Cal Ripken, Jr. collector's thread

September Pick ups....
The 1996 Bowman's Best is a refractor but no REFRACTOR printed. I have another one w/ refractor printed.
The 1998 Mystery Finest is NOT a refractor but with an R. I also have one with no R.


The 2012 Panini is serial #01 / 99 and I have the #99 / 99. If only I can find the #08 / 99. Hmmmm.






Thanks for looking. Card in my sig is FOR TRADE!

tunahead said:

As always, great pickups!!

Click to expand...

Thanks Bro....





Anyone have more info on these?

Hello, Fellow Ripken Collectors!


I too am an avid Ripken collector (diehard O's fan, and Ripken was/is my hero ever since I was a kid).


I just recently came across FreedomCardBoard.com along with this thread (I know...where have I been, living under a rock??) But, I'm excited to be a part of this community of passionate Ripken collectors that's been assembled here. As I read through all 63 pages of this post, I was in awe of some of the cards that are a part of your respective collections! I collect just about anything Cal Ripken, Jr., but for a little while now I've been primarily focusing on just cards from his playing years. I especially like oddball cards, error/test/promo/sample cards, and hard-to-find inserts from the 90's.


Looking forward to getting to know each of you and contributing to this community! At my next opportunity, I'll scan some of my personal favorites from my PC and post for you all to see.


--Doug


P.S. When I chose my username I had no idea there was a member with ripken2131_8. My advance apologies to that member and any resulting confusion throughout this thread.

Welcome Ripken8

Any of you picked this up from the Bay?


I would gladly trade in your favor for any:
2005 Leaf Sportscasters
2005 Studio Portraits
2005 Throwback Polo Grounds
or any Ripken that I don't have. Thanks

Hi All!

Other than a few cards I purchased which already came graded, a large majority of my PC is not graded. I'd love some opinions from those of you who do get their cards graded on what you feel is the best of the major card grading services (i.e., PSA, SGC, BGS). If I decide to start having my collection graded, I would like to stay as consistent as possible. In other words, I would prefer to have a singular slab to create as much continuity as possible. I realize that some grading services will grade certain things while others will not, and I guess that's one of my first decision factors...

1. Which company, in your experiences, accepts and will grade/authenticate the most variety of cards, card sizes, and even memorabilia items (non-cards)?

Some other primary factors I'm thinking through...

2. Which grading service is perceived to have the highest/toughest standards and therefore the best long-term value? For example, is Company A's 9.5 grade actually better and more valuable than Company B's 10 grade for the exact same card due to the fact that Company A is more strict/accurate?

3. Which company is the easiest to work with in terms of their submission process, turnaround time, support, etc.?

As you offer your opinions, keep in mind I only collect Ripken so I don't have a need to grade any pre-1980 vintage cards. However, I do have quite a few error cards, test issue cards, promos/samples/previews, and other oddball cards of Ripken so a grading company that would be able to accept and accurately recognize a majority of those types of cards would be preferred.

Thanks in advance for your expert advice! I really appreciate your feedback on the subject!

Any of you need this? Both are stamped "Sample" in silver on the back. I have two Diamond Kings...



Please see my other Ripken items for sale on the transaction page.

I'm assuming you've all seen this by now?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/281223026048?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649


Maybe if a dozen of us all pool our money together we can rotate it around, and then each of us can have it in our respective collections for one month each year. Lol

ripken8 said:

Hi All!

Other than a few cards I purchased which already came graded, a large majority of my PC is not graded. I'd love some opinions from those of you who do get their cards graded on what you feel is the best of the major card grading services (i.e., PSA, SGC, BGS). If I decide to start having my collection graded, I would like to stay as consistent as possible. In other words, I would prefer to have a singular slab to create as much continuity as possible. I realize that some grading services will grade certain things while others will not, and I guess that's one of my first decision factors...

1. Which company, in your experiences, accepts and will grade/authenticate the most variety of cards, card sizes, and even memorabilia items (non-cards)?

Some other primary factors I'm thinking through...

2. Which grading service is perceived to have the highest/toughest standards and therefore the best long-term value? For example, is Company A's 9.5 grade actually better and more valuable than Company B's 10 grade for the exact same card due to the fact that Company A is more strict/accurate?

3. Which company is the easiest to work with in terms of their submission process, turnaround time, support, etc.?

As you offer your opinions, keep in mind I only collect Ripken so I don't have a need to grade any pre-1980 vintage cards. However, I do have quite a few error cards, test issue cards, promos/samples/previews, and other oddball cards of Ripken so a grading company that would be able to accept and accurately recognize a majority of those types of cards would be preferred.

Thanks in advance for your expert advice! I really appreciate your feedback on the subject!

Click to expand...

What would your goal(s) be in getting your Ripkens' graded? If you expect to get high grades from PSA or Beckett on your 80's stuff guess again, they're nearly as tough to pull 10's on as 60's stuff. With the rate new Cal's are coming out IMHO you's just be wasting money that you could be using to further your collection. Patches & thick cards? Forget 10's...

allstars said:

What would your goal(s) be in getting your Ripkens' graded? If you expect to get high grades from PSA or Beckett on your 80's stuff guess again, they're nearly as tough to pull 10's on as 60's stuff. With the rate new Cal's are coming out IMHO you's just be wasting money that you could be using to further your collection. Patches & thick cards? Forget 10's...

Click to expand...

Good point, allstars. I had been thinking about that as well...the money I would spend on getting cards graded, I could use to fill more holes in my collection. I think that's why I have yet to pull the trigger on having any of my cards graded. It will be a while before I would plan to start selling off my collection, but was thinking that if/when that day comes, cards that would have (higher) grades would theoretically bring more value. And with purchasing cards/memorabilia online it's easier to know exactly what card you're getting and in what condition, especially with those cards that are more easily forged (e.g., minor league cards, early test issues, etc.).

ripken8 said:

Good point, allstars. I had been thinking about that as well...the money I would spend on getting cards graded, I could use to fill more holes in my collection. I think that's why I have yet to pull the trigger on having any of my cards graded. It will be a while before I would plan to start selling off my collection, but was thinking that if/when that day comes, cards that would have (higher) grades would theoretically bring more value. And with purchasing cards/memorabilia online it's easier to know exactly what card you're getting and in what condition, especially with those cards that are more easily forged (e.g., minor league cards, early test issues, etc.).

Click to expand...

I you have good reason to get a particular card or cards graded by all means do it my friend. Just realize that high grade (10's in the case of 80's cards) sell for a lot because most are a 1/1000 submission deal. I just don't want you to look at your 8's & 9's & think there's something wrong with them. Happy Collecting!

anyone here get this??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Topps-Mint-Gold-Prototype-Cal-Ripken-Jr-/190968760902?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item2c76a00a46&nma=true&si=TwYCy1FHlJDw%252B5D5vAP4Zwz830Q%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Anyone grab that Century Marks Ripken yesterday? I was 4th, wasn't sure how to value it. It was #8 of 100, had the appeal of a 1 of 1 to me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121227318900

magicpapa said:

anyone here get this??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-Topps-Mint-Gold-Prototype-Cal-Ripken-Jr-/190968760902?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item2c76a00a46&nma=true&si=TwYCy1FHlJDw%2B5D5vAP4Zwz830Q%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Click to expand...

I picked it up.

Kevin

calripkenjr said:

I picked it up.

Kevin

Click to expand...

Nice pick-up. I don't ever remember seeing one of those before.....

Bored at home. Haven't been at work since Thursday (Kidney Stones). Should be back to work Wednesday.

Anyone interested in Ripken / Ripken trade? I will trade in your favor for cards I don't have.....

De-Cluttering and moving ALOT of my Ripkens.
Autos, rare #'d, GU, Patches, it all.
Drop me a PM on what you are looking for or drop me an email and we can talk turkey.
[email protected]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/megaosfan/library/CAL RIPKEN PC - NFT?sort=4&page=1

You getting out of the Ripken game Russ?

Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

tunahead said:

You getting out of the Ripken game Russ?

Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

Click to expand...

Been trying to get out of the card game completely for awhile now.
That's why I haven't been around here that often any more.
Focusing on family and other hobbies.
So if you got $$$... I got cards...

Russ S. said:

Been trying to get out of the card game completely for awhile now.
That's why I haven't been around here that often any more.
Focusing on family and other hobbies.
So if you got $$$... I got cards...

Click to expand...

That's too bad, you've got a nice collection! But definitely understand focusing on family and other things. I'll take a look and let you know, but wallet is a little cleaned out after the holidays

Hi Folks!

Curious to know what storage/archival methods you all use for your Ripken card collection? For example, I keep all my base/low-value insert cards in penny sleeves which then go into pocket-pages and those pages into binders. Higher value cards go into screw down cases. The reason I ask is because I'm contemplating the migration/reorganization of my base cards from binders to either Card Saver 1's, or toploaders w/ team bags around the toploaders (all cards would still be inside a penny sleeve regardless). I'm thinking of doing this mainly for a couple reasons...

1) Based on my checklist, I arrange all my base cards in a semi-logical order (manufacturer/brand, year, set, card #, variation) and leave the appropriate number of spaces between the cards I have so that when I acquire new cards, I simply put them in their "assigned spot" thereby limiting the need to constantly handle the cards by pulling them out of pages and shifting them down. Regardless, more times than not, it seems just when I think I know about all the possible cards that exist for a particular manufacturer/brand and year, I learn of some variation which throws my setup off and still requires me to shift cards in those pages. This issue is even more amplified if the new card ends up being close to the front of the line of a larger manufacturer/brand (e.g., mid-80's Topps) causing me to shift a lot of cards to make room for one.

2) While the total isn't a lot, there are some slightly oversized/tall cards (e.g., 1989 Bowman, Topps Big, etc.) that stick up past the top of the pocket-pages in the binders. Of course I'm super careful, but I still don't like the fact that these cards stick up like that, yet still want them to be organized in among the rest of my base cards vs. pulling them out and storing them separately in a toploader or something. In addition, certain oddball cards (e.g., 80's-90's MSA discs) won't fit inside the pocket-pages.

My pros/cons on using Card Saver 1's with penny sleeves...

1) They will hold all standard size cards plus the slightly oversized/oddball cards I mentioned above.
2) I could fit more cards per vault box when compared to toploaders.
3) If/when I send any of those cards to be graded, they are already submission-ready.
4) Makes it much easier to place a new card in its correct spot and/or change the ordering system around later.
5) Overall not as bulky as having cards in binders and boxes are easier to stack/store.
6) Not ideal for thicker cards.
7) While handling would still be relatively light, CS1's are not as rigid as toploaders risking potential damage (though when compared to pocket-pages they are more protective).
8) CS1's are cheaper than toploaders.

My pros/cons on using toploaders with penny sleeves and team bags...

1) More rigid/protective.
2) Toploaders come in varying thicknesses so I could store thicker base cards, buttons, etc. all together.
3) Placing new cards in their correct spots and/or changing how the cards are ordered is equally convenient when compared to CS1's.
4) I don't believe certain oddball cards like the MSA discs fit well into standard size (3" x 4") toploaders so I would still need to store those differently/separately.
5) Fit less cards per box though I wouldn't necessary have to use vault box in this case and could probably utilize a 2-row shoe box style.
6) Toploaders are generally more expensive than CS1's plus the added cost of team bags.

I'm interested to know what approach(es) the rest of you take to preserve your collection while still making it relatively easy/safe to enjoy the cards you have...

Thanks in advance!