Tag: Speaker

T206 Carolina Brights Power Rankings: The Top Ten Poses

I received some good feedback the last time I posted a Power Rankings article, and I figure it’s about time for another one.  Last week, I wrote a little introduction to the Carolina Brights subset, and as a fun companion piece, here are the top ten poses available with Carolina Brights backs.

It was a little tough to decide how to rank these cards.  My main objective was to rank them according to level of stardom of the players, but I also wanted to take into consideration that some of these poses are available with less backs than others.  For example, I ended up ranking Speaker above Mathewson because Speaker, a 350 Only Subject, was printed with fewer rare backs (only Carolina Brights, Broad Leaf 350, and Drum) than Mathewson Dark Cap (a Super Print).

The one thing I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate was individual scarcity.  For example, Chase Blue Portrait with a Carolina Brights back is very scarce.  If a nice one came to auction right now, it would likely sell for more than many of the players above Chase on this list.  But because I couldn’t figure out a good way to quantify that, I have just stuck with a mix of stardom and desirability.  I’m sure many of you would rank these slightly differently, but I feel like it’s a pretty good list.  Let me know what you think in the comments section!

1.  Ty Cobb (Red Background Portrait)

2.  Tris Speaker

3.  Christy Mathewson (Dark Cap)

4.  Eddie Collins

5.  Frank Chance (Yellow Background Portrait)

6.  Johnny Evers (Chicago on Shirt)

7.  Jimmy Collins

8.  Chief Bender (Trees in Background)

9.  Hal Chase (Blue Background Portrait)

10.  John Titus

 

Honorable Mentions:

Roger Bresnahan (Batting)
Hal Chase (Dark Cap)
Joe Kelley
Joe McGinnity
Luther Taylor

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.