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The Rise and Fall of the Hank Greenberg cut auto

Slash, when did cut autos start to suck?

This thought of mine came about after I purchased this card.  An excellent card, a 1/1 cut autograph from Topps, what's not to love?

What's not to love:

1. Design is lackluster and boring.


2. There is no image of HG's face on the card. (which I will get into later)

3. This is HG's ONLY card from 2013 Topps Series 2. His only card from 2013 Topps Series 1 is the same card. I haven't seen it, but I can't imagine that it varies in any meaningful way.

4.  There is no connection to the set from looking at the front of the card.  The set is called "Chasing History Cut Signatures", but there is no way anyone could have known that from looking at the front of the card.

The list goes on...  Don't get me wrong, I love this card, as I do every card in my collection, but I wish that card companies would do more when issuing cut autographs in products.

In all of 2013, HG had 11 cards issued.  9 of them are 1/1 cut autographs.  For player collectors, obtaining all, nonetheless 1 of these cards is damn near impossible.  I was lucky enough to be known on the FCB forums as the HG collector, and was contacted asking if I had interest in the card.  Not knowing if he would have sold it otherwise if he didn't know that I existed.

Because pulling a 1/1 from a product like 2013 Topps or something similar is so rare, it could even be possible that some of the 1/1s from 2013 haven't been pulled yet, similar to the story behind this card.  The original owner randomly bought a 2013 Topps Series 2 jumbo box and pulled it.

A brief history lesson on HG cut autos over the years.

c/o cardboardconnection.com

The first HG cut autograph card was issued in 2002 SP Legendary Cuts, widely regarded as the greatest cut autograph set ever produced, featuring legends of the game like Babe Ruth (/3), Christy Mathewson (/2), Honus Wagner (/6), Joe DiMaggio (/103), Lou Gehrig (/3), Mickey Mantle (/2), Ty Cobb (/2), and Walter Johnson (/20) with high numbered and more rare subjects included.

HG had 94 cut signature cards issued in this set.  This set had everything.  Beautiful imagery, big, full windows for the autograph to show cleanly, hand numbered cards.  This was cut autographs in their best.

Around the time of 2004, HG 1/1 cuts were being issued in products at a more frequent rate.

Upper Deck and SP Legendary Cuts still owned the cut autograph space, and Topps was struggling to keep up in both volume and quality.

Then came 2006 SP Legendary Cuts, the resurgence of the vintage cut autograph in baseball cards.  Also by Upper Deck, these cards are the beautiful brothers and sisters to the 2002 set.  In 2006 SP Legendary Cuts, HG was featured in 4 different subsets, totaling 114 cut autograph cards in the entire product, exceeding the total from 2002.  Here are two that were done very well in my own collection:

After the 2006 set, 1/1 cut autos were produced as one offs in products such as 2006 Topps Co-Signers, which I believe only survived for 2 years.

After that came the 2007 SP Legendary Cut set, which gave us similar aesthetic and high volume, producing 94 total cards, including one pairing with Babe Ruth, and another with Sandy Koufax, both 1/1s.

Then came 2008 SP Legendary Cuts, and Upper Deck stopped using player photographs on their cards.  We also began to see more autographs cut off by a window, and very ugly cuts as evident that Upper Deck was running out of visually pleasing autographs to put in their cards.  With that, we saw a drop off in the amount of cut autograph cards of HG produced, now down to at least 15 between two subsets(one card that featured a cut auto was not numbered, so no one really knows how many of them are out there).

2009 SP Legendary Cuts featured 17 HG autos, with still no image of him on the card.

You get the picture.  The cut auto game, once ruled by Upper Deck and SP Legendary Cuts was and is now a shell of itself.  Now, we are getting results like these:

from eBay.com

I'm sorry Topps, I don't recognize a player by the name of "Ank Greenberg".

Somebody please alert the authorities, we have a missing letter to report.

Not only are the quality of the autographs within the card diminishing, but the designs of the card itself are too.  That is why any of the cut autos from 2002 SP Legendary Cuts would outsell any 1/1 cut like from 2014 Topps Five Star ($225 on two occassions)

You might then say, "hey, what about the 2014 Topps Dynasty 1/1 cut?"  To that I would say:

from eBay.com

1. This card was put on eBay at the height of the Topps Dynasty hype
2. This card has superior design if put up against 2014 Topps Five Star or 2013 Topps
3. This sale was a fluke, no other 1/1 cut sold recently had approached $250

So there.

What's the solution, card manufacturers?  Stick to what works.  Card companies need to go back to the glory days of cut auto cards, where beautiful player images and backgrounds combined with full windows that do not obstruct the autograph.  It's a simple solution, however, we may not see it come to fruition.

Because really, what is so unique about this?

Friendly competition + unemployment = lots of cards

Some weeks ago I cultivated a relationship with someone else in this world that collects Hank Greenberg cards.

You might be thinking, "what, someone else collects this stuff?"  In fact, yes. they do.

While speaking with him and comparing our collections, I think it fueled a bit of a fire in me to best his collection. He has a ton of high end cut autographs, low numbered cards, bat cards and some vintage.  Nothing short of a great collection.

I really enjoy talking with him (almost daily) and asking for advice on purchases, prices etc. If you don't know someone who collects the same way you do, I highly recommend you reach out to them for their friendship, guidance and knowledge.

So I've been buying.  Also probably aided by my being unemployed since early January. With time comes opportunity.  And with opportunity, comes a hot streak.

Everything below is what I've acquired since early January, with two more cards coming this and next week:

9 Days of Showcasing

Day 4 - Hank Greenberg Baseball Card Collection Showcase w/ GF

Collection Showcase: Something new I'm trying...

I've decided to try something a bit different with my collection; each day I will post a short YouTube video highlighting 5 new cards or items each day from my collection and will talk about each one of them.  It gives me more time and freedom to speak and explain nuances of the cards, how I acquired them, etc.


I actually really enjoy making these short videos.  I've found that I forget how I've felt about some of the things I've acquired, so pulling them out and talking about them has been a great way for me to reminisce.


Also, the feedback I've been getting on my videos has been good, although I would like to reach a broader audience, so I've been trying to plug it on the forums to get some more viewers and subscribers to those who really care.


So, if you are interested to see and learn more, the playlist link is below:





Enjoy!

2014 NATIONAL TREASURES WHALE HARPOONED

It's been a while

For 2015 I want to be posting more regularly.  Wanted to give a broad overview of my pickups over the past few months.

July was nice, landing a couple of nice vintage cards, 1 an upgrade and the other a variation of what I currently had.  A 1935 Goudey 4-in-1 #9F courtesy of Kevin Savage auctions.  Probably overpaid for it considerably, as it graded only a SGC 20, but I like the card for what it is.

Also found my upgrade to the 1939 Exhibit Salutation "Very Truly Yours" from a deal on the Blowout forums, then sold my older version for $5 less than the price that I bought my upgrade.  Not a bad deal if you ask me!  This graded as an SGC 40, a bit less than I thought it would, but still very pleased with it.


August was fruitful.  Went to a show and sold a few cards for $195, and gambled to win $81 in the same day at the casino upstairs to help fund my biggest purchase to date.  A 1937 O-Pee-Chee beaut graded an SGC 50.  The card is more beautiful in person and is now a huge puzzle piece sealed in my quest for the master vintage set.

After this quite massive purchase I sequestered myself from buying to help recoup my cash pool.  September was slow, with no purchases, but I did submit 3 cards to SGC for grading.



October proved less-profitable, but did get the grades back from SGC, including the blue Batter Up that got an SGC 10 which was expected.  This was also the month that 2014 Panini Classics came out.  I ended up landing the base card, a parallel /149, a Home Run Heroes insert and a couple of triple bat cards featuring famous Tigers and Pirates.

November came to be great, where my long discussions with a dealer and web designer proved fruitful of my first printing plate, and fourth 1/1 for $50.

December had been uneventful, until tonight, where I just agreed to buy the brand new 2014 National Treasures bat /99 from a guy on the Blowout Forums that should be my last pickup of this 2014.





















Happy New Year all, and thanks for the read.

Bats on bats on bats

Over the last month I've focused on tackling some of the bat cards that I avoided in the past.  I like getting the bat cards, although I try not to think about where the bat sliver actually came from.  Glad that I've completed the run of the non-expensive 2012 Panini National Treasures bat cards, so hoping I can acquire some of the higher-end cards paired with other legends of the game.

I was also fortunate to acquire a tough card that rarely comes up with the 2005 SP Legendary Cuts bat /15 for a very decent price.

All below are the cards that I have acquired over the past month.

Been a busy week!

This has been a busy week thus far for my collection. In order of acquired:

Got this card as my first COMC purchase. Got it simply b/c it's numbered to 5, tied for my second lowest numbered card.

Today, came this:

This is an upgrade to my current Exhibit, and bought for the same price. This one is much nicer, so I'll be listing the replaced on eBay sometime soon.

UPDATE::

Got this card from a fellow FCB'er in a trade

Thanks dudes

New pickup: Batter Up v3 + a discovery

Nailed another color variation in the 1934 Batter Up rainbow for a cool $50:

Also was part of a cool discovery that took place on the Net54 forums.  It was thought that cards #1-81 had 6 color variations of each card. It was discovered that cards #40-81 of the set have 4 color variations: magenta, blue, black and brown upon extensive research from ended eBay auction, other collectors' cards, etc.  So that was pretty cool, I've never been part of a discovery before. Which means I only need a browntone card to finish this set, which I've been at for almost a year already.

Well, until next time cronies.

A great moment in the history of my collection

In August after the National and a fantasy football draft with my buddies, my old friend Jordan approached me and told me that he enjoyed reading my blog.  He then explained to me that he writes freelance for a well-known online and print publication in the Jewish community, and told me he would pitch a story tot he editor to see if there would be interest.

Some time later, I get a text from Jordan confirming that there is interest from the editor and they'd like to do the story.  He then told me that they would want to use the setting of a card show as basis for the story.

I was immediately excited, and began thinking of interesting angles that I thought the story could be written in.

---

The show was confirmed, the Westchester County show in January, a reliable and often fortuitous show. I meet Jordan at Grand Central to make our way on Metro North to Westchester. On the way he asks me questions about my collection, my motivation to start it, etc. It was nice to hear someone else express their interest in my collection that wasn't on a forum. He had a real interest in it, and I was proud to talk to him about it.

We get to the show and I immediately go to the SGC table to submit my cards for crossing. After finishing there, we perused the show for Greenbergs. Well, I'm not going to spoil the story, I'll let Jordan's writing tell the story.

Find the link to the story here.

Typecasted: BF3

I'm going to start a new little series for the blog to keep it fresh.  I'm going to pick a card to profile, and talk a little bit about the history of the card and how and when (if I can remember) I got it.

I'll start this edition with a new set I've been particularly fascinated in, trying to acquire and learn about as many examples of this set as I can.

The set is the BF3 mini pennant.  I bought this below at the 2013 National in Chicago.

This is an excerpt from the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards:

"The checklists for these series of felt pennants issued circa 1936-1938 are not complete, and new examples are still being reported. The pennants do not carry any manufacturer's name although packages found with various pieces attribute the issues to Red Ball sales, a gum company in Chicago, and Grandpa Brands Co., Cincinatti another gum company. One pennant was given away with purchase of a stick of gum, and at least one wrapper indicates large format (28''x12'') versions of the Red Ball pennants could be had in a redemption program. The pennants vary in size slightly but generally measure approx. 2-1/2''x4-1/2''and were issued in various styles and colors. Most of the printing is white, although some pennants have been found with other colors of printing, and the same pennant is often found in more than one color combination. The pennants feature both individual players and teams, including some minor league clubs. The pennants were grouped together in the American Card Catalog under the designation of BF3. Advanced collectors have categorized the pennants into a number of basic design types, depending on what elements are included on the pennant. The unnumbered felts are listed alphabetically within type. Gaps have been left in the assigned numbers to accommodate future discoveries." (2011 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, Bob Lemke)

I recently acquired the below pennant to accompany the above:

Should be here tomorrow :)  I've learned from the catalog that there are 12 cataloged types. The yellow/white pictured is a Type 1, and I believe the blue/yellow is from Type 3 (without having the reference next to me).

I'll continue to pick these up as I can find them, as long as they are unique in terms of their color combinations and type.

If any of you have questions about this unique set, ask away and I can do my best to answer.

A great new autograph purchase

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a a poor eBay listing for a Hank Greenberg autograph authenticated by PSA.  Quite possibly the best Greenberg autograph example I own, it only cost me $60.

Here are the pics below.

[new pickup] 2012 Panini National Treasures (again)

Took advantage of a possible bad listing on eBay and picked this short printed bat card up for $20. Unsure if I'm going to go after all of the other bat cards in the set; haven't been "known" to go after color variations, etc.

But who knows. I might take a bit of a break if I don't see anything I absolutely MUST have. Until further notice.

I do however want to post more about what I already have.  OH, and I need to post about my experience with Jordan Teicher.

Definitely more to come.

New pickup: 1934 Batter Up v2

There are certain moments, when cards go on eBay and I say to myself, "Yep, I'm going to win that card." I bet more collectors feel that way as well.

I had decided at the NSCC this past August that I wanted to go after all color variations of the 1934 Batter Up # 57 Hank Greenberg.  I bought and graded this one a few years ago, and was a fan of this issue ever since.

At the National, with this in mind, I found two Batter Ups that I pondered, and passed, and pondered, and passed, and offered and counter-offered several times on both cards.  I had to pass on a blue version (shown in this link) because of back damage, and the fact that the dealer's price was too high for the card.  I think I might have already explained this story once here before, but I'm not remembering so I'll just continue.

The second of the two cards I was much more interested in.  A black tinted, raw, sharp card. Guy was asking $300 for it, but $250 if I decided to pay in cash.  I mulled the buy over, and over, and over the three days I was there. I finally gathered up the stones to withdraw the money (with trouble I might add, Wells Fargo didn't take kindly to me withdrawing large amounts in Chicago, Illinois without telling them in advance.)

I was at the table. Took the card out of the book that I found it in, and heavily inspected it.  I found a slight tear where the end of the bat reaches the top edge of the card, and I was immediately turned off. It created a tear in the card, and for $250 I couldn't warrant spending that on a card I know didn't meet the grade for the price.

I passed.

So, present day, I found the card on eBay, and like I said, I knew I was going to have it. I placed my bid with 6 days and change left and carefully watched the auction, padding my bid twice once the activity came from other bidders. I won the card easily, and now it's a day away from arriving, and I can't wait to own it.

Flea Market pickup

On a cold day in October, my family and I went to the Columbus Market in New Jersey, somewhere my mom had always wanted to go but never had the chance.  We visited the antique buildings instead of the street-fair-like flea, which ended up being fruitful.

I took a quick left and lapped around the room searching for any signs of sports cards. Turns out if I had just turned right I would have come to the area of which I was interested; the sports cards.  My dad had flagged me down to bring me over, and I spent the next 30 minutes combing through bargain bins.  I came across a bin labeled "Ted Williams" among bins labeled "Derek Jeter" and "David Wright". In the back of the box I found the below card for a dollar:

This marks the first card of Hank Greenberg that I bought from a flea market.  Pretty pleased with the card for a buck!

A Thank You Post

Over the years that I have been collecting Hank Greenberg I have run across many people who have gifted me cards, asking nothing in return.

This thread is a thank you thread to those people!

Steve Rittenberg: 
Steve, member of OBC gifted me this card in 2010 after the Baltimore National. He asked if I needed the card, and simply gave it to me.

Thanks Steve!

Jonathan Roth via Gerry Rittenberg:
This was originally given to my brother for this Bar Mitzvah in 2007 by my Dad's first cousin Gerry, but then was traded to me by my brother for a 1960 Topps Mickey Mantle/Ken Boyer. Thanks to both of them for helping me acquire this card!

gwynn545314u:
A member of FCB, he sent me this while I was at school, and I hadn't checked my mail for over 2 months! Needless to say, a cool note, and a cool card

ecerulo:
Bought a bat card from him, and included was this! A 2010 National Chicle Cowhide 1/1! Couldn't believe it, still one of the most selfless acts I've ever been a part of.

Chris Gilmore and the FCB 2010 National crew:
At the 2010 National, stopping by the FCB booth for the second time, soon after breaking a box of 2010 Tristar Obak, the crew gave me these two cool cards! On the house!

flightposite:
Also a member of FCB, flight had this card that I wanted, and we could not agree on a price, so he decided to send me the card for free! A nice gesture, no doubt.

Greg Plotkin (Bigfan5):
Greg is one of the nicest guys, with the best reputation on FCB. He sent this to me after we had an agreement that I followed through with, as did he. He told me that he saw this and immediately thought of me. It feels nice to think that my collection is so notable that people think of me when they see Greenberg pieces that I could use.

Forgot :( cannot find username on FCB:
I'm sorry to say that I forgot who was generous enough to give this to me, but it was my first Greenberg autograph on a postcard. I remember being floored by the generosity. and I feel bad about forgetting who sent this to me all those years ago.

Chris Gilmore and the FCB crew:
My first cut autograph is courtesy of Gilmore and the FCB crew came when I was a broke college student and I posted this card that was listed poorly on eBay. Chris was generous to buy the card for me, and simply said to, "Pay it forward".