Here is where I get to blog away and spout off recklessly about whatever it is in the boxing card world that catches my fancy. As anyone who knows me will attest, I never pull my punches, so check back frequently because you never know what controversy I will stir up!
November 9, 2008: Memo to PSA—If A Tree Falls In The
I have just had as bizarre an email exchange with the powers that be at PSA as I have ever imagined. PSA bought my last guide. It hasn’t made use of it, apparently, because their checklists for their registry are still full of errors and omissions. I recently sent them an email on the T220 Mecca silver bordered boxing set, telling them to delete the Jack Goodman that doesn’t exist and to add the Mike Donovan that does exist. I even sent them a scan of the Donovan card as encapsulated by SGC. PSA’s response was that they would remove the Goodman but not add the Donovan to the list because they haven’t graded one.
I emailed the President of PSA, Joe Orlando, and asked for His intervention in what I assumed was a decision by a logically-challenged lower level employee. His response left me shaking my head: PSA will not add the card to the checklist until they grade one because otherwise the set would not be possible to complete in PSA holder! This is sooo dumb on so many levels. First of all, they had a non-existent Goodman card listed in the set for years with no slabbed examples, a situation that is repeated in many other sets from various sports. Second, and more important, the Donovan demonstrably exists! I sent them a scan of it and it is on the SGC pop and registry.
It is Orwellian in scope: a card that exists doesn’t exist until PSA says it exists, and PSA says it exists only if they slab it.
Does this make your head hurt, too?
October 18, 2008: Cha-Ching!
The first increment of the Hull Collection sold through Heritage yesterday. As promised, the auction contained some spectacular cards and broke price records in many categories. I can’t do more in terms of analysis than simply report that prices were very strong considering the overall economic news lately. Several results were of special note:
1886 N167 Old Judge Jem Smith, Horizontal Reverse SGC 30 Good $8,962.50: This card is a rare format N167 with a horizontal back. Any N167 is great; this one is one of only one or two known specimens. Quadrupled the last known sale.
1887 N269 Lorillard's #17 John L. Sullivan, Three-Quarter Profile SGC 50 VG/EX $4,481.25: Oddly, within $13 of the record for an N269 Sullivan.
1889 N386 Spaulding & Merrick John L. Sullivan SGC 40 VG 3 $4,182.50: I am surprised how much this one went for as it is a bad miscut.
1889 N386 Spaulding & Merrick "Echo Tobacco" #8 Jake Kilrain SGC 20 Fair 1.5 $3,107.00: Despite the low grade the rare ad variation made it fly.
1889 N386 Spaulding & Merrick #8 Jake Kilrain SGC 40 VG 3 $2,629.00. Ho-hum, another record price.
1889 N386 Spaulding and Merrick #7 John Sullivan SGC 60 EX 5 $6,572.50: This is now the highest price ever paid for an N386 at auction.
1890's Old Judge & Dog's Head Jack Burke SGC 10 Poor 1 $2,629.00: A rare tobacco wars card from England, this is the record price (triple the last known sale from the issue) and the card was significantly damaged.
1910 E125 American Caramel Jim Jeffries SGC Authentic $19,120.00: The killer card of the auction. I expected it to go into five figures; I did not expect it to become the third most expensive boxing card ever auctioned publicly. It is exceeded only by the 1948 Leaf Graziano I reported on earlier in the blog and a 1951 Ringside panel of Murphy-Fitzsimmons in PSA 8 that sold for $20,000.
1911 E80 Philadelphia Caramel Jack Johnson SGC 40 VG 3 $1,673.00: More than doubled the last known auction price on an SGC 30 Johnson.
1890's N537 Little Rhody Jas. J. Corbett SGC 10 Poor 1 $1,434.00: This card had a lighter image and a munched back but still pulled in a nice price. Probably the best deal among the marquee 19th century cards in this auction.
Despite the highlights above, many of the "common" cards were quite reasonable, selling at or slightly below the levels seen in the December 2006 epic sale of N269s on Ebay Live, for example. Again, given the extraordinary turmoil in the economy since 2006, I found the strength of the prices on these cards to be quite reassuring. Great, rare cards continue to bring strong interest, even in rough economies.
October 4, 2008: My Apologies (and other meaningless stuff)
My apologies to Paul Holstein, whose name I inadvertently omitted from the credits section of the 2008-2009 price guide. Paul graciously lent me the image of the Benny Leonard exhibit card in the movie card section. Sorry, buddy, I'll catch you next year for sure.
If you happen to be in Los Angeles on November 15th, you may want to check out the World Boxing Hall of Fame event at the Los Angeles International Airport Marriott. The event, which is a small memorabilia show during the day and an induction banquet that evening, offers the unique (in sports collecting) chance to meet and speak with many retired and even a few current world class boxers in an informal setting. This year's headline inductee is Lennox Lewis, who may drop by the show and sign autographs. Last time I went, two years ago, I met and got autographs from Ken Norton, Roberto Duran, Jeff Chandler and Mike Weaver and got the chance to speak with many other fighters too: Emile Griffith, Gene Fullmer, Bobby Chacon, etc. I find that retired boxers are among the least pretentious, friendliest athletes you could ever want to meet. I may be sharing a table there that day to sell the guide, promote this site, and meet fellow boxing fans. I will be purchasing boxing cards and offering opinions (yipes!) on anything and everything cards-related. If anyone wants to come by and purchase a copy of the book I will be happy to sign it for you...and who knows what that could be worth (I have a sneaking suspicion, though). One note: there is no real schedule for the signers--you more or less take whoever shows up whenever they show up for however long they stay. I ended up waiting around until the very end of the show last year shooting the breeze with a friend but that is when Ken Norton showed up and signed a Ring magazine for me, so it was well worth putting in the day.
September 27, 2008: Wow
I am not easily impressed but the current auction offering from Heritage Auctions is monumental. Jeff Hull, one of the most prominent boxing card collectors in the world, is liquidating his collection. The auction, which runs through October 17th, is chock full of rarities; literally every lot is an "Oh, wow" offering. Visit their site at ha.com for a look at some cards that are rarely offered for sale. Hopefully, the economy's recently bed-wetting episode won't affect sales too badly (except, of course, on lots I am bidding on!).
In other, sadder, news, Joey Giardello recently passed away. The former middleweight champ was one of a dwindling number of living boxers depicted on Exhibit cards.
September 9, 2008: Exercise Extreme Caution
Last year a group of I-don't-know-whats surfaced in a Heritage auction. The items had been encapsulated by PSA, an outfit not known for its boxing card expertise, as 1893 Lorillard Lorilliard cards from N266. The items plainly are not N266 cards. They are completely different. Anyhow, someone bought them despite the unfounded ID.
Fast forward to this year. In the last month I have been approached twice by people purporting to have found 20 of these cards with old relatives. The first time I told the person that I wasn't sure what they were but that on viewing his they looked a lot like something cut out of an ad poster or album. He made the rounds to various dealers; I know because they called on me to ID the items. This week another one came out of the woodworks.
I've never held these items in hand but I have seen scans of three different lots of them now. I am very, very dubious of the authenticity of these items. Why haven't they ever surfaced before? If they are N cards, why are they missing the critical (from the manufacturer's perspective) ciggie advertising? Until I have one in hand and these questions are better answered, my advice is to assume that they are well made counterfeit items. Here is an image:
Here is what a real N266 looks like:
May 17, 2008: Spring Auction Recap
OK, the economy may be in the toilet, gas may cost as much as wine and your house may have lost 25% of its value but you'd never know it from the auction results.
Mastro sold a master set of N310 Mayos, featuring all 35 cards with names at their tops and all 35 cards with names at their bottoms, spread across two lots. Together, they brought $12,600.00 (including the 20% buyer's premium, or "vig" as many prefer to call it). As you might expect with 19th century materials, only 9 cards out of 70 were better than vg-ex. N310 is a great set but it is relatively easy to find. Seems that there are odd lots on Ebay every week and typically a larger lot or two in the major auctions.
The #4 PSA registry set of 1948 Leaf went for $9,000.00. Not too shabby for a set that you could readily assemble any day of the week as long as you are not too choosy about condition. In a move I find hard to fathom, though, Mastro also offered the #8 PSA registry set, which was a steal at $900.00. Is the #8 set really worth only 10% of the #4 set, or is the whole grading thing out of control? I have to wonder.
Mastro continued its dealer-friendly practice of glopping together big lots of unrelated cards with a 253-card Frankenstein. First of all, slapping together partial sets of E caramel and T tobacco cards doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially when they buried 9 pretty ok T226 Red Sun cards, including Attell, a near set of T220 silver borders, some near sets of common caramels, and even an ad poster cut set of T225 series 1. They even threw in a Churchman's set, which is just worthless trash. If I'd have had the dough this is a lot I would have gone after for the breakup value. Anyhow, the lucky dealer who purchased this lot got it for $6,600.00 and I am sure we will be seeing the breakdown on Ebay in the near future.
For a while a couple of years ago I was bidding on every large lot of Exhibit cards I could find, putting what I needed away, and trying to resell the rest. Mastro's Lot 1481 with 685 Exhibit cards would have sucked me right in. Unfortunately, I was outbid by the winner who took it home for $4,500.00. That is going to an interesting break when it hits Ebay...
Robert Edward Auctions has a big rep in the baseball field but surprisingly hosted a couple of boxing lots in its annual big time auction.
The first REA lot that caught my eye was one of those I have no idea lots. Some kid long ago glued down 17 T226 Red Sun cards in his scrap book. The big question is whether he used water based glue or oil based glue. If it was the watery stuff, the cards could be resurrected, but if not, the backs are gone. Despite that risk factor, bidding ended at $3,231.25.
REA also had an Old Judge N174 lot with five cards, all slabbed by SGC: Tom Chandler (good 30), Jack Dempsey (vg 40), Jack Fogarty (vg 40), George La Blanche (vg-ex 50), and Tommy Warren (ex 60). One big name, some other solid guys. REA remarked "if these were nineteenth-century baseball cards of similar rarity and condition, each card would sell for many thousands of dollars"; guess what--they nearly did, selling for $3,525.00.
The one place I am seeing definite softness in pricing is for lower grade and midgrade common cards from common sets.
March 8, 2008: Do Auction Houses Add Value?
We recently had the chance to see rare cards head to head in an auction versus on Ebay. A group of T223 Dixie Queen cards in midgrade sold through Mastro Auctions and another, larger group sold on Ebay. The conditions and boxer mix were similar. The Mastrro group came out well ahead for the consignor ($1,700 for six cards) as compared to self-sold Ebay group ($10,100 for 51 cards). In this case, it seems, Mastro was a better deal, even with its higher commission.
In other news, Ebay has launched changes to its site that are going to make it much harder for bidders to track and expose shilling. Shill bidding (bidding up one's own items) is rampant on Ebay and has been for years. The only way to catch a shiller is to be able to see who is doing the bidding and scrutinize that bidder's history. Some sellers have even been stupid enough to use their alternate sales IDs to shill their own auctions. Now, Ebay has taken away the public's ability to see who is bidding on an auction. If we can't see who is bidding we can't tell who is a shill bidder. Nice Orwellian move, there, Ebay: cut down on shill bidding complaints by taking away the public's ability to see who is bidding, then declare victory over shilling because there are so few complaints. Sorta like destroying the village to save it.
February 18, 2008: Worthless Crap?
I have been under some pressure to include foreign issued boxing cards in the catalog. I am pleased to announce that I will be starting coverage of Canadian and Cuban cards in the 5th Edition. I am not covering European cards. My reasons are as follows:
1. European and especially British cards are covered pretty well already by the various publications issued by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain and Murray's in London. I can't really add to their work on many of these issues, especially the World Tobacco Index.
2. I am not convinced of the legitimacy of many of these cards, especially the purportedly prewar cards coming out of those areas of Europe that saw heavy action in WWII. In particular there has been a slew of French and Italian issues coming to market over the last year. I've bid on some myself when the fighters were not issued in other sets. However, it bothers me that these cards apparently survived WWII in these war zones but haven't been heard of until now. I would have expected them to surface like the prewar issues familiar to us collectors; they haven't. Until we learn more about the issuers and the circumstances of their issue, I am loathe to spend big bucks on them.
3. I remain skeptical of the supply of most of the postwar issues that we see offered for sale. It seems to me that these cards are offered for sale over and over on Ebay from the same sources, in seemingly endless supplies, and with seemingly endless permutations and variations. I don't know how many alleged Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali "rookies" I've seen from Italy and Sweden; a heck of a lot would be an understatement. Prices have been volatile on these cards as well, indicating to me that once a fighter specialist (like a Dempsey collector) gets one, no one else wants them.
So are they legitimate cards or worthless crap? I think the jury is still out on that one.
January 12, 2008: N310 Mayo Fraud Detection
Recently, I was asked by a collector to look over a scan of an N310 to determine whether it was fake, so I thought I would share what I know with you:
There is a very good reprint of this set out there. My understanding is that it was made in the UK some years ago and marketed as a reprint set, strictly above-board. Its quality and lack of reprint markings makes detecting the reprints very difficult unless you know precisely what to look for. I happened to purchase one on Ebay last year (I was able to return it for a refund) so I got a first-hand look at the reprint and a first-hand education in how easily you can get burned with these cards.
There are two basic indicators that you can use to weed out a fake Mayo. The first is the stock itself. Authentic Mayos have a creamy back stock. The reprint back stock is yellower, stiffer and smoother to the touch. You really have to feel the card and have it side by side with a real one to detect the reprint this way. The second indicator is the printing. Under a magnifying glass the lettering in the Mayo logo and the phrase "For Chewing And Smoking" looks a bit muddy on a reprint. Again, you have to see it side by side with a genuine one to really appreciate it.
I would also be very leery of an uncut strip. While there is at least one genuine strip known, the reprints were issued cut and uncut so odds are that any strip is a reprint.
January 5, 2008: Mastro December 2007 Auction Results
Mastro Auctions had a decent collection of boxing cards offered in its last auction of 2007. Overall, the prices on vintage materials held firm or gained, especially for high grade materials (more on that below). Here are my thoughts on some of the offerings (all prices include the 20% Buyer's Premium):
1890s N269 Lorillard's "Mechanic's Delight" SGC-Graded Collection (33) $20,442.00: This grouping of 33 cards was the second largest offering I've ever seen, after the 70+ card find of 2006 that went to auction. The cards were low grade (only 4 better than vg) as is the norm for this thin, larger format set and the fighter selection was mostly commons. $619 per card was strong for this group.
1889 N223 Kinney "Magic Changing Cards" John L. Sullivan$1,516.80:
This is a rare card, but also a somewhat obscure one, and I'd been curious for a while to see what a decent one (SGC 40 vg) would do at auction. It has finally taken its place among the elite Sullivan offerings, and rightfully so.
1910 T220 Mecca "Champions" John L. Sullivan - PSA NM-MT 8 $1,669.20:
Time now, fans, for my lecture on the stupidity of chasing plastic grades. I have long been ambivalent about slabbing cards. I strongly endorse the use of slabs to authenticate and aid collectors in ordering cards by mail, but the emphasis some people place on the numerical grades is just nuts. A really nice copy of this card can readily be had for under $100. I simply cannot believe that it is worthwhile to buy a common card in plastic for over ten times as much.
1910 T218 Hassan/Mecca "Champion Athletes and Prize Fighters" Jack Johnson $2,911.20
Are you friggin' kidding me!?!? This is a common card. It can be found readily on Ebay in a variety of lesser conditions and middle for 10% or less of what someone paid for this card. Sorry, but that price is insane.
1910 E79 Philadelphia Caramel "27 Scrappers" GAI-Graded Complete Set (21) $4,060.80
This set was graded by GAI. GAI recently had a "business interruption" that left its customers high and dry for a few weeks wondering about their submitted cards and has achieved a less than sterling reputation among vintage collectors for overgrading cards. Many vintage collectors I know will not purchase GAI-encapsulated cards unless they can see them in person and examine them closely and are cracking their GAI capsules to weed out their GAI-encapsulated cards in the hopes that the liberated cards will cross over to PSA or SGC. I personally view GAI cards as between 1 and 2 grades overgraded. My last experience with a GAI crossover was a GAI 1.5 N172 that went to an SGC 1. In light of the company's business issues and rep, $193+ per card for this set is huge. The cards averaged vg-ex, which is nice for candy cards. I looked over the lot and felt that at least three of the cards were likely trimmed. That is my opinion from the scans Mastro posted; GAI's graders obviously felt otherwise. I would be really interested to see this set crossed to SGC. I would not be surprised if 3 or more cards were rejected as trimmed.
1910 T220 Mecca "Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series" Complete Set (50) - #1 on SGC Set Retistry $7,918.80
My heart skipped a beat when I saw this result. This is a darn nice set, with 1 "8", 5 "7.5" and 13 "7" cards. Would I pay this for a set like this? Heck no! Again, a common set in extraordinary condition to me doesn't merit the money that people throw at it. But what do I know? Just call me "Mr. VG" and call it a day.
January 1, 2008: $27,600.00...Quite A Price
In 2001 a 1948 Leaf Rocky Graziano sold for $17,903.00. That was a record price for a boxing card, broken a short while ago by $20,000.00 paid for a PSA 8 complete two-card panel of Bob Murphy and Bob Fitzsimmons. The same Graziano card (and I mean the same one; same PSA cert #) surfaced on Ebay in December, where a lucky collector walked off with it for $27,600.00. I know the collector in question and can confirm that the sale was legitimate.
While Graziano is the "T206 Wagner" of boxing cards, viewed dispassionately, the card was not a great investment for the seller and may not be one for the buyer. Over the years he held it, the seller of the card realized a return of less than 8% per year, compounded. The same money put into any number of choices, from N174 Old Judge cards to high grade T cards, would have made a much bigger return on investment. But owning a Graziano isn't about investment, it is about bragging rights and the fortunate new owner certainly has a lot to brag about. It is the key card in boxing collecting. As is the case with the Wagner, there may be rarer cards and tougher cards but there are none as readily identified with the hobby.
In other news: the latest inductees to the International Boxing Hall of Fame included a few expected inductees (Larry Holmes and Frank Klaus, both overdue) but also two obscure ones (Harry Lewis and Holman Williams). Lewis, the nom de guerre of Harry Besterman, was a top caliber Jewish fighter from the early 20th century who is featured in a number of commonly collected T and E sets, and is well known to most collectors of vintage boxing cards. Williams, however, was one of those "who the heck is this guy?" head scratchers. He wasn't a champion but was a well respected contender. Of course, there are lots of well-respected contenders who aren't in the hall of fame. It turns out that one reason Williams was such an obscurity is that he was not featured in any card sets of note in the USA. Not even an Exhibit card, as far as I can tell. The only career-contemporaneous issue of his I have been able to locate is the 1947 Propagandas Montiel Los Reyes Del Deporte (Cuban) issue. If this was baseball, the value of the card would likely skyrocket as hall of fame collectors scrambled to fill in their sets. With boxing, who knows? Here is an image:
August 31, 2007: Not An Investment? And Other Musings
Recently, some friends and I were debating whether cards are an investment or an indulgence. We seem to have this debate at least a couple of times a year, usually after a spending spree like the National or a major auction. I happen to come down on the side of nontraditional investment. Cards have skyrocketed over the years with baseball leading the way. Boxing has come into its own over the last several years with the sorry result that I am increasingly priced out of the collecting marketplace. As with anything else, though, it is critical to know what you are doing. Buying the wrong cards is akin to buying a dog of a stock.
I'm doing my level best to front for the boxing card community. I am happy to announce that an interview with me is featured on the Boxing Writers Association of America's blog; have a a look:
http://bwundercard.blogspot.com/
August 11, 2007: Views From The National
I am a week back from Cleveland and the National Sports Collectors Convention. My feet and liver have recovered from the concrete floor of the convention center and the scotch and sodas of the evenings in the Sheraton bar with my fellow collectors, respectively, and I am ready to tackle a recap.
I have to say, I have a blast at the National every year, even in Cleveland's convention facilities. Which suck, by the way. It isn't so much that the place is unpleasant as it is not pleasant. The food is abysmal and the Barney Fife clones in security rigidly enforce the "no outside food rule" so as to force you to eat the IX "cuisine". And if you served that crap to prisoners, they'd have a decent civil rights abuse case. I never thought it was possible to mess up a hamburger, but they did. In fact, the only thing that the Cleveland restaurants get right every time is the fried food. Which is why the locals either looked like extras from Supersize Me. The convention facilities are dilapidated and have all the charm of a former tank factory, which is what the building was before the city bought it and decided to convert it to a convention center on the cheap, and there isn't squat worth doing after you finish the Rock N Roll HOF and an Indians game if they are in town. Oh, and word to the organizers: in 2009, how about a bus that runs more than once an hour? Jacobs Field is very pleasant, however, especially if you are used to big city ballparks and big city ballpark inconveniences and prices. And I do have to say a good word for the Cleveland airport: it is small and quick compared to LAX, JFK, Ohare, or any other monster hub. Plus, the Mexican restaurant played Shakira's whole album while I had lunch...
Now on to the cards...
I am pleased to report seeing an increase in boxing materials at every National. True, most of what I saw was T218, T220, 1948 Leaf and 1951 Ringside, but more dealers each time stock boxing cards.
Prices were grotesque in comparison to Ebay, which is not surprising since you are paying for a convenience and certainty of having the cards there. I know I paid way too much for a T220 silver border card I needed for a set, probably twice what it would have cost on Ebay, but I never saw the damned thing on Ebay!
I did not see anything new and startling beyond the La Salle Hat cards discussed in the Catalog Updates page, but did find some commons from various Exhibit sets that I was able to add to the checklists for next year's book. I also got to hang out and talk boxing cards with Brent Butcher, who has amassed a world-class collection. A sign of the times, we sat around with laptop computers deployed and showed each other scans of our cards; no shoeboxes here!
The biggest story of the show and of the boxing card world is and will be for the next several months the entry of SGC into the realm of oversized and cabinet card slabbing. PSA will not encapsulate any cabinets other than T3/T9 Turkey Reds. Those cards have been selling for record prices since PSA started accepting them. SGC by virtue of its customizable holder gasket, will take any catalogued cabinet and many others as well if someone can explain it to their satisfaction. I had my Newsboy collection slabbed at the National as did some of my fellow collectors. You might want to go out and grab any reasonably priced cabinets of major fighters, especially from mainline documented sets, because as they get graded, the prices are likely to rise. As it is, I paid about $100 more for a Newsboy Corbett I needed at the show in an SGC vg-ex slab than a raw one should have run on Ebay.
One more good word for SGC: As many of you know, there is a lot of debate over what may happen if an altered card gets into a slab. Will the grader stand behind the product or not? All of the majors have weasely written guarantees that aren't worth a bucket of warm spit; go look at their web sites if you don't believe me. I am pleased to report, however, that SGC under Dave Forman will stand behind its work product. Dave is committed to getting bad cards in SGC holders off the street and out of circulation. I know because he not only told me so, he proved it. I brought in a T206 Waddell portrait with a trimmed side that made its way into an ex-mt SGC holder, and SGC bought it back.