17 Allen & Ginter for $65?

base set · 08-30-2013, 10:01 AM

My dad just came to see me, asked if that was a good deal at a yard sale.

I showed him a 2013 mini, and also explained the straight reprints of the originals. He says the yard sale guy says they are the real deal from the 19th Century, & "I can tell when something is old"

I offered to go back to the yard sale with him (I'm curious) but he was in a hurry to go finish some other deal somewhere else. He is addicted to 'picking' and generally does well at it, particularly when he can take something not-antique apart for a higher scrap metal value. On the antique-ish stuff he has a good eye for value, but a terrible follow-through in that he will rarely pursue the actions required to actually sell things. And is thus a border-line hoarder driving my mom nuts.

Anyway, let's say some yard saler in a small town is offering up 17 real Allen&Ginter cards for $65, before any haggling. (Condition completely unknown to me, sorry. Best to assume Grade 1 or 2 naturally.)

What would 17 A&G from waaaay back in the day be worth?

I might go over there this afternoon but I suspect my father's excitement will have them in his hands for $50 in a few hours before I can do anything.

He does have a super-nifty stack of Piedmonts he found in an abandoned house in the 1970s (remote backwoods Federal land) that I have been after him to put in some protective devices, but "they are in a box somewhere". I have seen those in the past but since they include a Wagner (not a T206) he won't even touch them.

XL5 · 08-30-2013, 10:19 AM

If they're real it's anything from fair to a steal. As long as they aren't totally detroyed you can almost always sell them for $5 each on the low end.

Of course if he's just going to buy them and sit on them it's throwing $50 into a black hole.

checkoutmydeals · 08-30-2013, 10:43 AM

The non-baseball N28's in lower grade can sometimes be had in the $5 to $10 range. Things like oarsmen and billiards players. There's 50 cards in the set, and 10 are baseball players. Of the baseball players, most are Hall Of Famers. The baseball players will run a couple hundred and up in low grade, into the thousands for better grade. Of the non-baseball players, some notables include Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Cody as sharpshooters. Most of the boxers are respectable. N28 is also the first boxing set, though baseball cards are obviously much more sought after than boxing cards.

base set · 08-30-2013, 03:13 PM

Thanks everyone. That actually worked out fine....he checked in one more time and I told him only the baseball players are worth more than the asking price.

The 'yard sale' is actually an antique dealer back in business without a retail location any more, it appears. Will take the sales tax collector a little more time to catch up with him that way. He says he has some actual baseball cards in inventory too - will appear at the next sale. But the guy knows what he has in all cases = no good for picking.

I didn't go check them out. I'm saving up my Dad points to get him to dig out those Piedmonts and put them in the cig card top loaders I bought for him.

08-30-2013, 10:01 AM	#1
base set Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: NW Michigan Posts: 9,331	17 Allen & Ginter for $65? My dad just came to see me, asked if that was a good deal at a yard sale. I showed him a 2013 mini, and also explained the straight reprints of the originals. He says the yard sale guy says they are the real deal from the 19th Century, & "I can tell when something is old" I offered to go back to the yard sale with him (I'm curious) but he was in a hurry to go finish some other deal somewhere else. He is addicted to 'picking' and generally does well at it, particularly when he can take something not-antique apart for a higher scrap metal value. On the antique-ish stuff he has a good eye for value, but a terrible follow-through in that he will rarely pursue the actions required to actually sell things. And is thus a border-line hoarder driving my mom nuts. Anyway, let's say some yard saler in a small town is offering up 17 real Allen&Ginter cards for $65, before any haggling. (Condition completely unknown to me, sorry. Best to assume Grade 1 or 2 naturally.) What would 17 A&G from waaaay back in the day be worth? I might go over there this afternoon but I suspect my father's excitement will have them in his hands for $50 in a few hours before I can do anything. He does have a super-nifty stack of Piedmonts he found in an abandoned house in the 1970s (remote backwoods Federal land) that I have been after him to put in some protective devices, but "they are in a box somewhere". I have seen those in the past but since they include a Wagner (not a T206) he won't even touch them.

08-30-2013, 10:19 AM	#2
XL5 Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chicago Posts: 6,683 xl5	If they're real it's anything from fair to a steal. As long as they aren't totally detroyed you can almost always sell them for $5 each on the low end. Of course if he's just going to buy them and sit on them it's throwing $50 into a black hole. __________________ XL5: Home of the "smarty pants" comments. Want: 2010 Allen & Ginter N43 relics of Pujols, Markakis, Howard. Want: Konerko high-end, looking for any Konerko 2012 Topps Series 1 & Topps Chrome 1/1s

08-30-2013, 10:43 AM	#3
checkoutmydeals Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA Posts: 3,030 king-collect checkoutmydeals	The non-baseball N28's in lower grade can sometimes be had in the $5 to $10 range. Things like oarsmen and billiards players. There's 50 cards in the set, and 10 are baseball players. Of the baseball players, most are Hall Of Famers. The baseball players will run a couple hundred and up in low grade, into the thousands for better grade. Of the non-baseball players, some notables include Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Cody as sharpshooters. Most of the boxers are respectable. N28 is also the first boxing set, though baseball cards are obviously much more sought after than boxing cards.

08-30-2013, 03:13 PM	#4
base set Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: NW Michigan Posts: 9,331	Thanks everyone. That actually worked out fine....he checked in one more time and I told him only the baseball players are worth more than the asking price. The 'yard sale' is actually an antique dealer back in business without a retail location any more, it appears. Will take the sales tax collector a little more time to catch up with him that way. He says he has some actual baseball cards in inventory too - will appear at the next sale. But the guy knows what he has in all cases = no good for picking. I didn't go check them out. I'm saving up my Dad points to get him to dig out those Piedmonts and put them in the cig card top loaders I bought for him.