1940 Playball

I never quite understood the appeal for the 1940 Playball players that were no longer playing. $5000 for the Jackson in the lastest Goodwin auction, absolutely nuts.

If you are going to pay that kind of money for a Jackson card why wouldn't you save it to buy one from his playing days? Do any of the other 40 Playballs command that any kind of premium?

Lee

The Jackson didn't garner the huge attention dollar-wise until about 10 years ago. It was always the poor man's Jackson. A way to get a card of him without spending a fortune. Now, that's not even the case. I don't get the premium either. It's a rare card in the set or anything like that. You could spend that kind of money on low grade m101-4/5 or get a w514 and some other cards.

You've actually expressed a debate that recently went on in my head. I was considering 1940 Play Ball as my next set to start until I realized how many retired players it had in it. I figured, "Well, hell, it's not a cheap set. If I'm going to start a set that's pricy to get these names, I might as well do it right and go for the T cards from when they still played."

I suspect that the ongoing popularity of Field of Dreams has had something to do with driving the Joe Jackson market into the stratosphere. Not that he wasn't a great player who deserved to be avidly collected, but a little publicity certainly doesn't hurt.

Easily one of the most overpriced cards in the hobby.
Same can be said for most Bl Sox cards IMO.

Jeff