I got a little greedy and sent to Pete Hamm again. I just couldn't resist another opportunity considering he has been such a hard autograph for the 22 years I've been collecting autographs. I'll use this duplicate 1971 Topps to attempt to get Nettles to complete it and if I lose it, I won't be as upset. I'm glad to have him on a team card as well. Unless he continues to sign ttm reliably for a long time, there probably won't be many team cards with him on them.
I'd really like to know the story of how someone who hasn't signed for over 20 years all of a sudden not only starts signing but also signs and returns 20+ year old requests. I wonder if I asked him in a letter if he would reply. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
I still see his autograph listed online for over $100, and even at $250. Maybe I'll get one of the 1972 Topps I have authenticated as well.
I also received a return from Tony Kubek, who signed a 1972 Topps Rookie of the Year award. Mr. Kubek was overwhelmingly voted the 1957 A.L. Rookie of the Year, with 96% of the vote compared to 4% for second-place Frank Malzone.
Mr. Kubek's signing fee is $35, which he requests be paid to his church, so my check was made out to "WELS". He also wrote a short thank you note on my letter and said the fee would go towards helping those in need.
Some players charge, but don't say where the money goes. But assuming some keep it, which is totally reasonable, I wonder how much money these guys make per year. I have to assume it's definitely an amount well above that which should cause them to claim it on their taxes. Take guys like Boggs, Rice, Sandberg, Baines, etc. Hall of Famers that charge $10 to $20 per card. Boggs had about $820 of signings listed on SCN for May. I have no idea what percentage of ttm'ers use SCN, but let's say 25%. That would mean he got about $3,280 in May. If May is representative of the year, that would be close to $40k per year. Add-in signings at shows and he's still making a not-insignificant amount of money just signing autographs.
Let's see, if $40k annually is consistent, that would cover the mortgage payment (principal and interest only, not taxes or insurance) of about $550k. That's no mansion, but a typical house in many non-coast parts of the country.
Anyway, it's not a bad work-from-home job for these guys. Good for them. Especially the older players that didn't make the salaries that some of the above-mentioned guys made, and certainly not the salaries of today's players. If you're Juan Soto, making $51,000,000 per year, what would you have to receive per autograph to make it worth your while to go sit at some hotel conference room and sign items handed to you by the unwashed masses. I can't imagine there's a price point that anyone would pay that he'd think was worth his time. In 2021, there was a signing posted on SCN where he charged $179 per. If he signed 500 items, that's about $90,000. I guess you can buy a decent car for that, but his taste in cars may be more expensive based on his salary. I'm thinking Dodge Challengers, Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros or low-end Cadillac Escalades. He's probably thinking Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLarens. I'd be thinking 1966 Shelby Mustang GT 350.
But I digress.
I received yet another Don McMahon slabbed autograph from Mill Creek, but this time it was a 1971 Topps instead of another 1972 Topps.
I also ordered a nice 1974 Topps Rod Carew which is slabbed and graded. I don't really understand the autograph grading. It's not hard to get a grade of 10 on an autograph, but extremely hard to get that grade on a card itself. Anyway, this card didn't seem to have much, if any of a price premium. It's one of Mr. Carew's signatures post-heart transplant, which is actually a bit more readable than his previous signature but looks a bit more labored.
Here's a signature of his I got in person in 2010.
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