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If you had the choice what would you buy?

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domino2012

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2008
1,581
134
Mourmelon le Grand, France
Hey folks,
Question for you all and yes I am currently in this "dilemma" trying to find an anwser so I thought I'd share to see what you guys would think.
Imagine you have some funds and you have the choice of the following for approximately the same price... which would you choose and why?
- 1967 Topps Willie Mays PSA 8
- 1966 Mickey Mantle PSA 6
- 1959 Topps Willie Mays PSA 8
- 1952 Bowman Willie Mays PSA 4
- 1952 Topps Willie Mays PSA 1
- Modern day Bowman Chrome Rookie autograph with potential to grow or fail if the player doesn't pan out (BGS 9.5 or 10)

Basically, the price range here is from $200 to $600 between them all and I only want 1 card. The last option is still on my list because of all the hype etc etc... and well, if I can make money selling later down the road and then pick up a really nice vintage card then why not?
If not, it wouldn't be there at all.
I could actually get the 1st two for the price of the other 4 as a single cards...

By the way, this is for my PC for the time being... which I will later give to my son hoping that one day he can make some money (return on my investment).
Thanks for your opinions! :)
 

swish54_99

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2012
1,160
221
Unless the 52 Topps Mays psa 1 is an absolute beater, I'd probably go that route. Iconic set, top 5 player in mlb history...enough said. I'd actually rank them in my preference order the opposite order that you have them listed and go oldest to newest and take the modern auto off the list. Too much risk on modern and when you can get a playing days card of Mays/Mantle, go that route every day and twice on Sunday!
 

domino2012

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2008
1,581
134
Mourmelon le Grand, France
Thanks for the input everyone. I'm seriously leaning towards either the 52 Bowman or the 59 Topps due to the high grade.
I haven't excluded the 52 Topps because... well, it's 52 Topps.
I'll let you all know with a scan when the card arrives as I'm going to make the purchase with-in the next couple of days.
Thanks again.
 

dano7

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
13,325
3,848
Roanoke, VA
52 Bowman Mays.....condition!!!
Although the Mantle & Mays (1967 & 1966) combo for near the same price looks good too! You can never go wrong with Mantle!!!!
 

domino2012

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2008
1,581
134
Mourmelon le Grand, France
52 Bowman Mays.....condition!!!
Although the Mantle & Mays (1967 & 1966) combo for near the same price looks good too! You can never go wrong with Mantle!!!!

Thank you sir! I appreciate your opinion as a vintage collector. I have broght my choice down to the 52 Bowman Mays or the 59 higher grade.
I strongly believe that I can pick up the other 2 with-in the next couple of months or so but I don't want to lose out on the others... tough choice which I need to make with-in the next couple of days. Thanks again.
 

smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
52 Bowman Mays, kind of not close.

Is 1951 Bowman Mays an option? 1s are available for under $1K, but those currently on ebay are a little rough. 2s can be appealing if you double your budget and don't mind trading things like centering for otherwise good eye appeal. Or something like this:
s-l1600.jpg

I'm just a big fan of that card, and I think it's significantly underpriced compared to Mantle, and other keys like the Aaron rookie.
 

domino2012

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2008
1,581
134
Mourmelon le Grand, France
52 Bowman Mays, kind of not close.

Is 1951 Bowman Mays an option? 1s are available for under $1K, but those currently on ebay are a little rough. 2s can be appealing if you double your budget and don't mind trading things like centering for otherwise good eye appeal. Or something like this:
View attachment 82199

I'm just a big fan of that card, and I think it's significantly underpriced compared to Mantle, and other keys like the Aaron rookie.
I like that card as well but unfortunately my budget won't allow me to go that high for the time being.
I also found an SGC 30 of the 52 version for a little over $800 but even that is a bit high.

I am indeed looking at centering and I don't want any creases... that's why I decided against the 52 topps PSA 1 (there are several creases).

I did not take into consideration PSA, BGS or SGC... I like SGC for the black background and holders but for long term value I believe PSA is better in the vintage area... or is that a mistake to think that?
 

smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
Yeah, conventional wisdom is SCG is fine for vintage, lots of pre-war cards have their slabs, or used to. I think a fair number of people converted to PSA, for the registry and bigger name and all that. You never see people posting "SCG grades popped!" posts anywhere except maybe Network54. But the thing is, especially in low-end, you're buying the card not the holder, and the next person will be doing the same thing. SCG 20-30, PSA 2, they're all going to have significant problems, so the slab company matters even less.
 

domino2012

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2008
1,581
134
Mourmelon le Grand, France
Yeah, conventional wisdom is SCG is fine for vintage, lots of pre-war cards have their slabs, or used to. I think a fair number of people converted to PSA, for the registry and bigger name and all that. You never see people posting "SCG grades popped!" posts anywhere except maybe Network54. But the thing is, especially in low-end, you're buying the card not the holder, and the next person will be doing the same thing. SCG 20-30, PSA 2, they're all going to have significant problems, so the slab company matters even less.


Thank you for that info... the only real thing that I like about SGC is the black border which helps the cards stand out a bit more. I guess a bit more eye appealing but in the long run, indeed, I'm not buying the holder but the card.
 

swish54_99

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2012
1,160
221
I've always heard pre-war: SGC; post war-1990: PSA; modern: Beckett. However, I think many people are trending away from Beckett and towards PSA. Beckett is losing tons of people these days because of their year turnaround time.
 

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