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The Contact

Recently, we were contacted by a gentleman from New England that had a collection that he was interested in selling. His contact stated: "I have a lot of 39 cards that I want to sell. Please see pictures below" and included images of 15 graded cards and 3 ungraded cards as well as a spreadsheet listing the 39 cards in the collection. Of the 39, 35 were PSA graded, 2 were rejected by PSA and 2 were not submitted for grading as the seller had submitted each of these cards himself over the course of several different submissions.

So, that's 35 PSA graded cards and 4 ungraded cards. Not a difficult lot to evaluate. The next step was to get some additional images to determine the eye appeal and any further value that might be able to be added to the collection. After a phone call and some emails, that step was accomplished. Now, it was time to get to work and research the values and crunch the numbers.

A Seacoast Flea Market

The seller remembers buying a decent sized group of cards at a New Hampshire flea market in the early 1970s while working on building his 1956 Topps Set. He stated that the 1956 Set was always a favorite and is the one set that he still has in his collection. The lot included mostly 1956 Topps cards, but also some "stragglers." He recalled the extra cards being mostly Bowman and some earlier Topps cards. From that group originated many of the non-1956 cards in this collection, including the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, the Bowman Mantles and the 1954 Bowman Ted Williams. He didn't recall exactly how many cards he purchased in the collection, but he did remember with clarity that the purchase amounted to $0.08 per card.

Over the course of time, he slowly built his 1956 Set and slowly added some of his other favorite cards along the way. But not all of them came from purchases at local flea markets or card swaps.

A Brother's Babes

While still in amazement of the flea market purchase, we began discussing the three Babe Ruth cards in the collection. These came about as his brother, who our seller said was a much more avid collector than he, was working on his 1933 Goudey set and he gave him the extra Ruths for his collection.

The Luck of a Reader

Another portion of the collection, the half-dozen tobacco cards, was not purchased by the gentleman, per se. He actually bought a few books from a book seller at the flea market and while perusing through them, found inside 4 T206 cards, including Ty Cobb, Christy Matheson and Walter Johnson as well as a pair of T201 cards. Not a bad find for a purchase that probably didn't exceed $15.00.

This isn't the first time that we've heard of valuable cards being found in books! So let that be a lesson to you, read some old books!

A Baker's Dozen -- And Plenty More

Usually when you get a collection, there are a few lesser cards in it. When a couple of T201 Hall of Famers are the "lesser" cards, you know the collection is pretty chock full of punch! And when Nolan Ryan's PSA graded rookie card is the most current card and around the midpoint of the collection, it is pretty special. Below is the list of all 39 cards in the collection and we've highlighted a Bakers' Dozen (13 cards) that we really think are special -- not that the other 26 are any less special.

Crossing Paths in New Hampshire

After evaluating the collection and presenting the offer to the seller, the seller wanted some time to mull over the numbers.  He noted that he wanted to sell the collection in one transaction and not sell it off in pieces.  Just Collect was happy to oblige and when the seller called us back agreeing to our offer, we arranged for an appointment to meet in New England.  The subsequent weekend, Just Collect's VP was traveling to Maine while the seller was visiting family in New Hampshire.  Both parties were able to find a convenient and secure location to meet that was simple for both.

The seller and Just Collect met at a mutually convenient location near Portsmouth, New Hampshire on a Saturday afternoon.  Upon meeting, stories were shared about collecting in the 1970's and the seller outlined some details about how the collection was obtained, assembled and some of the other things that he collected and still has.  It was a fantastic meeting and the transaction was completed with both sides leaving very happy with the deal!

Schedule an Appointment to Meet Just Collect at a Show Near You

Just Collect travels to several shows on a regular basis. In the New York area, we often attend the White Plains Show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. If you're in the New England area, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our specialists when we're in the area for the Shriner's Show at the Aleppo Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. We also visit the Metro-DC area when we attend the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA. If you're in the South Jersey or Delaware area, you can also schedule appointments while we're in the Philadelphia area when we do The Philly Show in Valley Forge, PA.

We set up at The National Sports Collectors Convention every year and this year, it will be at the Stephens Convention Center in the Rosemont section of Chicago, IL and it has also been in Cleveland, Atlantic City and Baltimore in recent years. Additionally, we travel to the Sports Card and Memorabilia Expo in Mississauga, Ontario for those of you in the Toronto area that want to meet with us in Canada.

We would love to meet with you and schedule a private appointment to assess and value your collection while we are in your area, so please check out our show and travel schedule to see when Just Collect will be in your area!

Our Buying Philosophy

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the past decade. Although we are known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage basketball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, also!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and soul into building their collection. So when you're ready to sell, Just Collect understands the feelings that you're going through and we will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

Won't They Be Worth More if I Grade Them Myself

We discuss all of the selling options with everyone that we meet with. In most cases, selling the collection on their own will put the most money on the bottom line, but it will also take an large commitment of time and energy and one that most are not ready or able to undertake. Another misconception is that grading the collection will return more money. When I hear people say, "You're just going to grade them and get ten times the money," I almost cringe. Grading a collection can be a money losing proposition, especially if you don't know what you're doing. And most times, we grade very few, if any cards, from average collections that we buy.

We value a collection based upon the condition and the value. If a card is worth $100 in a PSA 7 NM, we're going to value it at $100 whether it is ungraded or graded. You can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars grading your cards, but we're still valuing them the same and paying the same regardless of how much you've invested in grading them.

We Are Always Buying

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss your collection and get our industry leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace.

Don't hesitate to check out our Google Reviews left by many of the great people that have considered selling collections to Just Collect

"The Seacoast Flea Market Collection with a 1952 Topps Mantle" Video: