Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Okay, enough of the horsey posts. I'll have more of those later, but I know most of you are more interested in sports cards, so let's get back to that.

I had a little extra cash recently and, on a lark, bought two slots in a group break at Burl's Sports for 1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars.  It was just my luck that the break was livecast on YouTube while I was driving home from a business trip to Louisiana.  I was determined to watch the break, but obviously couldn't while driving.  So, I did the next best and safest thing, and streamed the break via Bluetooth to my car's stereo system. So, while I wasn't actually watching, I could learn what I received.  And here they are:

I think I did fairly well, particularly considering the Traynor is a high number. I did some research and it shows that if I chose to sell them I would get well more than my entry money back.  Am I going to sell them?  I don't know.  I didn't enter the break with the idea of flipping the cards.  Group breaks are something like a casino. Chances are good you aren't going to come out ahead.  

However, the potential sale price for these two cards is somewhere around three months worth of my normal hobby budget and that cannot be ignored.  These are great looking cards, but if they can help me make progress on projects within my hobby focus, why wouldn't I consider it?  I did something similar a few years ago when I flipped a 1938 Goudey Jimmy Foxx (which I also won in a group break) into 1956 Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente.  I have finished 1956 Topps, but have a good head start on 1955 (111 of 206 total cards.) Why not look at that trade up? Well...….

I just looked at prices for the two major rookie cards in 1955 Topps: Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax. Holy Moley!  The Koufax is in roughly the same neighborhood price-wise as the 1956 Mantle I got at this years National. Which means it is at the hairy edge of what I am willing to spend on a card.  The Clemente, however, has a Beckett high book of $5000, which means even in Poor condition it is still going to cost $500 to $600. VG condition looks to cost $1,500. Maybe things will change in the future, but right now today there is no way I would spend that kind of dough on a card even if I had that kind of money laying around. Which I don't.

So, I have put these cards into my miscellaneous vintage binder while I consider my options.  If they stay there, fine.  If I can figure a way to use them to get something more in my wheelhouse, so much the better.

What I am listening to: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC