDsnuts. I completely agree with some sort of a grouping like Lee said:

A PSA 7 Dr. J RC
- A PSA 6 Bob Gibson RC
- A PSA 6 Frank Robinson RC
- A PSA 6 Oscar Robertson RC
- A PSA 5 Unitas RC
- A PSA 7 Gale Sayers RC

Of course, it could be tweaked to fit your favorites. Maybe switch the Oscar for a West, Unitas for a Starr, Sayers for Butkus. But that is a nice 6 card group for a grand. I think HOFer RC's from early football sets are good investments. I also like HOFers from 48 bowman and 57/8 topps basketball, because even though I like the 61/2 fleer better, I think those sets are more rare and cond. sensitive. Not sure if they are already as high as they will go, however.
John

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 7:24AM

<< Good points by Vito and CDsnuts. I completely agree with some sort of a grouping like Lee said:

A PSA 7 Dr. J RC
- A PSA 6 Bob Gibson RC
- A PSA 6 Frank Robinson RC
- A PSA 6 Oscar Robertson RC
- A PSA 5 Unitas RC
- A PSA 7 Gale Sayers RC

Of course, it could be tweaked to fit your favorites. Maybe switch the Oscar for a West, Unitas for a Starr, Sayers for Butkus. But that is a nice 6 card group for a grand. I think HOFer RC's from early football sets are good investments. I also like HOFers from 48 bowman and 57/8 topps basketball, because even though I like the 61/2 fleer better, I think those sets are more rare and cond. sensitive. Not sure if they are already as high as they will go, however.
John >>

John, I agree on 57 Topps Basketball. 61 Fleer is about as good as it's going to get right now. 57 Basketball will get better because it's even more condition sensitive (if that's possible) than 61 Fleer plus, when some of the HOFers kick off, the cards will increase in value - at least you would think. It's amazing about the #1 and last card in each of those sets (Attles/Clifton and West IA/Schnittiker) - all the problems with baseball sets are mirrored in their basketball counterparts. Those cards are TOUGH in high grade.

DavidPuddy · May 5, 2008 7:26AM

Well, if you don't want the lap dances,,
I love the commentary on this thread. Lots of good points.

Whatever you choose to do with the grand, I think you should consider a McCovey and/or Yaz Rookie.
There are some very nice looking examples available for what I consider a reasonable amount of money.

TheCARDKid · May 5, 2008 7:42AM

People will always want the best.

Peoples desire to own the best will trump any "logical" reason why a card shouldn't be so high, or a 9 is only a fraction better than a 8. Look at crazy prices in real estate...someone built a billion dollar house in India. And the card world is still small vs coins, comics.

A grand in my pocket?

A nice '33 or '34 Goudey Gehrig.

Looks like a nice card for the money, 34 Goudey Gehrig

Or a T206 Cobb.

My first choice would be a '33 Goudey Ruth, but I think those run a little higher than $1,000. In PSA 3.

larryallen73 · May 5, 2008 7:47AM

Thanks for all the thoughts guys. Here is a '33 Gehrig... boy, sure makes me want to bid!

Link

hofautos · May 5, 2008 8:05AM

<< Vito- I disagree. The artificial premium placed on cards with slightly fewer miniscule flaws will come back down to earth at some point. A 7 should not sell for twice as much as a 6. An 8 should not sell for 3 times as much as a 7. A 9 shouldn't sell for 15 times that. These so-called high grade cards will not maintain their outrageous value as people begin to realize it makes more sense to have 3 PSA 7 Unitas RCs than one 8 with only slightly better eye appeal. Your argument that there will be an even bigger separation from one grade to the next simply because of supply is not rational because the market is already acting irrationally and it will not continue to act even more irrational over the long run. The notion that a PSA 5 Johnny Unitas RC will be worth less than $200 in the future just doesn't make any sense to me, but I can certainly see a $20,000 PSA 9 Unitas RC losing value.

larry, to answer your question, I just prefer to have many really good cards than one great card, especially if that great card can be included in the really good cards in only slightly lesser condition. That's just my preference, and I'd also consider it to be a better investment. I also get more enoyment out of having a well-rounded collection that will at least maintain its value over the long run, rather than a couple very valuable cards by today's standards, that may or may not maintain their value in the future. >>

I disagree. There should be huge premiums the higher the grade. Consider the serious collectors have a LOT of bucks. If you were a multi-millionaire and wanted to put together a nice collection that you would be proud to own, you wouldn't mind spending $10,000 on a psa 8 Hank Aaaron rookie, where you would have no desire for anything less. $10,000 to a multi-millioinaire is like $10 to most of us. There will always be huge premiums on the most rare and nicest cards. Also, as the rich get richer, the higher grade more rare cards will continue to climb, especially if there are only a couple dozen in the high grade, where there may be hundreds if not thousands of the same card in lower grades.

Whether you think there shouldn't be 500% difference (or more) between a 5 and an 8 is irrelevant to those that can afford it.

NickM · May 5, 2008 8:38AM

hofautos - the difference between a 5 and an 8 is normally readily apparent upon looking at the card. The difference between an 8, 9, and 10 is often not apparent to anyone but a trained observer on careful examination. The price premium for 9s and 10s as compared to 8s is therefore far more susceptible to wealthy collectors deciding that there should be no significant premium for differences that they cannot even detect other than a number on a slab.

I'll second what CARDKid said about a T206 Cobb - a red portrait, bat on shoulder, or bat off shoulder is doable for under $1000 in PSA 3/SGC 40.

Consider also some autographs. I'm very partial to Paluso lithographs from his series of 55 in 1991 - mostly baseball, but a few of other sports (signed by both the artist and player, and numbered). "Common" HOFers (Sewell, Herman, Sutton, Kiner, Boudreau, Appling, etc.) can readily be found for $30 or less, while even ones like Koufax and Williams can be done for $500 or so. Professionally matted and framed, they are fantastic display pieces.

Nick

BobaFett72 · May 5, 2008 8:46AM

57-58 topps basketball is very underpriced and under appreciated.

very condition sensitive and packed with HOF'ers

hofautos · May 5, 2008 8:52AM

<< hofautos - the difference between a 5 and an 8 is normally readily apparent upon looking at the card. The difference between an 8, 9, and 10 is often not apparent to anyone but a trained observer on careful examination. The price premium for 9s and 10s as compared to 8s is therefore far more susceptible to wealthy collectors deciding that there should be no significant premium for differences that they cannot even detect other than a number on a slab.

Nick >>

You really need to do a card by card basis for those astronomical differences in prices.

I agree sometimes it is hard to tell between a 9 and a 10, but should be easily between an 8 and a 10, unless there was a gross error. Even if you see a 9 that looks better than a 10, the 10 will undoubtedly get more $.

The bigger the difference in price will really be determined by the scarcity in the higher grade, and the popularity of the card.

Take the 1954 aaron for example. what is it the poppage between 7,8,9,10?

I really do not know, but I could easily see a 7 selling for $1500, and a 9 selling for $10000 plus simply because the serious collectors that have bottomless pockets have no desire for a 7, even if that 7 looks just as nice as the 9. Whether it makes sense or not, again, is immaterial to the highend collectors. People that have million dollar budgets for their collection don't think the same as the common collector.

edmundfitzgerald · May 5, 2008 8:54AM

ted williams

hofautos · May 5, 2008 9:09AM

centered one of these $1000-$1200

centered one of these $1000

THE MANTLE $1200

There are too many cobbs in the $1000 psa 3 range...you can find those easily and the prices haven't moved as much as the others listed.

envoy98 · May 5, 2008 9:13AM

Since I'm a Football guy...Heres some values in the min grade you'd want to buy for these with any "investment" potential.

<< Best looking,well centered of any of these football cards....

48 Sammy Baugh PSA 5 @ $350
57 Johnny Unitas PSA 7 @ $425
57 Bart Star PSA 7 @ $475
58 Jim Brown PSA 7 @ $500
65 Joe Namath PSA 6 @ $850
66 Dick Butkus PSA 7 @ $400
66 Gale Sayers PSA 8 @ $450
>>

Mid-grad Namath's have appreciated about $100 / yr the last 3 years. PSA 5's are now over $500, 6's are nearing the $1k mark and 7's are upwards and over $2k on a regular basis.

Baugh has appreciated a little bit, the others have held pretty steady.

T-206's in mid-grade are always a solid investment. Or at least, they don't lose value.

hofautos · May 5, 2008 9:16AM

Also a centered 55 koufax was 600-700 just a year and a half ago...that would be another good pickup.

Bosox1976 · May 5, 2008 9:21AM

I'd buy one really spectacular 1950's HOF card in PSA 8 rather than a group, even paying a premium for the spectacular eye appeal. Pick a real jaw dropper that you'll always enjoy.

You can always get hundred dollar cards - rarely do you have a grand laying around. Nice quandry to have though.

WinPitcher · May 5, 2008 10:22AM

Give the money to charity.

Steve

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 10:30AM

<< I'd buy one really spectacular 1950's HOF card in PSA 8 rather than a group, even paying a premium for the spectacular eye appeal. Pick a real jaw dropper that you'll always enjoy.

You can always get hundred dollar cards - rarely do you have a grand laying around. Nice quandry to have though. >>

I tend to agree with this. Why not buy a showpiece if you're just doing it for your personal collection?

hofautos · May 5, 2008 10:53AM

<< I'd buy one really spectacular 1950's HOF card in PSA 8 rather than a group, even paying a premium for the spectacular eye appeal. Pick a real jaw dropper that you'll always enjoy.

You can always get hundred dollar cards - rarely do you have a grand laying around. Nice quandry to have though. >>

Yea, like one of the few that I showed or something similar. Also, you will realize better profit by buying one over several lesser expensive cards, and it's easier to move if you need to down the road, and also more pride in having one sweet card over a few lesser cards.

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 10:59AM

<< 

<< I'd buy one really spectacular 1950's HOF card in PSA 8 rather than a group, even paying a premium for the spectacular eye appeal. Pick a real jaw dropper that you'll always enjoy.

You can always get hundred dollar cards - rarely do you have a grand laying around. Nice quandry to have though. >>

Yea, like one of the few that I showed or something similar. Also, you will realize better profit by buying one over several lesser expensive cards, and it's easier to move if you need to down the road, and also more pride in having one sweet card over a few lesser cards. >>

Exactly - I don't see a card like this decreasing in value:

My dream card - one day it will be mine - oh yes, it will be mine

Ahmanfan · May 5, 2008 2:46PM

Russell's RC is hard to find:midgrade SGC Russell

Edit to add:I'm not sure if this is a good price or not.

VitoCo1972 · May 5, 2008 4:02PM

<< Russell's RC is hard to find:midgrade SGC Russell

Edit to add:I'm not sure if this is a good price or not. >>

SMR on a 5 is $700. That's a pretty nice 5. I've seen 5's sell for anywhere from 500-800. You could probably snag a decent 6 for $1000. I'll need a 5 for my set eventually and my budget will be about $650

fandango · May 6, 2008 12:40AM

<< Vito- I disagree. The artificial premium placed on cards with slightly fewer miniscule flaws will come back down to earth at some point. A 7 should not sell for twice as much as a 6. An 8 should not sell for 3 times as much as a 7. A 9 shouldn't sell for 15 times that. These so-called high grade cards will not maintain their outrageous value as people begin to realize it makes more sense to have 3 PSA 7 Unitas RCs than one 8 with only slightly better eye appeal. Your argument that there will be an even bigger separation from one grade to the next simply because of supply is not rational because the market is already acting irrationally and it will not continue to act even more irrational over the long run. The notion that a PSA 5 Johnny Unitas RC will be worth less than $200 in the future just doesn't make any sense to me, but I can certainly see a $20,000 PSA 9 Unitas RC losing value.

larry, to answer your question, I just prefer to have many really good cards than one great card, especially if that great card can be included in the really good cards in only slightly lesser condition. That's just my preference, and I'd also consider it to be a better investment. I also get more enoyment out of having a well-rounded collection that will at least maintain its value over the long run, rather than a couple very valuable cards by today's standards, that may or may not maintain their value in the future. >>

LEE, true but the high end cards have not slowed down, they have only been accelerating as more collectors enter the market....i mean the beckett wagner 1 sold for over $300,000!!!!!!! say what??????? i said $300,000........

if people followed your advice thelast few years they would have missed out on some major profits in the bigtime cards....

larryallen73 · May 6, 2008 1:13AM

I appreciate everybody's input. As always so many great thoughts. I am looking for a combination of improving my overall collection with the "investment" side of it really being a distant second. I am following about 35 cards in Ebay right now, based on the feedback I received here, and we will see what comes of it. I am really going to see how things fall depending on what I win first! We shall see.... I am also going to check out that Memory Lane auction as they have some really sweet looking cards (obviously). THANK YOU!

dalemurphycollector · May 6, 2008 1:31AM

Put together any OPC set from the 1960's. Tons of HOF'ers, and rarer and costs less than Topps. Value will only go up.

CDsNuts · May 6, 2008 2:08AM

fandango- Talk to me in 10 years and we'll see where a '62 Koufax PSA 8 and a PSA 9 '69 Lou Brock are. There have always been short-term wrinkles in the hobby that artificially inflate prices, but in the long run, they always come back to earth. I don't buy cards to make money off them in a few years- that's what they call prospecting. There have been many ways to make short-term money on cards over the last few years: 2001 Topps Heritage, 2003-04 UD Exquisite, 1991 Desert Shield singles, Tom Brady/Peyton Manning/Pujols RCs.............. This is absolutely no indication of where they will be farther in the future. If anything, it's an indication that they will lose value- just about everything that hit an insane price level 5-7 years ago has not maintained its value: PSA 10 Griffey RCs, Tiger RCs, high grade MJ RCs. The prospectors have moved on from that stuff and have new things to blow their money on. Just because people are rich and have money to spend on stuff doesn't mean the stuff they're buying will maintain its value. If the people who were buying MJ PSA 10 RCs and stickers for $10,000-$25,000 grand a pop 10 years ago had any clue, they would've realized that there was no where for those cards to go but down. I believe the same thing will happen to your guy Pujols, Brady, Manning, Lebron, Crosby, Ovechkin, etc...... $2k for a card that there are 2000 of and there are countless other less expensive RCs that collectors can choose from? Are you kidding me? It has nothing to do with their on-field performance. Tiger and Jordan are popularly thought of as the best ever in their respective sports, but do you know how much money people have dumped on their rookie cards?

I buy to either flip immediately (if I think I can make a profit) or to keep in my collection because I think they will at the very least maintain their value over the next 20 years.

Rogermnj · May 6, 2008 2:17AM

Just buy 8 1994 upper deck Arod PSA 10 rookies. $125ea. Pop report is about 1/10 of the flair and those were up to 200 when he got hot.

Once he approaches the record they will be $300+ all day.

gumbyfan · May 6, 2008 6:46AM

<< It's really all just guesswork. If I really knew what was gonna happen in the future I'd be a rich man by now. >>

jimq112 · May 6, 2008 7:49AM

It sure can't hurt to find cards that you like, that have good eye appeal for the grade, and try for a bump or 2. If you get the bumps you make a nice quick profit, and if you don't get the bump then you're stuck with good looking cards that you like.

originalisbest · May 6, 2008 10:43AM

Spectacular doesn't even always mean "highest grade". Considering of course, the unusual case of a "perfectly" centered '52 Topps Mantle in "only" PSA 5, such as Andy Madec has in his current auction. Very sweet card!

hofautos · May 6, 2008 11:01AM

<< ....just about everything that hit an insane price level 5-7 years ago has not maintained its value: >>

I think if you look at any of the classic key rookies i suggested (especially in higher grades), they have all gone up over the past 5-7 years and will continue to do so, short of a global US economy meltdown...

e.g.

T206 cobb,johnson,cy,christy
33 ruth
34 gehrig
39 teddie/dimaggio/musial
48 leaf jackie
52 mantle/mays
54 aaron
55 clemente
55 koufax
57 frank robinson

CDsNuts · May 6, 2008 11:27AM

You're not really understanding what I'm getting at here. I'm lumping all high grade cards that sell for an insane premium (10x the previous grade or more) together, whether they are key rookies or commons. What I'm saying is that the high grade market as a whole has either hit its ceiling or is close to it. "Low pop" is a concept that is being used by sellers to create and artificial rarity. A PSA 9 Clemente RC sells for $36,000. A PSA 8 sells for $5,000. I'd guess a PSA 8.5 would sell for around $9,000 or so. Let's say hypothetically you have 10 Clemente RCs: 5 PSA 8s, 4 PSA 8.5s and 1 PSA 9. Taking the cards out of the slabs, you have an assortment of Clemente RCs in anywhere from NM-MT to MINT. Lay them out on a table and try to pick out the one that sells for $36,000. You probably would be able to do it, but you'll have to look closely and you'll start to realize that the one that would grade PSA 9 is not worth $20,000-$30,000 more to you than the others. But put them in slabs and create the registry and people start going nuts and paying ridiculous premiums for flips rather than cards.

The novelty of owning a 1/1 or the highest grade of a card will wear off as people grow tired of the registry and graded cards in general. Whether we're talking about key RCs or low pop 10s, it's simply impossible for these cards to maintain the artificial premiums that are placed on them. Clemente RCs and Mantle cards and Jordan cards and Manning cards will always be in demand, but that doesn't mean that people will always be throwing money at them because of the slab they're in. Simply put, the concepts of PSA 9, PSA 10 and Low Pop will not mean as much to people in the future as they do now. Condition will always be important, but people will not be willing to spend up to 20x more for a card because centering is 2 degrees better or the corners are sharp under 10x magnification.

$1,000 burning a hole in my pocket.... what should I buy?

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