Entering 2015, I was down to just four cards to complete the iconic 2000 Greats of the Game baseball autograph set. I was down to an Alan Trammel, and three very hard to find short prints that rarely pop up on ebay.
Then IT happened. someone decided to break a set. The Trammell was posted three times BV but I bit on it within 5 minutes of it being posted. And then the Mike Schmidt showed up. George Brett too. And of course Kirby Puckett.
Now, if I had the funds available I could have snagged the three SPs and celebrated completing this set — sans the Derek Jeter of course. But I don’t roll like that. The seller had them priced super high because they were the only ones on eBay.
Well, since then, three other George Bretts have appears, all over $500 each. The Schmidt sold for an undisclosed amount — the seller wanted $799. And a second Puckett appeared — which later became mine.
The second Puckett wasn’t exactly mint. The corners were white, which made it less appealing to others. To me, it allowed me to negotiate with the seller. And when all was said and done I got it for less than half of what the other was being offered for.
There is a side note to this Puckett. I figured I would ask the seller if he had any more and the seller told me he didn’t. The reason, this Puckett reportedly comes from a collection of items OWNED by Puckett himself. The seller has some 40,000-plus feedbacks and is based in Minneapolis. While there is not “proof” of this ownership, I only have his word and some circumstantial evidence.
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he condition of the card actually lends some — SOME — credibility to this. Clearly a true collector didn’t own this card. Most knew that these cards did not belong in any sort of screw case or card protector without a penny sleeve. The white corners show that it was owned by a novice collector.
Now, whether or not this is true — the angle of Puckett owning this card — is almost impossible to prove, therefore not really adding any value to the card. But it does make for an interesting story line.
It should be noted that this card arrived it was in a Card Saver I WITHOUT a penny sleeve. It was packed between two pieces of cardboard though.
I’ve now updated my 2000 Greats of the Game Autograph set with pictures. There is no rush to complete this, but I’d love to find a Schmidt and Brett to wrap this up.
cardboardicons.com 