Most Valuable Set??

[Crackerjackcollector]

hi guys! i was always curious about what baseball set sold for the highest price?? I heard it was cracker jack is that correct? or was there a higher price?? thanks;)

[Captain Cold Nose]

hi guys! i was always curious about what baseball set sold for the highest price?? I heard it was cracker jack is that correct? or was there a higher price?? thanks;)
Without really looking, I would have to think the T206 tobacco set, put out between 1909 and 1911, would be the highest in value. And that's not including the infamous Wagner card, pulled from circulation. The 1914 Cracker Jack (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1914cra01)set is highly sought after.

[rugbyfreak]

hi guys! i was always curious about what baseball set sold for the highest price?? I heard it was cracker jack is that correct? or was there a higher price?? thanks;)

There is no one answer here, since the further back you go in time (say, to the Deadball Era, with cigarette cards), the more obscure and uncatalogued the "sets" become. Most of these issues, released willy-nilly, unnumbered and under no particular schedule, are "sets" only in the loosest manner of speaking, since nobody is really sure how many players make up a complete list.

But I'll stick to what I know and collect--the so-called "modern" era, from 1951 on, when Topps got into the game and put some semblance of order into things with yearly numbered sets. In that realm, I believe the Topps 1952 set is the most expensive out there, simply because of the presence of the Mickey Mantle rookie (his first) card, #311. A complete '52 set, in near-mint condition (hard to find) can fetch $50,000 or more.

Of the 56 Topps "base" sets issued from 1951-2006, I have nine to go that I don't either have complete or am close. Six of these are in the 1950s, and at the prices I'm seeing, this last little stretch may never happen for me, even given that I do not collect graded cards, nor really care all that much about condition ("visually presentable" is my vague standard).

In the strict dealer/collector world, however, condition is very much a driving factor, as the price difference from VG, through EX, and on up to NM, can often treble, or quadruple, from one end to the other. That '52 set, for instance, is rated at a mere $14K as a VG, then about $25K for EX, and finally $50K, if you can get the whole set graded at NM, which is the industry "10."

Hope that helps.

[rugbyfreak]

hi guys! i was always curious about what baseball set sold for the highest price?? I heard it was cracker jack is that correct? or was there a higher price?? thanks;)

I just looked up that Cracker Jack issue. There were two sets: 1914 (144 cards), valued at up to $125K, and the 1915 (176 cards), which currently has a top price of $60K.

[Dalkowski110]

"In that realm, I believe the Topps 1952 set is the most expensive out there, simply because of the presence of the Mickey Mantle rookie (his first) card, #311. A complete '52 set, in near-mint condition (hard to find) can fetch $50,000 or more."

'52 Topps, while it is the most valuable modern set, does not in any way, shape, or form, contain Mickey Mantle's rookie card. The Mick's RC is in the 1951 Bowman set, a widely collected and widely considered "modern" set (as well as all other Bowman sets from 1948-1955). Willie Mays' RC is also featured in this set.

[rugbyfreak]

"In that realm, I believe the Topps 1952 set is the most expensive out there, simply because of the presence of the Mickey Mantle rookie (his first) card, #311. A complete '52 set, in near-mint condition (hard to find) can fetch $50,000 or more."

'52 Topps, while it is the most valuable modern set, does not in any way, shape, or form, contain Mickey Mantle's rookie card. The Mick's RC is in the 1951 Bowman set, a widely collected and widely considered "modern" set (as well as all other Bowman sets from 1948-1955). Willie Mays' RC is also featured in this set.

I stand corrected on '52 not being MM's first card ever. I should have said that '52 is his Topps rookie card, which, in spite of its runner-up status, has done quite well for itself, valued at some $13K in NM.

I also did not mean to give old Bowmans short shrift, as I am a big fan of them. My new collector's dream is to own the '53 color set. What a beauty! And its '55 swan song, the TV cards, remains a classic. I have all the Yankees from that set except Mantle.

[Crackerjackcollector]

thanks rugbyfreak!! umm... could you tell me how you figured out whats the set price like what u said 125k?? thanks!

[rugbyfreak]

thanks rugbyfreak!! umm... could you tell me how you figured out whats the set price like what u said 125k?? thanks!

There are a number of different pricing sources out there, both hard copy and online. The book I buy every few years is the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards (Bob Lemke, ed.), $39.99.

It's very comprehensive ('05 is 1728 pp.), and serves a number of purposes. Since I'm not a dealer, just a collector (don't sell, but will trade), I pretty much ignore the prices. But it lists every last set ever made (well, almost), and every player in them, so I often use it as a reference guide before deciding to purchase something or bid on it. Once in a while, I will consult the pricing, if it's an item I'm unfamiliar with, and I want to get a baseline on whether the auction is in line with the market.

Pricing at any given point in time is theoretical, and it's based on two parameters:

1.) Original scarcity of the card (how many were originally printed); and
2.) How many are available on the market at that time.

Point #1 really hasn't been an issue since '74, as I already mentioned, when Topps (and others) began issuing entire sets at once, and so no cards were printed more than any others, in theory. (Pre-'74, high numbers are very expensive, regardless of the player in question.)

Point #2 is also a supply issue. Remember, Mickey Mantles cost more because they are in demand and because many people hold onto them rather than sell them. But not because they deliberately made fewer Mantles. Just as many Mantles were run as Valdespinos, provided they were in the same run.

Any other questions, or you wish to trade, just PM me, and we'll take it from there. See ya!

[Crackerjackcollector]

does anybody know if completed and sold what set would sold more than the 125k cracker jack thanks!

Sean