Building a Koufax Collection for my son and need advice

[kev2xx]

So i have a complete run of Koufax cards from 66 - 60 all graded 5 or 5.5 PSA or SGC. When i go back from 1959 - 1956 the grade drops to a 4 for all of them again all graded SGC or PSA.

Now when it comes to his rookie would it be worth it to have the card if its just graded a three or do you think long term would be better to wait and save up the cash for a 4?

My sons birthday is at the end of the year so this complete Koufax run would be a birthday gift for him

His interest in vintage cards really took off after he and i found a stash of my uncles old cards he collected from the late 50's to mid 60's. I have a raw Koufax and will probably get it graded (not sure if it would grade a three or four) as there is a card show here in Toronto coming up with PSA doing grading on site so i will take my chances as i know raw vintage is to volatile and i want him to have something that retains value when he gets older so even if he does want to sell he knows what he has.

Sorry about the rambling, just new to the vintage game due to finding some hidden treasures from my uncles old collection.

Any help re minimum grades to keep would be greatly appreciated and will post pictures if anyone wants to see, also have a Bob Gibson rookie as well, thinking about trading that one and whatever grade i get on the Koufax for the highest grade i could afford.

THanks in advance for the read any any responses.

[Wisztradamous]

I can't speak on the Koufax market itself, but I collect vintage football and an SGC/PSA 3 generally will have a crease/wrinkle in it. You can find some really really nice 3's that have this defect and you won't have to get to that 4 grade. Not all 3's and 4's are valued the same.

Ideally, find a centered PSA/SGC 3 with good corners and that small wrinkle on the back and you might love it more than a Sharp 4 that's really OC.

[Sluggerrr]

I would love a 3 or 4 of his rookie card. I even find myself eyeballing 2.5's.

[kev2xx]

Thank you both for your reply. With the exchange rate and shipping and duty these days sgc 4 s are probably the highest I can go but everything both of you said makes sense. Thanks again.

Would rather him have a card that is crease and wrinkle free so long as there is no mk and mc designation on the card if I go the psa route and if I go the sgc route I see they don't have those markings attached.

I noticed on a lot of three cards there are surface creases but don't show on the other side but four grade generally would be crease mis cut and mark free. So I am guessing good rule of thumb lowest grade to get is a four unless you can live with the imperfections.

Kind of like my bucket list card would be a 1954 aaron or ernie banks and those at a 4 level drawrf what koufax is thankfully he doesn't have overly expensive tastes lol.

Thanks again to you both for your responses

[irv]

Originally Posted by kev2xx

Thank you both for your reply. With the exchange rate and shipping and duty these days sgc 4 s are probably the highest I can go but everything both of you said makes sense. Thanks again.

Would rather him have a card that is crease and wrinkle free so long as there is no mk and mc designation on the card if I go the psa route and if I go the sgc route I see they don't have those markings attached.

I noticed on a lot of three cards there are surface creases but don't show on the other side but four grade generally would be crease mis cut and mark free. So I am guessing good rule of thumb lowest grade to get is a four unless you can live with the imperfections.

Kind of like my bucket list card would be a 1954 aaron or ernie banks and those at a 4 level drawrf what koufax is thankfully he doesn't have overly expensive tastes lol.

Thanks again to you both for your responses

My biggest roadblock too. Just sucks how much extra that adds to the overall cost of cards to us CDN's who sometimes hardly have any options other than buying from U.S. sellers.

Strongly thinking about getting some my 52's graded at the upcoming Expo myself but only if I can get them back this same weekend as I don't want any of them going through the mail, especially coming all the way from Florida and having to cross the border.

[towerymt]

Personally I don't find the PSA-3/4/5 range to be that much more enjoyable than a nice looking low grade example, so I went cheap on the '55 when I picked up this copy a few years ago. I had been looking for a PSA-6 for a while, but I never snagged one at auction before prices took off, and I don't really want to pay $3k for one now.



There's a small spot of paper loss on the front under the red Dodgers logo, but it's hard to notice. There is no heavy creasing, or any creasing actually, which is something I look for in low grade cards. This one was $280 in June 2020. Probably in the $400-$600 range today.

I just looked at recent sales of PSA-3s in the 700-800 ballpark that look slightly sharper than my 1.5 above, may have better print quality, will have less surface wear, and no major surface defects like the paper loss or a heavy crease. Is it worth the increased price for a card that still has gently rounded corners? Up to you.

PSA-4s should get a bit sharper than 3s, but the corners are not yet square. They're just slightly rounding at the tips. Clean surface (speaking of wear on the front, which should be minimal), small crease/wrinkle is possible. But still a card that shows some handling, some wear.

As you think about the grades and look at examples, I feel like it helps to identify what goes into the grade of a card.

Good luck. There are plenty to choose from, so be picky.

[Chaotic30]

I built a similar collection a couple years ago. I ended up getting the Rookie in a PSA 4 and everything else in the PSA 6 range.

[unitasfan]

Lol I did the same as chaotic. And added a signed baseball.

[kev2xx]

Wow signed baseball as well thats impressive.

I finally did it all complete sgc 4 grades each one from rookie to 1959. Psa 5 from 1960 to the end in 1966. If I can figure out the pictures upload I will be happy to share.

Can't wait to see my sons face when he opens his birthday gift.

Thanks again everyone that responded as you all helped me make my decision with the cards I purchased to complete the Koufax collection for my son

[jtclockwork]

Complete run of Topps or all issues? I always thought the 1963 KTAV Kolfax was cool, but never pulled the trigger on anything from that set.

[kev2xx]

Hi JT - i meant all the mainstream issues i guess including the 1963 Fleer in a psa 5 grade. What is the KTAV you mentioned, sounds interesting?

Probably should get a Topps Giants one as well just not sure how good they store in a box.

Besides all of the Topps issues and the Fleer anything else i should try and get for my son to make his Koufax collection sort of complete?

Sticking to vintage of course.

Will try and get an auto card as well just trying to determine the best one to get right now?

[jtclockwork]

Originally Posted by kev2xx

Hi JT - i meant all the mainstream issues i guess including the 1963 Fleer in a psa 5 grade. What is the KTAV you mentioned, sounds interesting?

Probably should get a Topps Giants one as well just not sure how good they store in a box.

Besides all of the Topps issues and the Fleer anything else i should try and get for my son to make his Koufax collection sort of complete?

Sticking to vintage of course.

Will try and get an auto card as well just trying to determine the best one to get right now?

KTAV is a hand cut multi-sport issue featuring Jewish athletes, past and present, that was issued in 1963. Oddly, Bobby Fischer is kind of the whale of the set. But it has Koufax and it's during his playing days.

As far as other issues, this is a great source for that: https://www.tcdb.com/Person.cfm/pid/3194/Sandy-Koufax

[VanLingoMungo46]

I agree with towerymt’s approach. You can get a 1.5-2 that can often look much better than cards in the 3-4 range for a lower price. To me, 55s really are differentiated around centering (of course) and color. Not all 55s have that vivid rich color and it’s not something graders pay much attention to unless the card is totally faded out.

So yeah grab a 2 or a 3 with good centering and that dark rich color that not all 55s have. Good luck with the hunt! This card is not at all rare so take your time as there are plenty of choices out there.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by towerymt

Personally I don't find the PSA-3/4/5 range to be that much more enjoyable than a nice looking low grade example, so I went cheap on the '55 when I picked up this copy a few years ago. I had been looking for a PSA-6 for a while, but I never snagged one at auction before prices took off, and I don't really want to pay $3k for one now.



There's a small spot of paper loss on the front under the red Dodgers logo, but it's hard to notice. There is no heavy creasing, or any creasing actually, which is something I look for in low grade cards. This one was $280 in June 2020. Probably in the $400-$600 range today.

I just looked at recent sales of PSA-3s in the 700-800 ballpark that look slightly sharper than my 1.5 above, may have better print quality, will have less surface wear, and no major surface defects like the paper loss or a heavy crease. Is it worth the increased price for a card that still has gently rounded corners? Up to you.

PSA-4s should get a bit sharper than 3s, but the corners are not yet square. They're just slightly rounding at the tips. Clean surface (speaking of wear on the front, which should be minimal), small crease/wrinkle is possible. But still a card that shows some handling, some wear.

As you think about the grades and look at examples, I feel like it helps to identify what goes into the grade of a card.

Good luck. There are plenty to choose from, so be picky.

You can pick up some nice mid-grade examples if you are patient. A recently graded SGC or PSA example gives the best value. I would buy the highest grade that you can afford.