Old baseball card question?

Question

I'm looking to buy a Lou Gehrig Goudey Gum card from 1933 for my husband for xmas. It's not in perfect condition, so I know that brings the value down somewhat. It says it's a #92 card. What does this number mean? It has some creases on it, some slight discoloration but otherwise is in good shape.

My husband loves baseball cards - would this be a good xmas gift for a baseball enthusiast? I don't know much about baseball cards - what value would you place on this card?

Mattdean76 - That is the card I am thinking of buying, but not that particular card from that seller. The one I am looking at has more discoloration and a few creases in the corners.
My husband is a huge Twins fan, but I've already bought him autographed stuff from his favorite players, and from the 87 and 91 World Series, so I'm running out of Twins ideas, thought something from the old timers would be cool, but I have no idea if that's something he'd be into or not.

Answer 1

you can get a handle of the value of that Gehrig card through looking at sales on Ebay from the past 2 weeks. Based on past sales, you are looking at $300-500 for a respectable looing card that will grade as a high "1", although there was a decent looking card for $380 that could be a "2" good, although card gggrading companies may deem the card trimmed as part of a corner looks clipped. The card on ebay auction now at $125 has a tack hole, so it's not worth much bidding more than about $175.

www.707sportscards tends to be high on prices, although they are reputable and I've heard they will sometimes take 80% of list, although you can usually find what they sell at about 60% of their prices. The Gehrig cards are not particularly rare, so it's possible to save money with some patience.

If you have a large scan of an ungraded card to compare against PSA 1 graded cards, you may save a little money, not too hard to evaluate low grade cards by computer scans.

Answer 2

Prior to 1961, the Twins were the original Washington Senators, and while this doesn't add a great deal of opportunity for collecting interesting, historical memorabilia, there were some great players back in the Senators days (1901-60). Foremost would be, of course, HOF pitcher Walter Johnson, but also Sam Rice, Bucky Harris, Goose Goslin, Tom Zachary, Stan Coveleski, Joe Cronin, Heinie Manush, Rick Ferrell, Early Wynn, and Harmon Killebrew (his early years; he moved with the team).

Or there's the 1924 World Series championship to commemorate.

A Gehrig card, even in battered condition, would be a treat for any knowledgeable baseball fan.

Answer 3

Usually the number associated with a card is the number in a set. (IE 3 of 500, 7 of 200) The value of the card can be in the thousands of dollars in superb condition, but conditioning is a very subjective thing. You could check with a couple of sports card or memoriabilia dealers locally to see what they think. Its very hard to put a price tag on an item without seeing it though.

Is this the one you are looking at?

http://cgi.ebay.com/1933-Goudey-Lou-Gehrig-92-baseball-card-GAI-5-5_W0QQitemZ140190571610QQihZ004QQcategoryZ106179QQcmdZViewItem

Answer 4

probably 92nd card in production the condition of the card direct reflects the value wo without seeing it I would say try to arrange a meeting withsome who can make a judgement about this card especially if its more than a couple hundred dollars.

Answer 5

Yes!! it would be a great gift #92 just means that it was #92 in a deck of baseball cards. i would place it at maybe 25 dollars

Answer 6

Ask him if he would like to buy a Mantle, Mays, Killebrew triple card with all three of their autographs??