2000 Fleer Focus #226P Rick Ankiel (Portrait) SHORT PRINT PROSPECT/Rookie

Easy to see why the 1967 Topps "Who Am I ?" set is a favorite of both sports and non-sport collectors. 44 cards featuring history's important figures PLUS (4) of baseball's top stars: Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax & Willie Mays !!! Do you recognize them ?

Player on front covered with scratch-off disguise with silly, hair, moustaches, hats, noses... and a clue to help kids guess. More clues on back. NO disguise coating then NOT MUCH VALUE.
Shakespear, Abe Lincoln, George Washington, Einstein, Queen Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, Julius Caesar, Columbus, Jackie Kennedy & more...

The 1969-1970 Topps Basketball set, (99) "Tall Boys" (a huge 2-1/2 x 4-11/16) , sold in 10-card packs for 10 cents, was history making in card size & players. WOW !!! Lew Alcindor's ROOKIE (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), John Havlicek, Dave Bing, Earl the Pearl Monroe, Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Elvin Hayes & more.

Brightly-colored "Rulers" were random inserts. Delicate 2-1/2 x 9-7/8, printed on thin paper, they featured a cartoon drawing and a ruler measuring his height. Planned for 24, #5 Bill Russell was not issued.

The history of vintage baseball card auctions is long and colorful.

T-206 Honus Wagner tobacco cards have sold for upto $2.8 million in auction. The "Holy Grail of Sports Cards", it's extreme-high auction value can mostly be attributed to great PR and "auction fever". It's not close to being the rarest baseball card and Honus Wagner is not Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle. Yes, the T-206 set is beautiful & special but because of the # of cards and scarcities, few collector's try to complete, which should keep auction competition down compared to say 1933 Goudey or 1952 Topps baseball card issues.
BUT IT DOES NOT...

There's a story Wagner banned his card because he was anti-tobacco but there are other stories about financial considerations.

You surely have heard of PSA and may even know that this card was the FIRST they ever graded. But did you know that dealer (B.l. .ast.o name encoded) admitted tampering with the card, perhaps having it trimmed down to size, before PSA graded it so highly for the auction.