Looking For That House Of Baseball Cards?
Via Jeff Figler today -
An ad on Craigslist by a sports collector says that he will trade his sports collection which he claims is valued at $500,000, based on current book prices. Alright. Trade for what?
This collector will consider any home, as long as it has a scenic view. Even a house that is a fixer-upper or one that has equity and an assumable mortgage. His collection consists of about 5000 baseball cards, including 28 Mickey Mantle cards from 1962. In addition, he has tons of Yankees collectibles.
Doing a little checking, this gentleman is serious. But a 1962 Mantle card is not a 1952 Topps Mantle rookie card. A 1962 card in mint condition has a book value of, oh, $600.
“Scenic view” is a relative term, no? There’s a “scenic view” of the Atlantic Ocean and then there’s a “scenic view” of Newark Airport.
In any event, here’s more on this story via Mike Smeth -
San Diego resident Clyde Bone has gathered an impressive and valuable collection of baseball cards and sports memorabilia over the years. So much so, that he has posted an advertisement on Craigslist in which he offers to trade his collection for a house.
According to him he will accept most any type of home, including a fixer-upper or one that has some degree of equity and a mortgage he can take over. His only requirement is that the house have a nice scenic view.
Bone says the book value of his sports card collection is somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000 and represents over half a century of collecting. Among the many rare treasures in the collection are 5,000 New York Yankee vintage baseball cards which include twenty-eight 1962 Mickey Mantle cards, one of which he says is in mint condition. Unorthodox
Bone is a retired San Diego firefighter that once helped coach baseball for a local college. His baseball background also includes a stint as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays as well as brief tenior as the equipment manager for the San Diego Padres in 1989. He also ran a sports card shop from 1990-93.
A divorced father of three, Bone’s sudden interest in selling his cherished collection of sports cards was prompted by the rekindling of an old Flame. The 57 year old Californian recently got back in touch with a girl he knew in junior high school and they hit it off so well that they are now engaged to be married. “I want to convert my collection into happiness rather than just pass it on to someone,” said Bone.
Choosing the girl over the cards…well…that’s love, right?
