BBC Emporium http://bbcemporium.com Baseball Card Buyer Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:33:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 PSA Craigslist Scam http://bbcemporium.com/psa-craigslist-scam/ http://bbcemporium.com/psa-craigslist-scam/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:48:28 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=4199 In the baseball card industry, scams, counterfeits and rip-off artists have always existed. From the early 80s, when counterfeit 1963 Pete Rose rookies flooded the market to more modern sophisticated methods, counterfeiters are always looking for a way to make a dollar. Only the most knowledgeable collectors and dealers, who were familiar with the intricacies  of the cards, such as printing techniques and card stock properties, were able to comfortably buy higher dollar cards without the threat of being cheated. The common collector was a prime candidate to be taken advantage of. With no simple method of detecting these counterfeits and most collectors not knowing who to trust, many believed this epidemic could single handily ruin the baseball card market.

However, in 1991, the “savior” of the industry arrived, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). PSA offered a service to both grade and authenticate baseball cards. Any cards sent to PSA would be graded and stored in a tamper proof case, thus ensuring the safe buying and selling of that card in the future. Even a beginning collector could buy a PSA graded card with the utmost confidence. Even today, the vast majority of baseball card collectors will rarely question the authenticity of card that resides within a “PSA” case.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the scam artists to figure out how to get their piece of pie in the graded card market. The most widely known and successful scam originated in California and is referred to amongst collectors as the “California Craigslist PSA scam”. Below, I’ll outline the specific scam and what measures need to be taken to avoid this specific scam and scams of a similar nature.

See the full article here

]]> http://bbcemporium.com/psa-craigslist-scam/feed/ 0 1911 T3 Ty Cobb http://bbcemporium.com/1911-t3-ty-cobb/ http://bbcemporium.com/1911-t3-ty-cobb/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:46:38 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=3721 This card came from a collector on the East Coast. I truly beautiful and iconic card.

1911 T3 Ty Cobb Front

]]> http://bbcemporium.com/1911-t3-ty-cobb/feed/ 0 California Collection http://bbcemporium.com/california-collection/ http://bbcemporium.com/california-collection/#comments Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:26:15 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=2992 T206 Ty Cobb 1910 Ty Cobb Pin 1953 Bowman Stan Musial 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle 1954 Topps Ernie Banks 1958 Topps Jimmy Brown 1963 Topps Pete Rose 1968 Topps Johnny Bench 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson 1971 Topps Nolan Ryan ]]> http://bbcemporium.com/california-collection/feed/ 0 Should I get my Baseball Cards Graded? http://bbcemporium.com/should-i-get-my-baseball-cards-graded/ http://bbcemporium.com/should-i-get-my-baseball-cards-graded/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:38:12 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=2780 History of Grading Companies

Within the baseball card world, the condition of the cards has always been paramount.  There is something about a well preserved, untouched piece of history that resounds with the avid collector. In times past, the condition of a card was always subjective, usually left up to the discretion of a dealer, there was no industry standard by which cards were described.

In 1991, the hobby was changed forever, some say for the better, others for the worse. This year marked the startup of Professional Sports Authenticator, better known as PSA within the hobby. For the first time, a standard was established by a non-biased 3rd party to “judge” the quality of a card. PSA would grade the card on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being considered a gem mint “perfect” card. After grading, the cards would be returned to the collector in a tamper evident holder to prevent the card from being damaged or replaced by a different card.

While PSA was the first Third Party Authenticator (TPA) and still widely considered the industry leader, they are not the only players in the game. Sportscard Guaranty Company (SGC) and Beckett (BGS or BVG) are also major players in the card grading industry. There are several other grading companies, however outside of the “Big 3″ mentioned above, the other companies garner little respect amongst serious collectors.

While PSA, SGC, and Beckett will all grade cards from any years, each company has their niche. For pre-1930 cards, SGC is widely considered the TPA of choice. For 1930-1990, PSA is most widely used, and for modern cards (post 1990), Beckett is most popular amongst hobbyist.

How Value is Affected by Grading

First off, let me state this, as it seems to be the most common question by novice collectors, getting your cards graded does not necessarily make them more expensive.

For pre-1969 cards, value and grade typically follow a “hockey stick” trend (see graphs below). Imagine a graphical representation of a hockey stick, for the most part if follows a linear relationship and at the end rapidly trends upward. Similar is the case for baseball cards, each increase in grade equals a proportional increase in value until the cards reach “high grade” and they tend to increase exponentially in value. It is important to realize that hockey stick effect is different for cards from different eras. In the 60′s, cards start to rapidly increase around the Mint 9 grade level, in the 40s-50′s around the Near Mint-Mint 8 range, in the 30s around the Near Mint 7 range and for tobacco and caramel cards, this happens around the Excellent-Mint 6 range.

Obviously, these are general observations and there are several exceptions. Some of the exceptions include low population cards, condition sensitive issues (caramel cards), short prints, etc.

Which Cards to Grade

Because there are so many factors to consider, it is difficult to black and white rules when it comes to deciding which cards to grade. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula, and you should try and familiarize yourself with the market of the cards you may be potentially grading. However, here are some quick and dirty rules of thumb that I use when deciding which cards to grade.

Pre-1930 cards

  • Any HOF or major star
  • Commons that are Very Good (VG) 3 or better
  • Short prints or limited issue
  • Any card that is susceptible to counterfeiting

1930-1969

  • Major stars in Excellent (EX) 5 or better
  • Key Rookies in VG-EX 4 or better
  • Stars in Excellent-Mint (EX-MT) 6 or better
  • Commons in Near Mint (NM) 7 or better
  • Any card that is susceptible to counterfeiting

Below are graphs for pre and post war cards that summarize this information

Conclusion

The best advice that can be given when entering into the grading game is to start small. Unless you have handled hundreds of graded cards, chances are you will be disappointed with your first few submission results. The grading experts that assign the grades can be very tough and unpredictable. Second, know the market and choose the grading company wisely, as it will impact the sell price of the card. Finally, and probably most important, understand the grading criteria, as it could literally save you hundreds of dollars.

]]> http://bbcemporium.com/should-i-get-my-baseball-cards-graded/feed/ 0 Are Error Cards more Valuable? http://bbcemporium.com/are-error-cards-more-valuable/ http://bbcemporium.com/are-error-cards-more-valuable/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:51:02 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=2493 We get several calls a week from card owners wanting to know if errors on cards will make it more valuable. Before I answer this question, let me first explain that “error” cards fall into two general categories: uncorrected errors and corrected errors.

An uncorrected error is an error card that has never been corrected. In other words, every one of these cards was printed with the error and was either discovered later or was never bothered to be corrected. The majority of error cards fall in this category and by and large will have no impact on the card’s value.

A corrected error is an error card that was discovered during the printing process and was subsequently corrected. Depending on how soon the error was corrected and how significant the error was, these category of error cards commonly carry a value premium.

It all boils down to scarcity. If an error card exists in very limited demand, it may be highly sought after by collectors. Some of the popular error cards that carry significant premiums or popular amongst collectors are:

  • T206 Sherry Magee (spelled Magie)
  • T205 R. Hoblitzell (no stats on back)
  • 1952 Joe Page and Johnny Sain (wrong bios)
  • 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken (FF)
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/are-error-cards-more-valuable/feed/ 0 E106 (1915) American Caramel http://bbcemporium.com/e106-1915-american-caramel/ http://bbcemporium.com/e106-1915-american-caramel/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:01:47 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=951
e102 Ty Cobb e106 Back

E106 (1915) American Caramel Baseball Cards

Set Info

Manufacturer: American Caramel Co.

Year of Issue: 1915

Set Size: 48 Cards

Card Size: 1-1/2” x 2-3/4”

Series/Factories

N/A

Set Description

Caramel cards in general are much rarer than tobacco cards of the era. Because they were issued with caramels one card per package and sold to children (as opposed to being sold to adults with tobacco), they also tend to survive in a much lower grade.

American Caramel Co. of York, PA. Issued this set in 1915. The front of the card is similar to the E90-1 and E92 sets but has a glossy coating on the fronts. The backs have the manufacturers ad and state a set of 48 players.

e102 Christy Mathewson e102 Nap Lajoie
e102 Honus Wagner Batting e102 Honus Wagner Throwing
e102 Johnny Evers e102 Joe Tinker
Price Guide (Complete Set)
  • N/A
Key Rookies
  • N/A
Key Stars
  • Ty Cobb
  • Nap Lajoie
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Joe Tinker
  • Honus Wagner (batting and throwing)
Errors & Variations
  • N/A
Important Notes
  • Due to their strong glossy obverse surface, these cards were very susceptible to heavy creasing and/or cracking, making even “VG” examples very difficult to come by.
Related Articles
  • N/A
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/e106-1915-american-caramel/feed/ 0 E105 (1910) Mello Mint http://bbcemporium.com/e105-1910-mello-mint/ http://bbcemporium.com/e105-1910-mello-mint/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:00:29 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=948
e105 Christy Mathewson e105 back

E105 (1910) Mello Mint Baseball Cards

Set Info

Manufacturer: Texas Gum Company

Year of Issue: 1910

Set Size: 50 Cards

Card Size: 1-3/8” x 2-5/8”

Series/Factories

N/A

Set Description

Caramel cards in general are much rarer than tobacco cards of the era. Because they were issued with caramels one card per package and sold to children (as opposed to being sold to adults with tobacco), they also tend to survive in a much lower grade.

The E105 set is extremely difficult to find in high grade, even when compared to other issued caramel card, due the extremely thin paper stock. Many of these cards are found with a center crease, which is most likely caused by the means in which the cards were packaged. It is commonly believed these cards were only distributed in Texas and the Southern Midwest states.

Two large finds in Shreveport and St. Louis have caused the following cards to be readily available in comparison to the other cards in the set: Casey, Hartsel, Lajoie, Murphy, Shean & Young.

e105 Cy Young e105 Joe Tinker
e105 Honus Wagner Batting e105 Honus Wagner Throwing
e105 Nap Lajoie e105 Ty Cobb
Price Guide (Complete Set)
  • N/A
Key Rookies
  • N/A
Key Stars
  • Ty Cobb
  • Nap Lajoie
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Honus Wagner (both poses)
  • Cy Young
  • Joe Tinker
Errors & Variations
  • N/A
Important Notes
  • Due to thin paper stock, e105s are typically found in lower grade
Related Articles
  • N/A
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/e105-1910-mello-mint/feed/ 0 E103 (1910) Williams Caramel http://bbcemporium.com/e103-1910-williams-caramel/ http://bbcemporium.com/e103-1910-williams-caramel/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:59:23 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=945
e103 Christy Mathewson e103 back

E103 (1910) Williams Caramel Baseball Cards

Set Info

Manufacturer: The Williams Caramel Co.

Year of Issue: 1910

Set Size: 30 Cards

Card Size: 1-1/2” x 2-3/4”

Series/Factories

N/A

Set Description

Caramel cards in general are much rarer than tobacco cards of the era. Because they were issued with caramels one card per package and sold to children (as opposed to being sold to adults with tobacco), they also tend to survive in a much lower grade.

The E103 set is extremely difficult to find in high grade, even when compared to other issued caramel card, due the extremely thin paper stock. The back of these cards are blank. While no certain card in this set is more difficult to find in comparison to other cards in the set, in general the e103s are very difficult to find. The e103s all have a red background and the players are shown in a portrait pose.

The Williams Candy Company was located in Oxford, Pa., and this candy was very likely issued on a somewhat regional basis, which explains the rarity of these cards.

e103 Ty Cobb e103 Nap Lajoie
e103 Mordecai Brown e103 Honus Wagner
e103 Frank Chance e103 Chief Bender
Price Guide (Complete Set)
  • N/A
Key Rookies
  • N/A
Key Stars
  • Ty Cobb
  • Nap Lajoie
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Honus Wagner
Errors & Variations
  • N/A
Important Notes
  • Due to thin paper stock, e103s are typically found in lower grade
Related Articles
  • N/A
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/e103-1910-williams-caramel/feed/ 0 E102 (1908) Anonymous http://bbcemporium.com/e102-1908-anonymous/ http://bbcemporium.com/e102-1908-anonymous/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:58:26 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=942
e102 Ty Cobb e102 Ty Cobb back

E102 (1908) Anonymous Baseball Cards

Set Info

Manufacturer: Unknown

Year of Issue: 1908

Set Size: 29 Cards

Card Size: 1-1/2” x 2-3/4”

Series/Factories

N/A

Set Description

Caramel cards in general are much rarer than tobacco cards of the era. Because they were issued with caramels one card per package and sold to children (as opposed to being sold to adults with tobacco), they also tend to survive in a much lower grade.

The E101 set is considered an anonymous set because the manufacturer is unknown. The set is widely considered to be the first set distributed by candy makers. Many consider the Ty Cobb of this set to be his rookie card, however since the distribution dates are not exactly known, there is debate amongst collectors whether this is the case.

These rare cards share nearly identical designs with several other candy issued cards from the same era, such as  Croft’s Candy, Dockman Gum and Nadja Caramels. The 50 players/poses are the same players/poses found in the E92, E101, and E106 sets.

e102 Christy Mathewson e102 Nap Lajoie
e102 Honus Wagner Batting e102 Honus Wagner Throwing
e102 Johnny Evers e102 Joe Tinker
Price Guide (Complete Set)
  • N/A
Key Rookies
  • N/A
Key Stars
  • Ty Cobb
  • Nap Lajoie
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Joe Tinker
  • Honus Wagner (batting and throwing)
Errors & Variations
  • N/A
Important Notes
  • Miller Fielding is tough to find
  • Wagner (throwing) is tough to find
Related Articles
  • N/A
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/e102-1908-anonymous/feed/ 0 E101 (1909) Anonymous Set of 50 http://bbcemporium.com/e101-1909-anonymous-set-of-50/ http://bbcemporium.com/e101-1909-anonymous-set-of-50/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:57:17 +0000 curt http://bbcemporium.com/?p=939
e101 Cy Young e101 Cy Young Back

E101 (1909) Anonymous Set of 50 Baseball Cards

Set Info

Manufacturer: Unknown

Year of Issue: 1909

Set Size: 50 Cards

Card Size: 1-1/2” x 2-3/4”

Series/Factories

N/A

Set Description

Caramel cards in general are much rarer than tobacco cards of the era. Because they were issued with caramels one card per package and sold to children (as opposed to being sold to adults with tobacco), they also tend to survive in a much lower grade.

The E101 set is called the “Anonymous Set of 50″ because the manufacturer is unknown. These rare cards share nearly identical designs with several other candy issued cards from the same era, such as  Croft’s Candy, Dockman Gum and Nadja Caramels. The 50 players/poses are the same players/poses found in the E92, E102, and E106 sets.

e101 Ty Cobb e101 Christy Mathewson
e101 Honus Wagner Batting e101 Honus Wagner Throwing
e101 Nap Lajoie e101 Joe Tinker
Price Guide (Complete Set)
  • N/A
Key Rookies
  • N/A
Key Stars
  • Ty Cobb
  • Nap Lajoie
  • Christy Mathewson
  • Joe Tinker
  • Honus Wagner (batting and throwing)
  • Cy Young
Errors & Variations
  • N/A
Important Notes
  • Lobert is the toughest single to find
Related Articles
  • N/A
]]> http://bbcemporium.com/e101-1909-anonymous-set-of-50/feed/ 0