Wanna help me pre-grade some early '50s stuff I just happened into? - 2/18 GRADES POPPED!

onefasttalon · February 6, 2009 12:13PM

I was just at the right place and the right time… that’s all.

I hired an additional member to my team at work a couple of weeks ago, and while shooting the $$$$ at lunch one day the subject of baseball cards came up… man an I glad it did! He tells me his wife inherited her Dad’s old cards and wants rid of them. He tells me she has just one binder full, and that they’re sitting in a “safe” at home. Well… needlesstoday, 2 days later they’re now in my possession to sell.

All of these cards were placed in 9-pockett pages inside of a single 3-ring binder. The “safe” her referred to ended up being an old laptop back at the bottom of his closet.

To my amazement, I found NOTHING BUT ’52 – ’57 Topps/Bowman Baseball cards with about a dozen ’52 Bowman Small Football. Again, nothing older than ’51, nothing newer than ’57! Because everything was in jammed into the 9-pocket pages, condition was all over the place… mostly Poor to VG and just a few exceptions.

I’ve picked a few of the cards out to get slabbed, and would like to share them with all of you, and get your opinion. Now… keep in mind I’m a modern collector, so working with early 50’s stuff is new for me, so is getting anything like this graded. I have a pretty keen eye for modern stuff, so humor me.

First up… a ’53 Bowman Color Ruzzuto. No creasing, GREAT color, nice centering… my best guess is a PSA 4 with a shot of a 5.

Next, a couple of ’57 Topps Banks. Both are crease-free. Thinking a PSA 6 on both with a possibility of 7 on one of them (the one with the worse focus believe it or not.)

How about a ’55 Bowman Banks? Again, crease free, but rougher edges/corners. I’m hoping for a PSA 4 with a shot at a 5.

This ’55 Bowman Rizzuto is nice. Again, crease free… hoping for a PSA 5, maybe a 6.

This ’56 Topps Clemente is rough. Nasty crease top-to-bottom through the center. BUT… it’s a ’56 Clemente, how can I not get is slabbed just to assure it’s not trimmed or altered in any way. I’m hoping for a PSA 2.

This ’54 Bowman Duke Snider might be the best card condition-wise in the whole collection. It’s fantastic! I’m shooting for a 7 with a shot at a 8.

This ’54 Bowman Mantle is SWEET! No creases, decent centering… crossing my fingers for a PSA 6 on this one.

This ’54 Bowman Mays isn’t horrible, but does have a crease in the upper-right-hand corner. I gotta believe this one will be a PSA 2, maybe a 3.

This ’53 Topps Mantle is ugly, but HEY, IT’S A ’53 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE! More than anything else, I want it slabbed to verify it’s not altered in any way. PSA 2???

This ’53 Topps Jackie is rough… it’s got some surface indentions on the front, and a couple surface wrinkles on the backside. Again, wanting to make sure it’s not altered. PSA 2???

I’m probably not going to slab this one, but it’s nice to look at. It’s one of the ’52 Bowman Small Football cards that was in the binder. My eyes about fell out when I first saw it, but upon further review it’s probably no better than a PSA 6 of 7.

So… am I way off on any of them????

goose3 · February 6, 2009 12:19PM

I'd say you're pretty optimistic on the, well on most of them.

cool find though!

Any Fellers to sell?

leathtech · February 6, 2009 12:23PM

what no vintage Sabo's?

Nice pick ups!

mealeworm · February 6, 2009 12:24PM

Wow what great cards. I would get them graded, but you will get burned on a few. The 55 Bowman Banks will get MC same as the 53 Mantle. The 57 Banks will get PD. The 53 Snider looks like it has slight paper loss on the back. PSA is tought on HOFers from the 50's.

Dave

SidePocket · February 6, 2009 12:41PM

What a great find. Those are some classic cards. I think Goose is right though.

The 54 Snider appears to have a smashed bottom left corner. Probably lookin at a 5, but a beautiful card.

bobsbbcards · February 6, 2009 12:45PM

Nice pickups. I agree that your grading is a bit high on many of them though (none of them will grade as high as a 6).

WinPitcher · February 6, 2009 12:47PM

Nice find! I think most are 4's and 5's, still should bring some decent dough!

Good luck!

Steve

onefasttalon · February 6, 2009 12:48PM

Goose... Yep, a '53 Topps Feller... I'll PM ya.

thanks guys... like I said, I'm a modern guy so this is completely new to me.

I figure for $14/card, these would still be worth getting slabbed.

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 12:49PM

4.5 RIZZUTO
5 BANKS
5 BANKS
4 BANKS
5 RIZZUTO
3 CLEMENTE
5.5 SNIDER
5 MANTLE
3 MAYS
3 MC MANTLE
3 ROBINSON
4.5 BAUGH

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 12:52PM

$14 PER CARD????????????
SEND EM IN ON THE $10 BULK RATE... min 10 cards

onefasttalon · February 6, 2009 12:58PM

$14 PER CARD???????????? SEND EM IN ON THE $10 BULK RATE... min 10 cards

I thought about that... buuuut... I'm WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too impatient for that! I'd rather pay the extra $4 per card and gett'em back 5 weeks quicker!

storm888 · February 6, 2009 1:00PM

Fun find and worth getting slabbed.

The grades will ALL be way low, but they will sell just fine on EBAY.

cwazzy · February 6, 2009 1:02PM

Nice pick up! I will double your money right now on the '53 Robinson and '54 Snider.

Chris

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 1:06PM

my last 2 bulk subs of over 100 cards.. have popped in under 1 week
they have been really strong on turn times..

i also missed that crease on the reverse of the mays card.. psa 3

Dboneesq · February 6, 2009 1:08PM

REAL nice find. I wish you the best of luck on the grading, but I think your "hopes" are a bit high ... probably a couple of grades higher then they will grade.

DrJ · February 6, 2009 1:34PM

Nice find. Your grading is very far off from reality, but enjoy the process and be sure to report on back.

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 1:38PM

Your grading is very far off from reality

DRJ... I do not know why you feel the need to word things the way you do... it
is not needed...

Dboneesq · February 6, 2009 1:39PM

Two of my recent submissions (they were my first ever) to PSA popped the other day. Here are a few cards in their raw form that were part of that sub. They are around the same time period as yours, although mine are all commons.

The grades were much worse than I thought they would be ... use them for a comparison:

The top 2 - Graded 5 and 6
The bottom a 4 WTF?????????????????????

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 1:42PM

3
4.5
5

oops.. you edited in the grades.. lol
I thought the top left had a bent top left corner

DrJ · February 6, 2009 1:44PM

<< Your grading is very far off from reality

DRJ... I do not know why you feel the need to word things the way you do... it
is not needed... >>

OAKESY you need to move on buddy. I know you are still sore over the Koufax everyone told you was trimmed, but seriously your stalking is becoming very disturbing and definitely not needed on these boards.

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 1:47PM

drj... I won't hijack this good members thread.. but in my own defense..
I was not arguing on the koufax post.. I was discussing the card..
re read the post in no way did I ever come off upset.. your immature posts
are your MO and you are a board cancer

DrJ · February 6, 2009 1:52PM

<< drj... I won't hijack this good members thread.. but in my own defense..
I was not arguing on the koufax post.. I was discussing the card..
re read the post in no way did I ever come off upset.. your immature posts
are your MO and you are a board cancer >>

Oaksey over and over again you ask for opinions and then when someone disagrees with you, you resort to name calling or defending your erroneous position ad naseum. The trimmed Koufax was just the latest in a long line of similar threads.

If your only reason to post is to diagree with the same people who you are asking opinions of, you need to stay off of message boards and in your own little world. This is your MO and it is quite cancerous and laughable.

Ironmanfan · February 6, 2009 2:01PM

Oaksey is also smarting from PoppaJ telling him that bogus 500 HR ball that he bought for $300 off eBay was real

JMHO

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 2:01PM

proof of a small mind is someone who cannot differentiate between a discussion and an argument
you can keep pm'ing me.. calling me a stalker.. ( irony at its best by the way )
unless you have something helpful to add to a post.. stop writing words down and hitting enter
unless you get a proof reader that can explain to you how ignorant you are

OAKESY25 · February 6, 2009 2:02PM

ironman... heck no.. you guys saved me 300 bucks on that one..

DrJ · February 6, 2009 2:09PM

<< proof of a small mind is someone who cannot differentiate between a discussion and an argument
you can keep pm'ing me.. calling me a stalker.. ( irony at its best by the way )
unless you have something helpful to add to a post.. stop writing words down and hitting enter
unless you get a proof reader that can explain to you how ignorant you are >>

HeritageAddict · February 6, 2009 2:15PM

Whatever they grade it is still a great pick up. Any koufaxs of fords?

rube26105 · February 6, 2009 2:49PM

hi

rbdjr1 · February 6, 2009 2:59PM

<<

hi

>>

rd

rube26105 · February 6, 2009 3:04PM

id sub em! i never find anthing old and cool anymore, used to
let me know if ya got any 52 topps baseball, im working on auto set ttm to guys that are still alive,what did ya get in 50 bowman fb?

TNP777 · February 6, 2009 3:05PM

great find, Russ! Regarding your '52 Bowman Small football, I don't suppose you ended up with a Waterfield or Robustelli, did you?

rube26105 · February 6, 2009 3:11PM

<--- ruben hood

jeffcbay · February 6, 2009 3:46PM

Talon, I must say I have dreams of having that type of conversation with someone ALL THE TIME!! It haunts me actually. I can't believe you actually ran into someone who had a collection like this lying around. Granted, the cards are in pretty rough shape, but it's gotta be a thrill just to flip each page and drooling on some SWEET vintage! Green with envy doesn't even describe... good luck with the grading! By the way, go with the $7 February Special. The difference between the January and February Specials are, the January Special had turnaround upon demand, but the February has a 15 days or less turnaround. Just do the $7... my opinion. Also, I would just like to TOUCH the '53 Mantle... thank you.

VitoCo1972 · February 6, 2009 4:05PM

Always a +1 for a Charles Nelson Reiley sighting

TNP777 · February 6, 2009 4:09PM

IchiroDeported · February 6, 2009 4:22PM

love the vintage, in ANY condition. dont get your hopes up on the grades, even the nicest ones you posted may only come back 5's. They are still nice to have.

leadoff4 · February 6, 2009 10:17PM

I agree w/ Jeffcbay, do the $7 special on all but the two '57 Banks and the '56 Clemente. The two '57s probably won't grade higher than a 5 anyway. Do the $14/5 day on the two '57 Banks and the '56 Clemente and find a few more to throw in to make 10 cards if you don't have enough with the others for the special. Nice stuff anyway and a pleasure to see them. I would get them all slabbed.

stevek · February 6, 2009 10:58PM

Unless it's an obvious beater, any star card of the 50's should be PSA graded to obtain top resale value.

Ironmanfan · February 6, 2009 11:26PM

Talon did you buy these card outright or are you selling them on behalf of your co-worker?

onefasttalon · February 6, 2009 11:27PM

HeritageAddict ... No Koufax's : ( .... but there is a nice '54 Ford in the lot!

Rube... I'll PM ya my list... there were a few!

Geordie... I'll check for ya! PM'ing you with what I find!

JeffcBay.... my only concern on the $7/monthly special is the max declared value is $100/card. I gotta believe a few of these should be declared for more than $100.

I manage to find myself in 'the right place at the right time' about once every other year, but this is one of the better finds I've ever had!

Reese3333 · February 6, 2009 11:54PM

Hi Russ,

Great find! If you happen to find any of the following 52 Bowman Small Football cards, I would be interested.

Hugh McElhenny
Art Donovan
Gino Marchetti

Thanks!
Reese

OAKESY25 · February 7, 2009 12:32AM

Talon.. declared value is for ins purposes only.. you could declare $10 per card if you want to

WinPitcher · February 7, 2009 2:02AM

ummmm not really.

PSA will not let a hi dollar card be graded for 7.00 just because you dont insure it properly.

They will with some. Not all.

You can't get a 1953 Mantle that should grade a 7, graded at the minimum rate just because
you declare it as a 20.00 card.

It has to be within reason.

They have kicked cards back or placed orders on the 'problem shelf'

Steve

Dboneesq · February 7, 2009 3:09AM

<< I manage to find myself in 'the right place at the right time' about once every other year, but this is one of the better finds I've ever had! >>

You DEFINITELY were in the right place THIS time!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!

Ahmanfan · February 7, 2009 5:04AM

I'm also interested to see what 52 Fb or other Fb you came up with.
John

rube26105 · February 7, 2009 6:48AM

i put 1.00 on all my values, im not paying all that extra $

postage is high enough as it is trying to get you stuff back, like my 2 auto subs from the nov-dec special i still dont have

onefasttalon · February 7, 2009 6:54AM

Outside of the Baugh, this is all I have left of the '52 Bowman Small football...

goose3 · February 7, 2009 7:18AM

very cool!

EAsports · February 7, 2009 8:02AM

Please PM me if you wish to part with the Van Buren.

Great find!

sbtrailrider · February 8, 2009 4:17AM

As interesting as the cards are, what was the deal you struck? "Yeah, I'll unload those for you?" Or, "What do want for them?" Or, Would you take $$$ for them?" You don't need to give us numbers but rather the direction of the conversation.

And, if you're selling - send me the list. Thanks.

onefasttalon · February 18, 2009 4:12AM

Grades Popped just a moment ago!

As a recap, here were my pre-grade guesses:
’53 Topps Robinson - PSA 2
’53 Topps Mantle - PSA 2
’54 Bowman Mays – PSA 2 w/ a shot at a 3
’54 Bowman Mantle – was hoping for a 6!
’54 Bowman Snider – Thought it was my best card, PSA 7 w/ a shot at an 8!
’56 Topps Clemente – PSA 2
’55 Bowman Rizzuto – PSA 5 w/ a shot at a 6
’55 Bowman Banks – PSA 4 w/ a shot at a 5
’57 Banks – PSA 6… shot at a 7
’57 Banks – PSA 6… shot at a 7
’53 Bowman Color Rizzuto - PSA 4 w/ a shot at a 5

…. This is how they ended up:

1 14805394 VERY GOOD 3 1953 TOPPS 1 JACKIE ROBINSON
2 14805395 GOOD 2 MC 1953 TOPPS 82 MICKEY MANTLE
3 14805396 VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT 4 1954 BOWMAN 89 WILLIE MAYS
4 14805397 EXCELLENT 5 1954 BOWMAN 65 MICKEY MANTLE
5 14805398 VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT 4 1954 BOWMAN 170 DUKE SNIDER
6 14805399 GOOD 2 1956 TOPPS 33 ROBERTO CLEMENTE GRAY BACK
7 14805400 EXCELLENT+ 5.5 1955 BOWMAN 10 PHIL RIZZUTO
8 14805401 VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT+ 4.5 1955 BOWMAN 242 ERNIE BANKS
9 14805402 EXCELLENT-MINT 6 1957 TOPPS 55 ERNIE BANKS
9 14805403 EXCELLENT-MINT 6 1957 TOPPS 55 ERNIE BANKS
10 14805404 VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT 4 1953 BOWMAN COLOR 9 PHIL RIZZUTO

Total Items: 11
Date Received: 2/11/2009
Date Shipped: N/A
Order Status: OK

SO… the good news is, NOTHING was deemed trimmed or altered!
Turns out, I wasn’t too far off on my pre-grading either!... except for that Snider. : (

I have a few PM’s to answer first, but most/all will be available on the B/S/T board when they arrive.

Wanna help me pre-grade some early '50s stuff I just happened into? - 2/18 GRADES POPPED!

Comments