Bat and Uniform Consignment Deadline Approaching
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedExtremely Important Bats and Uniform Reminder: All bats and uniforms accepted for consignment for the spring 2009 auction must be in hand on or before January 15, 2009. This is necessary to allow time for the extensive MEARS authentication process. If you have an item of extraordinary value, such as a Mantle, Ruth, or Gehrig bat or uniform, of course we will move mountains to accommodate a late consignment if possible, but all other bat and jersey items that have not already been authenticated by MEARS absolutely must be in our office by January 15.
MEARS is a third-party evaluation and research firm that specializes in bats and jerseys. We believe very strongly that they provide both buyers and sellers with a service in evaluating bats and jerseys that is far superior to that which is available anywhere else and far superior to that which even existed just a few short years ago. We are sometimes shocked at the fraudulent material that gets sent in for consignment that has allegedly been authenticated by experts elsewhere. We think that all buyers who are buying expensive jerseys and bats would much prefer authentication by MEARS. That isn’t to say that there aren’t other very capable and knowledgeable authenticators in the field, such as PSA/DNA’s John Taube with bats, and many others in niche areas. But we don’t understand how some buyers sometimes take the word of unknown authenticators. And when we say “unknown”, we don’t mean “not well known.” We mean literally “unknown” as in “the auction house won’t identify who the authenticators are”. How could anyone have confidence in the word of unknown, unidentified authenticators? And why are they unidentified? We could understand the desire to not identify authenticators if identifying them would be cause for embarrassment. We’re not saying that is the case, but if it was, at least we could understand. At REA, we are proud of the work of our authenticators. They are identified, accessible, and accountable.
If it’s worth auctioning, it’s worth getting authenticated properly. We cannot compromise on the quality of the authentication process or presentation for the sake of time or economy. That’s why we need to set this early deadline for bats and jerseys. Every year we have no choice but to turn down many perfectly good items that are offered to us too late.
In the end, however, this serves everyone’s best interests, as bidders have far greater confidence in properly authenticated items, and these items will naturally sell for stronger prices. In addition to doing an incredible job, MEARS offers a money-back guarantee on all authenticated items. If they should make an error, their items come with a built-in insurance policy. This is a significant value for buyers. MEARS is the only bat or jersey authentication service to do this.
If you have other material to auction, ESPECIALLY CARDS, there is still time and we are looking for everything from Topps and Bowman sets to pre-1900 rarities. The auction will feature many remarkable discoveries and extraordinary rarities in all areas: pre-1900 baseball cards and memorabilia, display pieces, original art, autographs, nonsport cards, graded cards, tobacco cards, 1930s gum cards, caramel cards, Topps and Bowman sets, regionals, bats, uniforms, etc.
Everyone always wants to send in material at the last minute, but it would be impossible to provide REA’s uncompromising attention to detail to all items if everything arrived at the last minute. The Best Time To Consign Is Now!
If you have quality material you think may be of interest, we hope to hear from you in the very near future! Please call or write! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
908-226-9900
Only SIX more Doyles to go for Million Dollar Reward!!!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedWe have NOT had another rare T206 Doyle submitted, but we are lowering by one the number of additional authentic rare T206 Doyle cards required to be submitted for REA to pay the Million Dollar reward anyway. We already have images of two authentic PSA graded examples (both posted) so we now need only SIX more rare T206 Doyles (that have been graded by PSA before November 8, 2008, and therefore are represented in the current PSA Population Report) to trigger the reward. We’re “letting one slide”. Why? We have just been told that months ago a common T206 Doyle appeared on eBay that was misidentified on the label as the rare Doyle, and that therefore it is not possible for the rare T206 Doyle reward to be paid. We did not, however, see this card on eBay, thereby making our offer safe, and we don’t know anything about this particular card. The report of the mislabled card, however, is perfectly consistent with the whole point of the Million Dollar reward: to show that the rare T206 Doyle card is MUCH rarer than suggested by the PSA Population Report. So we’re lowering the number required by one just to “keep hope alive”. We have always been clear that we never thought there was a chance that we would really be paying the million dollar reward. We don’t think enough cards exist. To us, the big questions are:
Could the population of authentic graded rare T206 Doyles be only three?
Could the entire total population of rare T206 Doyles (graded and ungraded) in private hands be only six?
Second Rare T206 Doyle Scan In: 7 to go for Million Dollar Reward! BUT we think we’ve seen them ALL.
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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When we say that “we think we have seen them all” in the headline above, we are referring specifically to all authentic rare T206 Doyle NY Nat’l (hands above head pose) cards that have been graded by PSA or SGC, that have been encapsulated prior to November 8, 2008, and are therefore represented in the current PSA and SGC population reports. And, of course, are authentic. (Labeling errors or non-authentic examples naturally don’t count).
We could be wrong, but we think that the entire population of authentic PSA and SGC graded rare T206 Doyle cards may be THREE. NOT TEN (the total of the nine reflected in the PSA population report and the one in the SGC population report), but THREE. These three authentic and graded rare Doyles are all pictured in recent entries here on the REA blog: 1) The Charlie Conlon example graded SGC 50 VG-EX; 2) the PSA 2 GOOD that sold at auction in 2000; and 3) the PSA 3 VG example pictured above that sold at auction in 2003.
Of course it is possible that additional authentic PSA graded rare T206 Doyles are out there. And that images will be submitted as part of the “march to the Million Dollar rare T206 Doyle” reward. We don’t think so, but it is possible. In fact, we will be very surprised to see even one more example. So, please, surprise us! And if we see seven more examples, well, you know what that means….
In our opinion, the “Tango Eggs Reward” offer of 2007 was about 100 times more dangerous than the T206 Doyle reward. Anything could have happened on that one (here’s the link to the 2007 Tango Eggs reward description: http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2007/358.html)
We hope we will see at least one more PSA graded rare T206 Doyle, if not to collect reward money, then at least just to show that there are more than the three examples (two PSA and one SGC) that we think may represent the ENTIRE authentic graded rare T206 Doyle NY Nat’l population.
Note: We know of the following not yet professionally graded examples: 1 and 2) two rare T206 Doyles are owned by the family of legendary collector/dealer Larry Fritsch (who in fact was the first to discover the rare T206 Doyle). We have not personally seen these two cards, but Larry was a true expert; it is a certainty that both of his examples are authentic. 3) It has been published in articles (including the February 25, 2000 edition of Sports Collectors Digest) that famous longtime card dealer Levi Bleam (of 707 Sportscards) has an authentic rare T206 Doyle. We have verified this with a phone call recently. He still has the card, we believe there is no question about the authenticity of the card, and it is our understanding that this card is not encapsulated by PSA. 4) The only other example that we are sure exists is in a museum collection. Richard Russell (1897-1971) was a U. S. Senator from Georgia from 1933 to 1971. His boyhood card collection is on permanent display at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Study at the University of Georgia. This collection includes an authentic rare T206 Doyle.
We have heard of reported sightings of other examples. It is very possible for a reported sighting of a rare T206 Doyle to be accurate, and we would be happy to post images of any examples submitted (even if they are not graded and therefore do not qualify for the T206 Doyle reward).
Could the population of authentic graded rare T206 Doyles be only three?
Could the entire total population of rare T206 Doyles (graded and ungraded) in private hands be only six?
We’ll just have to wait and see what gets sent in. We look forward to posting images of any additional rare T206 Doyles submitted.
T206 Doyle Reward Entry: This is getting crazy!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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This fake rare T206 Doyle NY Nat’l also doesn’t count. This card is just ridiculous.
Fake Doyle Doesn’t Count. Still Eight To Go!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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This fake rare T206 Joe Doyle NY Nat’l (hands over head) pose does not count toward the REA Million Dollar T206 Doyle Reward Challenge for two reasons: 1) It is not PSA graded (see rules for reward). 2) It is not real. This fake card has actually been ”created” by grafting portions of two authentic T206 cards - the top portion of a common T206 Joe “Doyle NY” card with the bottom border of a T206 Larry Doyle NY Nat’l card. We don’t think anyone would be fooled by this card even from a scan; in person (and we’ve got the card here, so we know) we are absolutely sure that no one would possibly be fooled. Even if it didn’t have the wrong back. But we thought that showing this attempt to create a rare T206 Doyle card (presumably created to fool someone into believing it was real) would be fascinating for many collectors to see.
Uh-Oh! One Real Rare T206 Doyle In, Eight to go and REA pays Million Dollar Reward!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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This is the rare T206 Doyle NY Nat’l card that sold at auction in August 2000. Piedmont 350 back. One down, eight to go. Keep ‘em coming!
REA Offers One Million Dollar T206 Joe Doyle Reward!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedThis may cost us a Million Dollars…
but probably not…
We have just written the preliminary catalog description for the rare T206 Doyle, NY Nat’l card that will be featured in the April REA auction. This is a fascinating card! This is the very first time we have ever had the opportunity to auction the rare T206 Doyle, and therefore the first time we have ever had reason to attempt to document the nature, significance, and rarity of this legendary baseball card. To help emphasize our findings with reference to rarity, we even threw a reward in the writeup as a cheap publicity stunt. At least we think it’s a cheap publicity stunt. (Note: If we have to pay this reward there will be no more rewards offered by REA!)
Here’s the writeup:
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1909-1911 T206 “Slow Joe” Doyle, NY Nat’l (Hands Above Head Pose) - The Real Deal!
Presented is the first rare T206 Doyle, N. Y. Nat’l (hands over head pose) error card that we have ever offered. Graded VG-EX 50 by SGC. Piedmont 350 back. Perfectly centered. Bright and clean, both front and back. Even corner wear. No creases. This card is The Real Deal! This is the legendary Charlie Conlon T206 Doyle example.
The T206 Doyle error card is by far the rarest card in the entire T206 set. It is a very significant card in the set, and one that cannot be dismissed or ignored in any true complete T206 checklist. It is more than ten times rarer than the T206 Honus Wagner. The rare T206 Doyle was unchecklisted and completely unknown until the 1970s, when Larry Fritsch, while sorting through thousands of T206s, discovered it. No one had ever noticed the card before, which is all the more understandable given its great rarity. Fritsch kept his discovery as quiet as he could, but naturally drew attention to the card when for years he advertised extensively to purchase any and all T206 Joe Doyle hands over head cards in the hopes of finding additional examples.
For many years, Charlie Conlon and Larry Fritsch were the only collectors known to have this extreme T206 rarity. Over the past twenty years, several additional examples have allegedly been discovered, though the authenticity of some of the other known examples is highly questionable. In the 1990s (long before current management) SGC famously encapsulated a fraudulent Doyle by mistake; to their credit they immediately bought the card back, guaranteeing their product, and taking it off the market. Mistakes happen. The PSA population report, as of this writing, lists nine rare T206 Doyle, NY Nat’l examples. We are extremely confident that the PSA report is seriously in error on this particular card. The accuracy of the PSA Population report is remarkable for a data base recording the populations by grade of over ten million cards. We use it all the time and believe it is almost perfect. However, extremely rare errors can occur due to a number of factors, including: 1) simple data entry errors; 2) mistakenly identified cards, and 3) labels not being retired when a card is broken out of a PSA holder and regraded. (If collectors don’t send retired labels from resubmitted cards to PSA, there is nothing that PSA can do about this, and a population error results). Of all the cards to have an error in the PSA Population Report, the rare Doyle is perhaps the most likely to have experienced a population report problem. The rare Doyle is an easy card to confuse with the common Doyle if one is not aware that the rare Doyle exists. Being a card that is so impossibly rare, if the rare Doyle T206 was not on the radar of a grader years ago, it would be very understandable (perhaps even likely) that common Doyle cards could have long ago been mistakenly identified on some labels (and hence entered into the PSA Population report) as the rare NY Nat’l variety. So while we would like to make clear that we applaud PSA for the incredible accuracy and value of the PSA population report as a resource (and acknowledge that we could do no better!), we are so confident that the PSA Population Report is seriously in error on the population of the rare T206 Doyle that we are hereby offering a reward (YES, A REWARD!) of ONE MILLION DOLLARS if all nine rare “Doyle, NY Nat’l” cards listed in the PSA Population report can be located, sent to REA at our expense (including insurance), examined, and clearly shown to be authentic rare T206 Doyle, NY Nat’l examples. The one million dollar reward will be paid to those submitting authentic T206 Doyle NY Nat’l cards (graded by PSA prior to November 8, 2008, and therefore represented in the population report information referenced here) at the rate $111,112 per card, but the reward will only be paid if all nine cards are submitted before the closing date of this auction, and the cards are each verified to be the rare Doyle, NY Nat’l (hands above head pose) cards. If fewer than nine authentic examples are submitted, no reward money will be paid. (Please note: we suggest sending scans first to avoid unnecessary transportation of cards; if all cards cannot be accounted for, there will be no need to actually send any cards; submission progress of scans, if any, will be reported on the REA blog). All cards, obviously, have to be authentic examples, and common T206 Doyles with a PSA labeling error will not count. (Please note: if cards are physically submitted, they will be returned to those submitting them. We don’t keep them.) We’re serious. Yes, we know this is a cheap publicity stunt. We think the chances of paying this reward are zero. But the offer is real. We’re not kidding about the reward, but what we’re really trying to do is make a point about the true rarity of the T206 Doyle NY Nat’l card. To the best of our knowledge, there are only approximately six authentic rare Doyle cards currently known to exist. This number includes the offered SGC-graded Conlon example, which is the only authentic rare T206 Doyle, NY Nat’l ever graded by SGC to date. We believe that only approximately three or four authentic rare T206 Doyle, NY Nat’l (hands above heads pose) cards have ever been graded by PSA and SGC combined, and that the offered example may even be the highest-ever graded authentic example of the legendary rare T206 Doyle error card.
What is the T206 Doyle error card and why should T206 collectors care?
At a glance, without thinking about what the card is and why it is rare, we could see a collector looking at the rare T206 Doyle and say, “OK, so the identification text at the bottom of the card reads “Doyle, NY Nat’l” as opposed to “Doyle, N. Y.” Who cares? So a few letters were left off. So what?
But these letters did not just mysteriously “disappear” from the normally T206 Doyle cards. The “Nat’l” was intentionally removed from the plate by the printer, and furthermore, was done so to correct an error. An important fundamental point to understanding the nature and significance of the rare T206 Doyle is that the rarity of the NY Nat’l variety is due to the printer’s REMOVAL of the “Nat’l” - not the adding of it. The image on the hand over head Doyle pose is Joe Doyle of the New York Americans. But when the card was first printed, Joe Doyle, as seen on the rare error card, was listed as with the New York Nationals. This was an error. And it was actually a pretty understandable error. This is because Larry Doyle played for the New York Nationals. The manufacturer of the T206 set got their Doyles mixed up. This is the cause of the rare Doyle error.
When the printer discovered very early in the print run that an error had been made, that the image on this card was Joe Doyle of the New York Americans (as opposed to Larry Doyle of the New York Nationals), rather than correcting the league designation on the card (changing it from “Nat’l” to “Amer.”), the league designation was simply removed entirely from the printing plate. This was probably just easier to do to rectify the error as opposed to changing “Nat’l” to “Amer”. So by REMOVING the “Nat’l” they corrected the misidentification of Joe Doyle (of the NY Americans) as Larry Doyle of the NY Nationals, because both Doyles were with New York teams (just with different New York teams). This was done very early in the print run. Thus almost all known Doyle hands-over-head pitching pose cards in the T206 set are identified with just “N.Y.,” as the error cards identifying the league designation as “Nat’l” were corrected almost immediately. This is what explains the great rarity of the “NY Nat’l” variation. Similarly, when the printer discovered that Sherry Magee’s name was misspelled “Magie” on his portrait card, that error was corrected, creating a different rare error card in the T206 set (though not in the same league in terms of rarity compared to Doyle).
For many years the great rarities of the T206 set were “Wagner, Plank, and Magie” and these three cards were universally referred to by T206 collectors as “The Big 3.” Since the discovery of the rare “Doyle, N.Y. Nat’l”, the term representing the extreme rarities of the T206 set has been renamed “The Big 4″, and this phrase is commonly used to refer to the cards that are not expected to be included with a T206 set that is otherwise complete. The fame and value of the original “Big 3″ is a testament both to their rarity and the unrivaled popularity of the T206 set. The Doyle, however, is actually in its own league in terms of rarity. It is a virtually impossible-to-obtain T206 rarity unlike any other. Only two rare T206 Doyle examples have ever been sold in catalog auctions. The first was a PSA 2 Good example that sold for $178,598 in August 2000, and a second example sold in August 2003 for $64,099. There have been no public sales since. In addition, when the Doyle card was brought to the attention of the collecting world for the very first time in a one card 1987 Sports Collectors Digest auction, it sold to Larry Fritsch for $10,000. This is the first time REA has ever had the opportunity to offer and properly document the significance of the rare T206 Doyle. We hope we have done justice to one of card collecting’s greatest and most elusive rarities, explaining the nature of the card, and properly recognizing its great significance as by far the rarest card in the famous T206 set. Reserve $25,000. Estimate (open).
A Tribute To Charles Conlon (1945-2008)
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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Above center: Charlie Conlon (left) playing cards with his longtime friend, Oakland Athletics team owner Charlie Finley
The April 2009 REA auction catalog will include the collection of longtime collector and friend Charlie Conlon. Charlie passed away unexpectedly in August of 2008. REA was chosen by the executors of his estate to handle the sale of his collection. We are honored.
We could not present the Conlon Collection without saying a few words about Charlie, who was both a fine gentleman and one of the most interesting characters in the history of card collecting. Few collectors or dealers were around as long (he was extremely active continuously from 1975 until his passing in 2008), and few collectors or dealers traveled as extensively. Charlie thought nothing of driving hundreds of miles, or hopping on a plane to visit a show, many times just for the day. There was hardly a show that we ever attended, even for a few hours, from the late 1970s through modern times when we would not see Charlie, briefcase in hand, walking down the aisle. So many times, especially at shows that were far from his hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan, we would ask him “What the heck are you doing here?” and he would tell us he was “just in for the day” in case there were good buys or anything rare that showed up. It was as if he lived down the block.
Charlie was not much for technology. He never did get used to bidding by computer and in recent years was one of the few who always bid by phone. That was a plus for us. He was always a pleasure to speak with, was always very articulate and polite, and was extremely knowledgeable about cards, especially the ones that were of special interest to him. His gentlemanly demeanor served him very well in his hobby dealings. Charlie was one of the few collector/dealers who could deal with everyone, and over the years, with all his travel and wheeling and dealing, he did, in fact, deal with just about everyone! Charlie had a very unusual style when he was buying or trading, when he was negotiating difficult deals. If a price was too high, or a trade not yet quite to his liking, he could be very dramatic. He would grimace and wince (as if he had a sudden tooth ache). He would shake his head. He would occasionally inhale and exhale deeply, as if the fate of the world depended on his decision. He would leave a dealer’s table, and come back again, and leave again, and come back again. He had time on his side, was always sincere in his interest in making a deal if possible, and was always such a gentleman, that even though a deal could take hours, all day, or all weekend, if there was a common ground, he was able to find it, and a deal usually did happen! Charlie had a great sense of humor about himself and we would sometimes kid him about his negotiations. But Charlie never wasted anyone’s time, and all his successful dealings throughout the country over a period of over thirty-five years speak for themselves. He was able to make many deals when a deal seemed too far apart to accomplish. He had a gift, and a big part of his gift was his patience, and his respectful and gentlemanly approach to dealing with everyone.
Charlie’s big jump start as a dealer and advanced collector is one of card collecting’s most legendary stories. Charlie dabbled in cards for a few years in the early 1970s, but in 1975 he accomplished one of the great coups of modern collecting. In 1975, at the very beginning of the baseball card season, he could not help but notice that the Topps cards at the local store were very different than the Topps cards from past years, and very different from the 1975 Topps cards that were sold elsewhere in the county. It was impossible to miss. They were smaller! That was the year of the 1975 Topps mini cards. As a test, presumably to see how well smaller cards would sell (which of course could save Topps lots of money in production and shipping costs), in 1975 Topps produced a small print run of cards in much smaller than standard dimensions, on a very limited test basis. By chance, most of these test cases were sent to Charlie’s area in Michigan. When Charlie realized these cards were in short supply and not available anywhere else, and would likely sell for a premium, he went from store to store, and wholesaler to wholesaler, and bought all he could find. Anyone who thought he was crazy soon stood corrected. His great foresight paid off almost immediately. From the year of issue on, Charlie was the one to go to for 1975 Topps minis. It seems that just about every unopened box of 1975 Topps minis in the entire collecting world today can be traced back to Charlie! As the years rolled by and prices went up, he slowly sold off his seemingly never-ending supply. When asked how the supply was holding up in recent years, he would simply say “I’m running low” and leave it at that. We don’t know how many cases he had at one time. It was certainly in the hundreds (and most of these have been opened to make sets). But we now know that his supply had diminished to exactly twenty-six unopened wax cases (with sixteen 36-pack boxes per case), with an original cost to Charlie in 1975 of less than $1,000.
The story of the 1975s minis is one of the great card collecting investment stories of all time, but was really just the beginning of Charlie’s involvement as a card collector and dealer. Charlie took some of the proceeds from the sale of his 1975 Topps minis and bought vintage cards. And not just any vintage cards. Charlie’s favorites were extreme card rarities such as R300 George C. Millers, R306 Butter Cream Confectionary, 1953 Glendale Meats, and 1968 Topps 3Ds. He didn’t talk much about his personal collection, it was always a mystery exactly what he had, but everyone could see that for decades, while he was buying and selling as a dealer, he was also always acquiring rare cards for his personal collection. And once a card entered what Charlie considered his personal collection, one thing was certain: it was never sold! Charlie was well known to have one of the very few authentic rare T206 Doyle NY Nat’l cards, and also well known to have the only uncut sheet of R300 George C. Millers in the world. These and many other vintage card treasures, as well as Charlie’s vintage card inventory, will all be presented in the spring 2009 REA auction catalog. We are sorry that Charlie can’t personally be here to share the experience. Charlie loved everything about collecting: auctions, shows, traveling, dealing, and especially the many friendships he made over a period of decades. He has left a giant footprint. One last note: The auction proceeds of The Charlie Conlon Collection, per Charlie’s instructions, will be donated to ten different charities, each with a special meaning to Charlie. It has been a privilege to know Charlie all these years, and it is a privilege also to be a part of executing his wishes on behalf of so many worthy charitable causes. It also seems like a most fitting footnote to the sale of the collection of one of the hobby’s true pioneers and finest gentlemen.
The Sy Berger Collection To Be Auctioned By REA!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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Robert Edward Auctions is honored to announce that we have been chosen to present the collection of legendary Topps executive Sy Berger at auction in April 2009. It has also been a special thrill for us to meet and personally work with Mr. Berger. For close to fifty years, Sy Berger was the face of the Topps Chewing Gum Company in the sports world, and for all but a few of those years, also the face of Topps in the entertainment card field. He not only was responsible for making the licensing arrangements for cards, he also played an extremely significant role in marketing, producing, designing, and even selling the Topps Gum Company picture card products that have had such a great impact on our lives. Whether you are a serious collector, a casual collector of baseball or other trading cards, or just have fond memories of collecting or flipping cards as a youngster, we all owe an immense debt of gratitude to Mr. Berger. He is one of the most important hobby industry pioneers in the history of collecting. He is often referred to as “The Father of the Modern Bubble-Gum Card,” though Sy always insists on sharing credit with illustrator Woody Gelman for his contributions in executing his vision, and to Topps president J. E, Shorin for his role in producing and promoting the Topps trading card product line. Sy Berger was certainly part of a great team at Topps, but perhaps no single individual played a greater role in creating the Topps products and orchestrating the promotions that made card collecting such an important part of popular culture in the 1950s to modern times.
Sy was at the forefront of the 1950s “Bubble-Gum Wars,” instrumental in acquiring the rights to picture players on cards, an integral role in the ascension of Topps as the greatest, most successful, and longest-running manufacturer of baseball and other trading cards in history. In the process, Sy Berger himself became an honored member of the Major League Baseball fraternity. In 1982 at the Baseball Winter Meetings Banquet, he was honored by being named “King of Baseball” for his contributions to the game. He is the only person to ever receive this honor that was not employed in professional baseball. In 1988, Sy Berger was also honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The award presented to him reads: “In recognition of his role in the development of the modern baseball trading card and for helping to introduce generations of fans to baseball for more than half of a century.” Due to his unique role at Topps, there were few if any players for literally a half a century that did not personally know Sy Berger. He became close friends with many of the greatest stars of the game. Sy has had a particularly close friendship and business association with Willie Mays dating back to Willie’s rookie year, which continues to this day, but has also been close friends with literally hundreds of other players.
Sy Berger was not a collector in the traditional sense. He did not personally collect sets or consider himself a collector. As he says himself, he was more of a “gatherer,” and even then, everything he brought home was strictly for his kids. Over the years, he was always bringing home a few things for them here and there. But when your career lasts over fifty years, a few items here and there can pile up. Everywhere he went people were always giving him souvenirs, and work-related items would also naturally find their way to him. If he had been a collector, there is no doubt that he could have assembled the greatest post-war card collection in the world, but Sy was far too busy creating the very products that other people collect, and having a lot of fun doing it. He has no regrets! The material the Berger children did save, however, is fascinating, and includes many unique items. Highlights include an extraordinary collection of 117 original artworks used to create the 1953 Topps set (including Satchel Paige), the original contracts for the entire 1957-1958 Topps Basketball set (including the checks the players signed), and the original contracts for the 1951 Topps Ringside Boxing set (one of the earliest of all Topps sets) which Sy and the kids miraculously saved for the past 58 years! Other items include the contracts for the 1987 Kmart set produced by Topps (another Sy Berger idea!), three complete sets of 1964 Topps Rookie Award All Star sets in their original boxes (we probably don’t have to tell you but yes, Sy came up with the idea for the Topps Rookie Awards also!), and numerous other interesting items.
This is not the largest collection in the world (though it includes hundreds of items) or the most valuable collection in the world (though it is very valuable). But for many reasons it is one of the most special collections that we have ever had the privilege of offering. The presentation at auction of these items represents a once-in-a-lifetime collecting opportunity that will always be remembered by us and by future generations of collectors. We thank the Sy Berger family for creating this exciting collecting event, and most of all, we thank you, Sy Berger, for all of your great contributions to our field. If it weren’t for you, we’re not sure where we’d be!
Copies of the 650-page full-color premium catalog are available free. To review past catalogs on-line, to learn more about Robert Edward Auctions, or to receive a complimentary copy of the catalog, or to inquire about consignments, visit http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/. For further information contact Robert Edward Auctions, PO Box 7256, Watchung, NJ or call (908)-226-9900.
Link to SABR interview with Sy Berger:
http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,806,34,0
T206 Honus Wagner - Stolen and Recovered!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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“The All Star Cafe T206 Wagner” heads to the auction block at REA in 2009!
Every T206 Wagner naturally has a great story, sharing the Wagner legend that is now part of classic American folklore, but some examples have a richer history than others. In April 2009, REA will be presenting at auction a T206 Wagner example that has perhaps the most fascinating history of any T206 Wagner in the world with the exception of the Gretzky-McNall Wagner. This is the card that was stolen from the All Star Café in 1998, and eventually recovered by the FBI!
There are very few stories of true collecting icons in the art and collectibles world which have been stolen and recovered. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the most famous and valuable painting in the world, was stolen in 1911 right off the wall of the Louvre in Paris. Two years passed before the painting was recovered. The thief, an Italian-born former Louvre worker by the name of Vincenzo Peruggiawho, was visiting the Louvre and by chance found the painting unattended. The guard had taken an unauthorized break. Presented with the opportunity, he decided on the spur of the moment to steal it, with the express purpose of returning it to Italy where he always thought it belonged. He was finally arrested in Milan on December 10, 1913, trying to sell the painting with the condition that it would remain in Italy. The world went wild upon learning of the recovery of this cultural icon. While it may have been a small consolation to the thief, who went to jail, the painting was displayed throughout Italy before it was returned to France on December 30, 1913.
The Scream by expressionist painter Edward Munch, also one of the most famous paintings in the world, was also stolen and recovered. For those who don’t know this painting by name, everyone is familiar with its image: This is the painting with a swirling colored background that features a screaming figure holding his hands to his ears. Munch created three painted versions of The Scream. Incredibly, two of them have been the target of high-profile art thefts. In 1994, the version in the National Gallery was stolen. It was recovered several months later. In 2004, The Scream was stolen from the Munch Museum. It was recovered in 2006.
The Hope Diamond was stolen from Marie Antoinette when she was in prison in 1792, when six thieves broke into the house used to store the crown jewels. It resurfaced in the hands of a London diamond merchant in 1812, and currently resides in the collection of the the Smithsonian Institution. At least for now.
Like the Mona Lisa, The Scream, and the Hope Diamond, this T206 Wagner is a world-famous collecting icon, and one of the few that, incredibly and improbably, was stolen and recovered. In the 1990s, this T206 Wagner was proudly displayed at the All Star Café in Times Square in New York as part of The Charlie Sheen Collection. The card was at that time owned by actor Charlie Sheen, who allowed portions of his collection to be displayed at the flagship New York City location of the upscale sports-theme restaurant chain. The workers at the All Star Café, naturally, had access to the restaurant after hours. In 1998, two All Star Café chefs and one of the managers devised a plot to steal the Wagner. The plan was to remove the card from its display case, replace it with a color copy so that no one would notice, and then to sell the original. The plan worked, at least for a while. A color copy viewed from afar in a display case can look very much like an original. The nephew of the executive chef was enlisted to sell the card for cash to famous New Jersey dealer Al Rosen, claiming the card had been saved and given to him by his grandfather. With this successful theft and sale under their belts, another crime of opportunity soon presented itself: A glass display case at the All Star Café broke, reportedly by accident. This display case housed the finest example in the world of the 1934 Goudey high-number sheet with rare card #106 Lajoie (which Charlie Sheen had years earlier purchased from Robert Edward Auctions). After they stole the sheet, they cut it up into individual cards so that the cards would not be recognized when sold (in the process destroying the sheet). The sheet, however, was not replaced with a copy. It was simply stolen. The police were called, the FBI became involved, and during the investigation it was soon discovered that the T206 Wagner was also stolen, replaced by a copy. The entire case was solved by the FBI, the thieves were arrested, and all of the stolen cards including the T206 Wagner were returned to Charlie Sheen. We remember this case well, not just from reading about it in the newspapers (New York Times link: (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E1DB123BF935A25757C0A96F958260), but also because at the time REA was retained by the FBI to write the formal appraisal reports for use in the case regarding the authenticity and value of the items stolen, and REA president Robert Lifson was also hired to testify at the trail regarding card values, the auction process (which was relevant to determining value), and the authenticity of the stolen cards on behalf of the Department of Justice. The Mona Lisa, Edward Munch’s The Scream, the Hope Diamond, and the T206 Honus Wagner all have a common thread to their histories: Each is a collecting icon, instantly recognized by millions, and each has been stolen and returned.
This card enjoyed a rich history in the hobby long before being the only T206 Wagner to have been the target of a high-profile theft. This Wagner has been known since the earliest days of organized collecting. In fact, this Wagner was actually owned by REA president Robert Lifson more than thirty years ago. (It was worth about $4,000 at that time!) Its provenance also includes at one being owned by the legendary Barry Halper.
“The All Star Café Wagner” was purchased by the current owner at auction in 2001 for what was then a record auction price for a low-grade T206 Wagner ($78,000). Interesting note: To date, we are unaware of anyone ever losing money on the purchase of a T206 Wagner in any condition ever. We’re not sure we can say that about any other card or collectible of any kind. Over the years, the market trend is clear: The T206 Wagner card, even in the lowest grades, has always continued to climb in value over time. In fact, it may be more accurate to say that lower-grade Wagners have appreciated at a faster rate than higher-grade examples. There has always been an extremely strong demand for low-grade Wagners. Most Wagners in existence are in low grade, so the demand for low-grade Wagners is due in part simply to the fact that there is little in the way of higher grade choices to consider. According to the PSA population report, for example, twenty of the twenty-six T206 Wagners ever graded by PSA are graded a PSA 1 or a PSA 2 (ten examples at each grade), with just six examples graded higher (3 Vg, 1 Vg-Ex, 1 Ex MC, 1 Ex, and the Gretzky-McNall PSA 8). It is also the case that collectors are willing to be very flexible on the condition of a Wagner. Of course, the better the condition, the more valuable a Wagner will be to collectors who can afford it. But more collectors can afford a low-grade Wagner than a high-grade Wagner. Because more people can afford a low-grade example, it’s easier to sell, if the need arises. A low-grade Wagner, therefore, has much greater liquidity, which is a very desirable quality for any commodity or store of value. The challenge, then, for most card collectors interested in a Wagner, is not just to find a low-grade Wagner, which is hard enough, but to find an attractive low-grade Wagner.
The Card: This is a very attractive T206 Honus Wagner. It is particularly bright and clean, with flawlessly bold colors, perfect registration, a bright orange background, and a crisp, bold portrait. It is also perfectly centered. The advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes is boldly printed on the reverse. Graded PR-FR 1 by PSA, the card naturally has various condition flaws, including rounded corners, creases, and a few very tiny pin holes. It is a given that most T206 Wagners are in low-grade, so for a Wagner, the overall appearance is of greatest significance and cannot be communicated by just a numerical grade. Every card is different. No one is ever going to confuse this card with the famous Gretzky-McNall Wagner. But this card needs to make no apologies for its appearance. It has the most important characteristic that a T206 Wagner can possibly have: eye-appeal!
This is a tremendous low-grade example of the T206 Wagner, and one that compares very favorably with most other Wagner examples. This is a great-looking card that elicits a positive response from everyone who sees it. The colors are noticeably brighter, fresher, and bolder than most other T206 Wagners, including examples that are graded much higher. It has its condition problems, as do most other Wagners, but it also has a fascinating and unique history. While all T206 Wagners have a story, this particular Wagner has a more interesting story than just about any other baseball card in the world! Whether this card will be valued by collectors at a level more than the Beckett Wagner (graded PR 1 by Beckett, sold for $317,250 at REA in 2008) or a level lower than the second-highest auction price for a low-grade Wagner (an SGC Poor 10 example that sold at Heritage for $227,050, also in 2008) is completely unknown. Valuing Wagners is very subjective. That’s for the bidders to decide. But whatever they decide, it has been a great pleasure for us to properly document the history of this card, one of the most noteworthy examples of card collecting’s greatest treasure. Reserve $50,000. Estimate $150,000+.
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