A true "one of one"??,..what should I do?

[bombie1138]

I have a question and any opinions would be appreciated,.
I pick up a 57 Topps #385 Art Houtteman(Indians reliever) card with his auto on it.
My scanner is down so my apoligies to all but the sig is auth. for sure and I'm guessing signed soon after the card was released.I was thinking as I was looking at it that it may be the only one in the world.
I've been collecting cards for 20 years,its one of my favorite hobbies so BV's really don't mean much for me so I'm not thinking about rewards finacially but to have the only known card with a auto on it would be very very cool.
I guess my question is I really don't know what to do with it,should I go 'History Detective' and persue the history of the player?It's a 1957 and that does intrigue me a bit I will admit.It could be a true 'one of one',..

Clint

 

[theplasticman]

There are set collectors out there who chase full sets of Topps autographed.

 

[gwynn_fan]

Hi FYI Art Houtteman has cards from 1951 to 1957
1957 Topps #385 Art Houtteman $8.00

He also has a 2009 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Cut Signatures #LC1 Art Houtteman/ 8 AU, S# 8 Item has no pricing

 

[LWMM]

Why do you think it is the only one Houtteman signed? It looks as if he died recently (2003), so he would have had plenty of time to sign them.

 

[bombie1138]

Why do you think it is the only one Houtteman signed? It looks as if he died recently (2003), so he would have had plenty of time to sign them.

Thats the question,


I'm not looking for $'s but this card may have a story behind it and that does interest me,..I'm a team collector and chasing vintage these days because the new stuff bores me greatly lately,..maybe someone else has one,...but maybe not,.

Clint

 

[mrmopar]

Extremely unlikely that he didn't sign another one. His signature didn't seem too tough to locate on a vintage item when I was looking. I'd bet you find another within a couple weeks, if there isn't at least one on ebay right now.

 

[bombie1138]

Guess I'll have to bookmark Ebay on this one for awhile,but my gut tells me that this card is rare to say the least,..10 at the most, but maybe less,..

 

[mindbinge]

Guess I'll have to bookmark Ebay on this one for awhile,but my gut tells me that this card is rare to say the least,..10 at the most, but maybe less,..

what exactly makes you think that seeing that he lived for another 50 years after the card came out??? I'm lost here? Is the card itself different or something? not sure what you are saying?

 

[mrmopar]

There is actually quite a market for vintage signed cards. It would appear that people were getting these types of cards signed for years based on the selection of older signed cards available. I doubt there are multiple 100s or even 1000s, but I would bet there are a fair number of any of his more common cards out there.

 

[tugboat2648]

abcunlimited.net currently has 4 Art Houtteman cards listed for sale- including 56 and 57 Topps. The prices only range from 30-36.00. Unless theres a special reason why he wouldnt sign the 1959 Topps I dont think it will that rare, just probably shelved in people's signed set collections or team collections.

Ive been collecting a signed 1955 Bowman baseball set and it seems like it can take a while for cards to pop up- even when they arent that rare (and dont sell for that much in the end). Vintage signed cards just seem to find homes with people who dont mind hanging on to the cards for a long time

 

[bombie1138]

abcunlimited.net currently has 4 Art Houtteman cards listed for sale- including 56 and 57 Topps. The prices only range from 30-36.00. Unless theres a special reason why he wouldnt sign the 1959 Topps I dont think it will that rare, just probably shelved in people's signed set collections or team collections.

Ive been collecting a signed 1955 Bowman baseball set and it seems like it can take a while for cards to pop up- even when they arent that rare (and dont sell for that much in the end). Vintage signed cards just seem to find homes with people who dont mind hanging on to the cards for a long time

Thanks Tug,
Thats what I was hoping to discover by posting this thread.I appriecate your insight and knowledge on this.To be honest I figured the one I had was not a "one of one" but it was a fun thought while it lasted.Good luck on the 55 set too !!

Thanks to everyone else that responded too.
Clint

 

[mrmopar]

The only set I have ever tried to do was 1956, and "trying" is a loose term. I don't actively seek them, but will grab them when the price is right or the opportunity exists. I am missing too many big names to consider my set anything but a dream, even the Dodger team set which I worked actively on for some time. Without Campy, Hodges and Koufax and a suspect Robinson, I have to admit that one is but a dream too. However, I have the rest of the team.

abcunlimited.net currently has 4 Art Houtteman cards listed for sale- including 56 and 57 Topps. The prices only range from 30-36.00. Unless theres a special reason why he wouldnt sign the 1959 Topps I dont think it will that rare, just probably shelved in people's signed set collections or team collections.

Ive been collecting a signed 1955 Bowman baseball set and it seems like it can take a while for cards to pop up- even when they arent that rare (and dont sell for that much in the end). Vintage signed cards just seem to find homes with people who dont mind hanging on to the cards for a long time

 

[valediction]

I have a question and any opinions would be appreciated,.
I pick up a 57 Topps #385 Art Houtteman(Indians reliever) card with his auto on it.
My scanner is down so my apoligies to all but the sig is auth. for sure and I'm guessing signed soon after the card was released.I was thinking as I was looking at it that it may be the only one in the world.
I've been collecting cards for 20 years,its one of my favorite hobbies so BV's really don't mean much for me so I'm not thinking about rewards finacially but to have the only known card with a auto on it would be very very cool.
I guess my question is I really don't know what to do with it,should I go 'History Detective' and persue the history of the player?It's a 1957 and that does intrigue me a bit I will admit.It could be a true 'one of one',..

Clint

While it is a fun thought, it's something you could never really prove, only eventually disprove if/when others come to light. Realistically speaking, barring untimely deaths/injuries to prevent one from signing (i.e Dick Howser passing away very shortly after 1985 Topps went live, Roberto Clemente dying before 1973 Topps was released), or a player outright refuses to sign certain cards, it is highly unlikely any autographed card from a mainstream set is a 1/1. There are just too many avenues (card shows, store appearances, address books, etc) for people to get them signed. Even the 'low demand' players get requests and do shows/team events. When I was in 8th grade, the Twins had a winter Caravan stop at our high school. the guests for the 'stay in school, don't do drugs, etc' speeches, Q&A session, and autographs were Tony Oliva, Frank Viola, and Randy Bush. A 3 time batting champ, the current #1 starter on the team, and a part time DH good for about 10 HR and 45 RBI a year. Even though he was obviously the least popular of the signers, he still signed a fair amount and did other stops over the years as well. He still gets requests to this day. I was at a show a month or so back, and after picking out some cards, I noticed the dealer had a 50 cent autograph box. I dug through it a bit, and I picked out a 1990 Topps TV Glenn Davis autograph. I thought it was neat just because while not extremely rare, it's something less plentiful than the 1985-1992 base issue type stuff you could buy in 100-1600 count lots back in the day. A quick ebay search shows 0 autographed 1990 Topps TV cards for any player. (I searched 1990 Topps TV auto*) Does this mean no others were signed? No, just that it's a fairly low demand auto and a fairly low demand set, so many people wouldn't even bother listing it because they'd rather keep it than risk it only getting 50 cents or $1.

 

[mrmopar]

I look for unique cards to have signed and to buy/trade for. I like parallels, inserts, regional, food issue, etc.

When Dave Stewart was in town, I had him sign my 1980 Long Beach Press Telegram "card". He looked at it with interest and I asked if he had seen the item before. He replied that he had not, so there is a fairly good chance I have the only signed copy, but then again he could have signed one later that night or since then!

While it is a fun thought, it's something you could never really prove, only eventually disprove if/when others come to light. Realistically speaking, barring untimely deaths/injuries to prevent one from signing (i.e Dick Howser passing away very shortly after 1985 Topps went live, Roberto Clemente dying before 1973 Topps was released), or a player outright refuses to sign certain cards, it is highly unlikely any autographed card from a mainstream set is a 1/1. There are just too many avenues (card shows, store appearances, address books, etc) for people to get them signed. Even the 'low demand' players get requests and do shows/team events. When I was in 8th grade, the Twins had a winter Caravan stop at our high school. the guests for the 'stay in school, don't do drugs, etc' speeches, Q&A session, and autographs were Tony Oliva, Frank Viola, and Randy Bush. A 3 time batting champ, the current #1 starter on the team, and a part time DH good for about 10 HR and 45 RBI a year. Even though he was obviously the least popular of the signers, he still signed a fair amount and did other stops over the years as well. He still gets requests to this day. I was at a show a month or so back, and after picking out some cards, I noticed the dealer had a 50 cent autograph box. I dug through it a bit, and I picked out a 1990 Topps TV Glenn Davis autograph. I thought it was neat just because while not extremely rare, it's something less plentiful than the 1985-1992 base issue type stuff you could buy in 100-1600 count lots back in the day. A quick ebay search shows 0 autographed 1990 Topps TV cards for any player. (I searched 1990 Topps TV auto*) Does this mean no others were signed? No, just that it's a fairly low demand auto and a fairly low demand set, so many people wouldn't even bother listing it because they'd rather keep it than risk it only getting 50 cents or $1.

 

[valediction]

I look for unique cards to have signed and to buy/trade for. I like parallels, inserts, regional, food issue, etc.

When Dave Stewart was in town, I had him sign my 1980 Long Beach Press Telegram "card". He looked at it with interest and I asked if he had seen the item before. He replied that he had not, so there is a fairly good chance I have the only signed copy, but then again he could have signed one later that night or since then!

I like getting those type of things signed too, if I have them. I had Juan Berenguer autograph the paper 'cover' of the Berenguer Boogie cassette tape I picked up years before. He commented that was the first time anyone brought one of those to have signed.