Suggestions on undervalued 50s cards?

[rms13]

I've just gotten back into collecting recently for the first time since I was a kid in the 80s. I've always loved 50s cards and players so I am trying to buy some stuff from that era. I want to build a collection so I'm looking to buy cards for $300 or less. I bought a 1956 Duke Snider in PSA 7 because he was my father's favorite player growing up and I really like the 1956 Topps design. I would obviously love some Mantles but even low grade and raw are above what I am comfortable spending right now. The other main targets I have are Ted Williams because I'm a life long Red Sox fan and Koufax. Are there any other HOF or all stars from that era that you think are undervalued now? I mostly plan on buying and holding for collection but I want to get some stuff that will at least hold it's value if I decided to sell in 5 years.

Guys I've been looking at that are probably a tier or two below top guys are Eddie Mathews, Larry Doby, Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, etc. Originally I wanted to stick to graded cards by reputable graders even if they are lower grade but now I've been looking more at raw for price saving. I would eventually submit raw to graders just to have them slabbed and authenticated. I feel a lot more confident in buying raw of some of these lower tier guys as I figure they are more likely to be authentic than a raw Mantle/Mays but I'd love to hear thoughts from the community

[mfw13]

Welcome!

One avenue you might want to consider are subsets like All-Star cards or the 1959 Baseball Thrills subsets.

There are several Mantle All-Stars that you can get in PSA 7 for $100-200.

The 1958 Ted Williams All-Star is also roughly $150 in PSA 7.

And Koufax has a nice 1965 Topps League Leaders card where he's paired with Drysdale that's pretty inexpensive.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Welcome!

One avenue you might want to consider are subsets like All-Star cards or the 1959 Baseball Thrills subsets.

There are several Mantle All-Stars that you can get in PSA 7 for $100-200.

The 1958 Ted Williams All-Star is also roughly $150 in PSA 7.

And Koufax has a nice 1965 Topps League Leaders card where he's paired with Drysdale that's pretty inexpensive.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking at some of those All Stars on ebay now. Do you have any opinion on sellers to avoid? I've seen a lot of people say to avoid big sellers like PWCC and Probstein. Also are there any sellers that you recommend for raw vintage cards that have good reputation?

[droidcrijon]

Welcome back!

I think that depending on your tolerance for creasing/centering/PSA #s there are deals to be had <$300.

In the last month or so I've picked up '54 Williams, Mays and '59 Clemente for less than $250 each. All PSA 2/2.5.

I also picked up a PSA 2 '54 Robinson for $315.

As for sellers - check out the auction houses like Heritage and Clean Sweep. Still seeing crazy price increases, but feels like there are better deals to be had on those sites - especially the Heritage Sunday night weekly auction.

Oh, also keep an eye on the BST thread here!

Good luck and enjoy the crazy changes in the hobby since the 80s. I know I have!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[rms13]

Originally Posted by droidcrijon

Welcome back!

I think that depending on your tolerance for creasing/centering/PSA #s there are deals to be had <$300.

In the last month or so I've picked up '54 Williams, Mays and '59 Clemente for less than $250 each. All PSA 2/2.5.

I also picked up a PSA 2 '54 Robinson for $315.

As for sellers - check out the auction houses like Heritage and Clean Sweep. Still seeing crazy price increases, but feels like there are better deals to be had on those sites - especially the Heritage Sunday night weekly auction.

Oh, also keep an eye on the BST thread here!

Good luck and enjoy the crazy changes in the hobby since the 80s. I know I have!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Thanks! I'm enjoying the changes so far with the exception of every player having 20 rookie cards now! Those sound like some good deals you got. Major creases bother me but centering doesn't. I have seen a lot of PSA 2-3 on ebay that still look like nice examples to me. I've been bidding on more raw on ebay the past few days but I get scared off once it get's over a couple hundred dollars even if they look much better than an equivalent graded card. I did just buy a lot of 6 raw common 1956 cards for $4 haha. It's probably not worth more than $4 but they are just for personal collection and I won't grade those.

[droidcrijon]

Originally Posted by rms13

Thanks! I'm enjoying the changes so far with the exception of every player having 20 rookie cards now! Those sound like some good deals you got. Major creases bother me but centering doesn't. I have seen a lot of PSA 2-3 on ebay that still look like nice examples to me. I've been bidding on more raw on ebay the past few days but I get scared off once it get's over a couple hundred dollars even if they look much better than an equivalent graded card. I did just buy a lot of 6 raw common 1956 cards for $4 haha. It's probably not worth more than $4 but they are just for personal collection and I won't grade those.

Yeah, my first few weeks back in I tried to understand modern and finally realized I was in it for nostalgia, so the most modern set in my collection is '85 Topps. Cost me a lot of money in hobby boxes to figure that out.

PSA 2 is the sweet spot for me. I prefer as centered as I can get, and creases that don't cross the face. Surface wear I'm okay with because no card from the 50s in my collection should be pristine.

The crease on the Williams is bottom right.
The Jackie is centered and not centered at the same time due to the weird staining on the bottom left.

Good luck and post pics when you pick something up!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[rms13]

Originally Posted by droidcrijon

Yeah, my first few weeks back in I tried to understand modern and finally realized I was in it for nostalgia, so the most modern set in my collection is '85 Topps. Cost me a lot of money in hobby boxes to figure that out.

PSA 2 is the sweet spot for me. I prefer as centered as I can get, and creases that don't cross the face. Surface wear I'm okay with because no card from the 50s in my collection should be pristine.

The crease on the Williams is bottom right.
The Jackie is centered and not centered at the same time due to the weird staining on the bottom left.

Good luck and post pics when you pick something up!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Great looking cards! I am in the same place. I started buying modern NBA and MLB rookies. I have some cool cards and already flipped a few flipped a few for 2-3x but I realized I was in it for the wrong reasons. I don't have bankroll to make real money flipping nor do I like dealing with selling/shipping frequently. But I do have nostalgia for 50s baseball cards because those were kings of the hobby when I collected as a kid and my father grew up in the 50s as a huge fan. And I'm collecting 90s NBA because I was watching a lot of NBA in that era and I'm a big fan of Iverson, Duncan, Pierce, Dirk, Garnett etc. I have been looking at a lot of 80s baseball too, to get some of the Clemens, Gooden, Strawberry, Eric Davis and other random guys I loved growing up.

[hammertime]

Bowmans are still good buys IMO.

[droidcrijon]

Originally Posted by hammertime

Bowmans are still good buys IMO.

100% this too. A Bowman '53/'54 Mantle Is still 'affordable' compared to anything Topps.

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[crazy4kinsler]

I picked up a 1966T Mantle PSA 4 for under $200 back in December. It's now like $250-$300, so it's within your singles budget.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by rms13

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking at some of those All Stars on ebay now. Do you have any opinion on sellers to avoid? I've seen a lot of people say to avoid big sellers like PWCC and Probstein. Also are there any sellers that you recommend for raw vintage cards that have good reputation?

I bought my copies years ago, so can't really help you there.

There are lots of threads on Blowout about PWCC & Probstein....everybody's got different opinions about them.

[adamwanaselja]

Originally Posted by rms13

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking at some of those All Stars on ebay now. Do you have any opinion on sellers to avoid? I've seen a lot of people say to avoid big sellers like PWCC and Probstein. Also are there any sellers that you recommend for raw vintage cards that have good reputation?

Greg Morris Cards (GM Cards) is as good as it gets for buying raw vintage. They assess the condition fairly and accurately and will call out a card as “trimmed condition” if it appears as such.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by adamwanaselja

Greg Morris Cards (GM Cards) is as good as it gets for buying raw vintage. They assess the condition fairly and accurately and will call out a card as “trimmed condition” if it appears as such.

Thanks. Bidding on cards on their ebay store now!

[gmoney328]

Originally Posted by adamwanaselja

Greg Morris Cards (GM Cards) is as good as it gets for buying raw vintage. They assess the condition fairly and accurately and will call out a card as “trimmed condition” if it appears as such.

They usually sell for a pretty hefty premium. I get peace of mind, but double comps?

[deathwished13]

Most non rookie year 50-70s football
I think is undervalued but they have started trending up.
My 52 small psa 4 Otto was only like 45 bucks a few years ago haven't looked lately but I am assuming bits similar to my 59 Jim Brown which I bought in the same time window for 160 and now it regularly sells for 600-900 in that condition now. The modern will peak and drop a good deal eventually but I don't think the vintage will see that same drop

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[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by deathwished13

Most non rookie year 50-70s football
I think is undervalued but they have started trending up.
My 52 small psa 4 Otto was only like 45 bucks a few years ago haven't looked lately but I am assuming bits similar to my 59 Jim Brown which I bought in the same time window for 160 and now it regularly sells for 600-900 in that condition now. The modern will peak and drop a good deal eventually but I don't think the vintage will see that same drop

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I second this! Same thing with 70's basketball. Some of the rookies are insane, but you can get some HOF players for really good deals. We shouldn't be saying this though, things will double after the flippers read this...

[oplum29]

it's amazing, vintage was cheap prior to the pandemic, now it's kinda of crazy.

i could have bought a Gretkzy rookie PSA 2-3 for less than $500 a year ago, now they are $1500 at its lowest grade.

same with the 56 Mantle, $300ish a year ago, now well over that

[notfast]

Undervalued vintage IMO:

57 Topps Frank Robinson and 57 Topps Johnny Unitas. Can get both in psa 4-5 for under $500

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

I second this! Same thing with 70's basketball. Some of the rookies are insane, but you can get some HOF players for really good deals. We shouldn't be saying this though, things will double after the flippers read this...

Yes and no.

The problem with vintage football/basketball/hockey is that there just aren't enough superstars and/or cards.

In football, you've only really got Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Starr, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, and Namath in the 50's/60's. And because careers were short, many of them don't have that many cards.

Basketball has plenty of early superstars, but many of them only have a few cards (1957 Topps, 1961 Fleer, early 70's Topps). Likewise, because 69-70 and 70-71 Topps are oversized, they're not very popular, and then you don't have many popular superstars in the 70's (just Kareem & Dr. J).

Hockey is pretty much just Howe, Orr, and Bobby Hull until the 80's, since many of the other stars of the era are not popular within the hobby, and the hockey market is fairly small anyway.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by notfast

Undervalued vintage IMO:

57 Topps Frank Robinson and 57 Topps Johnny Unitas. Can get both in psa 4-5 for under $500

Frank Robinson in general is undervalued.

Won two MVP's, won the Triple Crown, won two World Series, 10th on the all-time HR list (4th when he retired), first black manager.

But because he didn't play in New York (Mantle/Mays) or knock off Babe Ruth (Aaron), or die tragically (Clemente), he's widely ignored by the hobby.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Frank Robinson in general is undervalued.

Won two MVP's, won the Triple Crown, won two World Series, 10th on the all-time HR list (4th when he retired), first black manager.

But because he didn't play in New York (Mantle/Mays) or knock off Babe Ruth (Aaron), or die tragically (Clemente), he's widely ignored by the hobby.

I think he also had a bad relationship with the media


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[rats60]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Frank Robinson in general is undervalued.

Won two MVP's, won the Triple Crown, won two World Series, 10th on the all-time HR list (4th when he retired), first black manager.

But because he didn't play in New York (Mantle/Mays) or knock off Babe Ruth (Aaron), or die tragically (Clemente), he's widely ignored by the hobby.

He was a tier below those guys. That is why his cards don't sell for more. He won a triple crown by moving to the weaker league. In the NL he would have only led in HRs. He would have been 6th in BA and 2nd in RBI. No other AL player would have been top 10 in BA and only 2 would have been top in HR and RBI.

Buy what you like, but I don't see his cards as under valued. The only 50s-60s player that seems under valued to me is Stan Musial.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by rats60

He was a tier below those guys. That is why his cards don't sell for more. He won a triple crown by moving to the weaker league. In the NL he would have only led in HRs. He would have been 6th in BA and 2nd in RBI. No other AL player would have been top 10 in BA and only 2 would have been top in HR and RBI.

Buy what you like, but I don't see his cards as under valued. The only 50s-60s player that seems under valued to me is Stan Musial.

Still the only player to win MVP in both leagues. One triple crown, 2 WS champions, 1 WS MVP and would be 4th all time in HRs if not for roid era. That’s a pretty good resume


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[mfw13]

Originally Posted by rats60

He was a tier below those guys. That is why his cards don't sell for more. He won a triple crown by moving to the weaker league. In the NL he would have only led in HRs. He would have been 6th in BA and 2nd in RBI. No other AL player would have been top 10 in BA and only 2 would have been top in HR and RBI.

Buy what you like, but I don't see his cards as under valued. The only 50s-60s player that seems under valued to me is Stan Musial.

He was a tier below Mays and Aaron, but he was just as good as Mantle & Clemente, if not better.

Point being that his cards sell for maybe 50% of Mays/Mantle/Aaron/Clemente and his autos sell for maybe 20-25% of Mays & Aaron autos.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by mfw13

He was a tier below Mays and Aaron, but he was just as good as Mantle & Clemente, if not better.

Point being that his cards sell for maybe 50% of Mays/Mantle/Aaron/Clemente and his autos sell for maybe 20-25% of Mays & Aaron autos.

Disagree, but buy what you like.