The Just Collect Blog

The Trimmed 1933 Goudey Baseball Card Collection With Babe Ruth

Written by Monte Jennings | Feb 21, 2022 6:10:36 PM

If you find vintage baseball cards that appear to trimmed or damaged, think twice about throwing that collection away; sports cards may still be valuable even if trimmed! Just Collect recently purchased a collection of trimmed cards from the 1933 Goudey set including a card from the legendary Babe Ruth.

A collector reached out for a on the Just Collect website and was interested in selling a collection of 1933 Goudey baseball cards. In the message, the owner mentioned the cards were trimmed (meaning the cards were cut intentionally). We wanted to share the unique story on WHY the cards were trimmed (a game we've never heard of!), but also to use this as a reminder that sometimes even trimmed or damaged cards can still be valuable!

THE COLLECTION

 
The owner's father, Carl, collected the 1933 Goudey set as a kid. At one point Carl nearly had the complete set! This is one of our favorite sets as FOUR of the 240 cards in the set are of Babe Ruth. Even if you know zero about sports, you probably know the name Babe Ruth, and the four Babes in this set are very desirable. The four Ruth cards are numbers 53, 144, 149 and 181. Of the four cards, card number 53, is the most difficult to find. Carl actually held onto card #53! However, you can see that Babe isn't in the best shape. There he is above in the middle row to the left with the yellow background. Let's get a closer look:
 
 
For comparison, here is what a better-conditioned Ruth looks like:
 
 
One of the first things you'll notice is the bottom of the card has been "trimmed"; there is no "Big League Chewing Gum" logo. Carl's son believes the bottom of the card was cut off to play a game his dad passed on to him. We've heard of playing FLIP or putting cards in your bike spokes to make it sound like a motorcycle. This game is new to us, though! According to Carl's son:
 
"Carl and his cousin Rob invented a game where they cut out pictures of players from cards, and used these players to flick the resulting “players” on a baseball field drawn on a large piece of Masonite. The cards he ended up with were mainly leftover cards he never got around to cutting up."
 
Carl passed that game onto his son. Unfortunately many star cards were cut for the game including three Pete Rose rookie cards - Pete had his face cut out!
 
While we love the idea of a new baseball card game, we recommend NOT cutting your cards. HERE are some great tips on how to store you cards for projection.
 
The Babe Ruth and other Goudey cards like another Hall of Famer you see in the collection, Jimmy Foxx, may not be in Mint condition but still hold value. Vintage cards of legends like Babe Ruth or a Mickey Mantle rookie  card are highly-sought after even if the condition is less than stellar. No, your 1987 Topps Don Mattingly isn't exactly valuable if you drew on the card to change the color of Donnie Baseball's mustache. However, a Babe Ruth card is a much different story!
 
PSA is a professional grading company that reviews your cards and assigns a grade. To give you an idea on how few 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card #53 are around, the PSA population report has just 1,093 of those cards graded. You can most likely find 1,093 1987 Topps Don Mattingly cards in one person's closest in their childhood bedroom.
 
Just Collect has purchased several collections with cards that are trimmed like another Babe Ruth Goudey card in The Once Bitten Collection. We also purchased a collection of cards with a date stamped all over them. One of those stamped was a Joe DiMaggio rookie card. Check out the Mysteriously-Stamped 1939 Play Ball Collection. If your vintage cards are trimmed, damaged or marked, always reach out to us at Just Collect before you toss those cards aside. One of those cards could be ultra rare like the T206 Eddie Plank card we purchased in The Fairy Godmother Find.

THE APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

After we received the e-mail, we reached out to Carl's son and offered him to SHIP his collection to our office here in New Jersey. If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back with shipping fees paid by us! We offered the owner our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. If you'd like to set up this option, contact the office to set up this option.

When the cards arrived we had our vintage card specialists review the collection. When Babe Ruth cards are involved, please reach out to us here at Just Collect. The retail stores and card shops you may visit are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are here to help.

Once we appraised the cards in-person, we made the owner a strong offer that he accepted. We mailed a check out with our FedEx account the next day. When you sell your collection to Just Collect, we'll pay you how YOU want to be paid - check, cash, money order, wire transfer, or we can play this new game Carl's dad invented at your next game night if that's your preferred payment! Please don't cut up any Babe Ruth cards, though...

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

If you have trimmed Babe Ruth cards or a collection you're not sure about the value of because there may be damage to them, don't hesitate to call us for an appraisal! We wouldn't want you throwing away valuable cards.

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 or 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. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:


 

We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than shipping or using our website, too.

  • Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here - we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here. 

  • Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending.  Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

  • Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

  • Meet in New York City

We have another location in New York you can meet us at; read all the information here.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!  

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 souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and 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.

CONTACT US ANY TIME

Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time! 
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