Dave Parker 1982 Topps Purchases and Some Authenticated Cards Received

I bought a Dave Parker 1974 Topps rookie card to get signed but he passed away before I sent it in.  That's part of the reason I've been spending a lot lately, as I hate the regret of not getting a card done and the players from the years I collect aren't getting any younger.  In fact, many are in their 80's and even 90's.  Bobby Shantz recently turned 100!

Anyway, I found a pretty decent price on some Dave Parker signed cards from the 1982 set so I went ahead and bought them.  They are from an eBay seller that also does a lot of in-person signings with players for an educational charity they run. They advertise those signings on SCN but also sell some items on eBay.  They also have his All Star card from the same set that I may buy with some refunded money from a signing that didn't happen.

I have decided to get some cards authenticated.  For some of them, I am curious if they are real and want another set of eyes on them.  For others, I am confident they are real but want to get them authenticated and slabbed to help protect them, make them a little nicer to display, and make it easier to sell in the future.  Hopefully, it's my sons, and not me that sell them.

Both companies (Beckett and JSA/CGC) offer a service that authenticates the card and autograph and then also grades the autograph.  However, you can specify that if the autograph does not grade a 10, then leave the autograph grade off the slab.  I like this because I think a grade of 10 boosts the card's value, but anything less seems to diminish it, maybe even below an ungraded price.  I have no proof of that, just anecdotal evidence from watching auctions and sales prices.

I also am not sure exactly how the autographs are graded.  I knew a few of mine wouldn't get a 10, but the ones that did versus some that didn't, don't seem to make sense.  I'll have to read up on it some more.

I had some cards out to two different authenticators.  An SCN friend knows a guy, who's cousins with a neighbor that went to high school with an ex-wife of a guy that works at Beckett.  It's not exactly that complicated, but my SCN friend has a contact that he can deliver cards to in person rather than having to mail them in, which saves quite a bit of money.

I sent five cards in this first batch and have six more at Beckett waiting in line.  I was happy, but not surprised, that they all passed.  

I bought the Johan Santana rookie card and Gary Carter 1982 Topps raw on eBay.  These would have been the two I was slightly worried about passing.  It's great that the Santana card graded a 10 and it looks great on display.

It looks like I overpaid for the Gary Carter card.  Not by a ton, but maybe $25 total compared to buying this card already slabbed on eBay.  

I received the Greg Maddux card ttm back in 2006.  I also have a 2000 Fleer Tradition that I received in that same request.  Maybe I'll get that one slabbed next.  Maddux currently charges $150 to sign cards at paid signings.  This one also graded a 10.  I would estimate this card to be worth $125 - $200.  Maybe on the higher end for a set collector looking to fill a hole in their collection.  I have no intention of selling it, but like I said earlier, my kids can sell it when I'm gone and get more for it.

I sent the three remaining cards to mail-in signings.  

Carmen (Carmelo) Castillo played for the Indians and Twins.  He had a reputation as being a tough signature in his playing days and didn't sign ttm.  I sent three cards in to a signing in 2008.  At that time, I was working on the 1985 and 1987 Topps sets, so I sent those in.  The promoter was kind enough to send me a signed 1990 Topps as well.  I'm really glad he did, so I have one with him in a Twins' uniform.  He passed away in 2015, so his autograph is worth more than his career would suggest.  There just aren't too many out there.  I didn't see any slabbed cards on eBay today, and raw, autographed cards are for sale between $75 and $110.  I paid $23 to get my two cards signed and received this one as well.  So, I probably have less than $20 into it.

The David Ortiz 2007 Topps Heritage also graded a 10.  I see one listed on eBay right now, slabbed by Beckett but not graded, for $200 or best offer.  I don't see any sold of this specific card.  Again, it's probably worth more to a set collector.  I really like this set because it's styled after the 1958 Topps set, which is the primary set I collect.  This card also looks good on display in my basement, which is where it will stay unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse.  I don't know what that would be. :-)

Speaking of 1958 Topps, I included this Ossie Virgil card in my submission.  I sent this into a signing back in 2009, to a promoter known for traveling to South and Central America as well as the Caribbean to get some tough signings done.  Towards the end of his run, this promoter ran into some financial trouble, I believe. Anyway, he was accused of forging some signatures, while some said that an acquaintance that helped him did the forging. Regardless, I wanted to get this card authenticated to make sure it was legit.  I only see one of these for sale on eBay, and none sold.  They're asking $30 for a raw signed card, but the card is terribly beat up.  The signature doesn't quite match this one either.  This promoter is the same one that handled the Ortiz and Castillo cards, so it's nice to see them all pass.

I sent 11 cards in to a JSA/CGC submission run by someone on SCN.  I think this is a relatively new relationship, between JSA and CGC, but both are very reputable companies.

Their slabs look pretty nice but are probably less than half the weight of the Beckett slabs.  They feel a bit more like a regular snap tight holder that you would buy to put your own cards in (more on that later).

I am happy with the results.  Again, the grading seems a bit random to me.  Why didn't the Ernie Banks grade a 10?  I don't know.  I was really happy the Cepeda rookie card (1958 Topps) is a 10, but disappointed the 1961 Marichal, wasn't.

I have another order in with this service as well, but it will be a while before I get them back.

I had Kubek sign a 65 Topps for me ttm for his $35 fee.  But I saw this one on eBay for a low starting bid and won it for just $8.50.  I just wanted to confirm it was authentic, which I was fairly confident it was.  I've got about $27.50 into it, so even less than his current signing fee.

One of my favorite cards from the 78 Topps set, this Eddie Murray rookie, with the Topps All Star Rookie trophy, also graded a 10.  This certainly isn't a rare card to find signed, but this displays well and would be easy to sell probably.  It's hard to find this card as well centered as this one.

Another Topps All Star Rookie trophy card, this 1965 Topps Tony Oliva third-year card is his first solo card.  I love the 65 Topps set, and this card has a great picture of Tony and the purple and yellow really makes this card pop.  The corners are pretty bad though.  It could be a good candidate for an upgrade, but this one was signed ttm for free back in 2005.  If I had to severely downsize my collection, to a single shoebox of cards, this card would make the cut.

I guess the ink on this card is a little light?  Why else wouldn't it grade a 10?  It's signed in a great spot for a mostly dark card and could look a lot worse.  I took a chance on sending this expensive card ttm.  I paid $91.10 for this rookie card on eBay and sent it in a normal envelope with no top loader or other protection, to prevent any mix-ups on the signature from him.  It worked out as well as I could have hoped.

I love the 54 Topps signed cards.  The loop at the end of the "y" in his first name appears to fade a bit at the end.  I'm assuming that's why this Whitey Ford autograph didn't grade a 10.  But it looks nice slabbed and is well-protected now.

I had an odd experience the first time I sent a 54 Topps to Mr. Ford.  He signed it in ballpoint.  Twice.  Probably a 1:1 card, although the card itself is a bit beat up.

Mr. Mazeroski's rookie card autograph graded a 10.  It's a bit off-center, one of my pet peeves, but cost is a factor.  This raw card cost $40 on eBay, $10 to get signed (plus shipping), and about $19 to slab.  So, I've got about $70 into it.  They appear to sell from between $125 and $200 on eBay, slabbed and graded a 10.  This is despite him still being with us and being an excellent signer for $10.  I looked at upgrading this card and can't find one even close to the quality of this one for less than $75.  I don't think I'll be upgrading it.

An autographed, 1954 Topps Yogi Berra, with a PSA/DNA autograph grade of 10, sold on eBay last month for $984!  The autograph was bigger, but the card wasn't nearly as nice.  This might be a $750 - $1000 card.  I have a couple more 1954 Topps in for authentication now.

I'm really happy this Cepeda rookie card graded a 10.  The card itself is pretty nice too. Not like a 7 or higher, but probably a 3 or 4, which is what I think is the sweet spot for quality versus price on vintage cards for autographs.

Why didn't this Ernie Banks card receive a 10?  I'm tempted to crack it open and send it to Beckett unless someone can explain why they wouldn't give it a 10 either.

I didn't think this would grade a 10, I was mainly interested in authenticating it.  As I've posted before, Mr. Hamm has mysteriously started signing after a couple decades, even sending back requests over 20 years old.  I sent to him as soon as I started seeing his returns and have several now.  I have a nice, blue Staedtler signed version of this card in for authentication now.  I plan to send in the 1971 Topps with both Hamm and Nettles as well.  I have one with both signatures in blue Staedtler.

Uecker wasn't a bad ttm signer, but spotty, I'd say.  I sent this one to him in 2014 and was really happy to get it back.  I wish I also had a 1965 Topps signed by him.  I wonder if a ballpoint signature can get a 10?  Probably.  But I had no hopes that this one would.

I couple of days ago I finally tried putting together a couple DIY slabs, using some blank slabs and Avery labels.  I'm not trying to pass these off as professionally authenticated, and if I were to sell these, I'd take them out of the slabs.  But I wanted a little more protection than the semi-rigids I use normally and thought adding labels would be nice.  It just lists the card and player, but also the dates I sent and received the card through the mail.  

I need to play around with the fonts, as they are too large, but the small fonts on the professional slabs are so small they are hard for me to read.