Tag: Mathewson

T206 Brown Hindu Power Rankings (Top Ten)

Based on the feedback I’ve received from other Top Ten lists I’ve published, it seems like people enjoy them.  So, I decided to put one together for my favorite back.  Besides being one of the most aesthetically pleasing backs in the T206 set, Brown Hindu is notable for being the only back that is unique to the 150-350 Series*.  There are 136 poses in the Brown Hindu Subset.  Brown Hindu is the most valuable back for almost all of these 136 poses (with a handful of exceptions noted below)**.

I’ve attempted to list these these cards in terms of demand (current market value) from highest to lowest.  I started with 17 poses and worked it down to ten.  The other 7 are listed as honorable mentions below.  As always, this is a subjective list and some readers may disagree with an exclusion or two.  Overall, I think it’s about right though.

Without further ado:

1.  Walter Johnson (Portrait)

2.  Cy Young (Portrait)

3.  Christy Mathewson (Portrait)

4.  Christy Mathewson (White Cap)

5.  Nap Lajoie (Portrait)

6.  Joe Tinker (Portrait)

7.  Mordecai Brown (Portrait)

8.  Johnny Evers (Portrait)

9.  Ed Walsh

10.  Addie Joss (Portrait)

Honorable Mentions:

-Evers (Cubs on Shirt)
-Brown (Cubs on Shirt)
-Chance (Red Background Portrait)
-Lajoie (Throwing)
-McGraw (Portrait)
-Tinker (Hands on Knees)
-Waddell (Portrait)

*Sovereign 150 also technically falls into this category, but because Sovereign backs were printed throughout the set.  Therefore, I feel Sovereign 150 has more in common with Old Mill and EPDG than Brown Hindu.

**The exceptions to this rule include the following “Elite Eleven” poses:

  • Dahlen Boston Piedmont 350
  • Ewing Piedmont 350
  • Ganley Piedmont 350
  • Jones, Tom Piedmont 350
  • Lindaman Piedmont 350
  • Schulte Piedmont 350
  • Shaw, Al Piedmont 350
  • Spencer Piedmont 350

Auction Report: Memory Lane Spring 2017

The latest Memory Lane auction concluded on Saturday evening/Sunday morning.  It was absolutely loaded with T206s.  It appears that an entire set was auctioned off, one card at a time.  Many of the cards were in high grade, and the ones that weren’t had scarce backs.  Let’s get right to the recap.

Wagner PSA 2 sells for a cool $600,000
You know it’s a special auction when there’s a Wagner up for sale.  The grade is a bit of a head-scratcher, but the card is a beauty regardless.  Congrats to the new owner!

Plank PSA 4 sells for $76,800
An absolutely beautiful centered copy with a flawless surface.  I love this card and I bet the new owner does as well.

SGC 60 Magie Error sells for $40,800 

Cobb Bat Off Lenox SGC 40 sells for $41,249
A week after the PSA 6 Uzit Cobb sold in REA for $106k, this copy finds a new home as well.  It’s a very strong card for the grade.  One of many absolute monster cards in this auction.

Speaker Drum PSA 1 sells for $26,534
One of the top 10 combos in my humble opinion, this card was in the middle of a spirited bidding war.  When the dust settled, the hammer was a healthy $26k.  In much the same way that the Wagner does not look like a “2”, this card doesn’t look like a “1”.  It’s a beautiful card for the grade.  The rounded corners and creases above his head don’t detract from the overall eye appeal much.

Carolina Brights Mathewson Dark Cap PSA 3 sells for $12,113
This card is an absolute beauty.  The colors are incredible, the surface and back are clean and the centering is solid.

Tinker Bat Off Shoulder Lenox PSA 3.5 sells for $11,011
Another extremely tough card that looks amazing for the grade.

Hindu Johnson Portrait PSA 2 sells for $6,060
Yet another example of a scarce front/back combo in this auction where the eye appeal far exceeded the technical grade.  This card looks like a 4 to me, and it looks like the bidders agreed.

Hindu Lajoie Portrait PSA 2 sells for $5,918
Like the WaJo Hindu, this one looks much nicer than a “2”.  The price was pretty hefty.  I’m surprised that Lajoie went for essentially the same price as the WaJo, especially considering that the WaJo looks like a slightly nicer card in terms of eye appeal.

Autographed Crawford with bat Polar Bear sells for $4,903
This card is an absolute beauty.  The signature is clean and the card looks to be in a clean VGEX.  The Polar Bear back adds to the appeal of this rare specimen.

Broad Leaf 460 Baker SGC 10 sells for $3,110
It doesn’t get much better than a Hall of Famer with a Broad Leaf 460 back.  This card has some obvious issues, and they no doubt kept the price down.  This feels to me like a good deal for the winner.  It’s definitely not every day you get a shot at a BL460 HOFer.

Kelley Broad Leaf 350 PSA 1 sells for $2,147
Kelley is one of the more scarce BL350s, and the price reflected that.  This is a pretty nice looking card for the grade and it could be a long while before another copy comes to market.

Why Don’t T206 Collectors Care About Hand-Cut Cards?

Ever since I started collecting T206s, I’ve always been intrigued by cards that are clearly hand-cut.  Oftentimes such cards also have blank backs or are missing colors, but sometimes they look pretty normal.  This Stovall above is a good example of a card that clearly was cut from a sheet by hand (the bottom border is much wider than any factory-cut cards), but looks just like any other Stovall portrait otherwise.

I’ve always been drawn to these cards and I don’t really understand why collectors don’t seem to care for them.  Though the market has been down recently, collectors still clearly covet Blank Backs and cards that are missing multiple colors passes.  It makes sense that the most unique examples of Printer’s Scrap would be the most valuable.  However, there is a ton of demand for other semi-scarce T206s, so the lack of demand for cards like my Stovall seems odd.  For example, a PSA 3 Snodgrass with Tolstoi back just sold for $106 via ebay auction.  Between PSA and SGC there are 14 copies of this front/back combo graded.  A PSA 3 with Piedmont back would probably sell for about $40, so the Tolstoi back was worth for a 2.5x premium.  This Stovall might be the only copy that was hand-cut, and I’d probably struggle to sell it for $30.

I can hypothesize a few reasons for the lack of demand.  Maybe the fact that you can’t really “prove” these cards were hand-cut plays a role in the tepid response from collectors.  Perhaps people find the wavy borders distracting.  And maybe there just isn’t enough variation visually between a factory-cut copy and my Stovall for people to take notice.  I do find it odd that T206 collectors hunt scarcity and perceived scarcity in many different ways, but will show little or no interest in certain scarce cards or variations.  I believe that a lack of interest in a certain T206 niche will often breed more disinterest.  It’s fun to show off your new cards and share new pickups with friends.  When you’re the only person collecting a certain thing, it can feel pretty lonely after awhile.

What do you think about hand-cut cards?  Do you like them?  Would you pay a premium for them?  Would you rather have the Leifield above, or a normal looking Leifield batting with a semi-tough back like Old Mill?  Please leave a comment and join in the conversation.