Sports Illustrated/TIME Blog #24 – It’s Time to Start Your Registry.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

Seems every group, organization, team… recognizes their best and brightest stars of the past year and graded magazines are no exception.   June is the month CGC presents their annual registry awards for comics and magazines.  For those that might not be familiar with what the hobby calls a “registry”, a registry is a set, run, collection, vignette, set within a set, or otherwise recognized collection of graded items which has been submitted to and recognized by CGC (or others), assigned a grade, and judged against other submissions in the same category.

For example, magazines are a major category from which any number of sub-sets or registries may originate.  Sports Illustrated falls within the magazine category and may include such registries as the first ten swimsuits or all swimsuits, all Willie Mays covers, complete set of 1954 issues, complete collection of Jordan or Ali covers and so on.  Your registry must be submitted, accepted and published by CGC.  From those recognized submissions, CGC awards the highest valued registry in each category.  A registry value is weighted by grade and value.  The graded magazine hobby is still in its infancy, so there are significantly fewer submissions (and categories) to date, increasing a magazine submission’s odds of winning.  Owning a registry is a rewarding piece of the hobby and should be explored by all interested subset collectors.

In addition to the recognition and bragging rights that come with winning a registry award, there are many other significant benefits which may enhance your collection or hobby business.

A few of the benefits are:

1. Your collection will receive worldwide exposure.
2. Other collectors that may have an interest in buying some or all of your registry items will be able to locate you to make offers.
3. Sellers may want to contact you to offer enhancements to your registry.
4. Registry commons become more valuable.
5. More registries serve to better organize the hobby which in turn elevates interest and value.
6. Registries stimulate completion which also drives up values.

Because this is a Sports Illustrated/TIME blog, below I’ve listed a few of the possible registries from those publishers that may peek your interest or give you an idea of your own.

1. Jordan covers – 50
2. Ali covers – 39
3. Mantle covers – 13
4. Swimsuits – many variations
5. Bird, Johnson, Gretzky, Montana covers
6. Sportsman of the Year covers
7. World Series or Super Bowl covers
8. Derby Winning Horses
9. Complete years
10. Team covers – Yankees, Cardinals, Lakers, Steelers, Canadiens
11. Batting Champions
12. Top 10 Home Run Hitters
13. Olympians
14. Single sport covers i.e., baseball, football, etc.

Registries are a big part of the Comics and Sports Card hobbies and will grow to be the same in graded magazines so don’t get left behind.  Turn that prized subset into a Registry Award Winner!

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

Congratulations to all those winning at least one Graded Sports Illustrated in the recent Huggins SI Auction.  Hammer prices were 75% to 100% over private auctions one year ago.  We knew this trend was coming, didn’t we?

 

The Heritage TIME auction ends this Friday May 18 and for the first time, Graded TIME magazines are being made available in a public auction forum.  There are a number of significant differences between these TIME mags and last week’s SI’s.   The first difference is age.  TIME is the precursor of SI and some of these high grade mags are approaching 100 years old – and that is old in magazine years.  But these issues have beaten the odds with grades as high as 9.8 and most are the highest grade of that issue.  The second is high grade population.  High grade population numbers on WWII era and pre WWII era magazines are extremely rare.  With very limited exception, these magazines are only sold out of private collections and not on Ebay or the internet.

Here are a few examples of the biggest names in sports memorabilia with “None Higher” FIRST COVER items up for auction:

1. 1928 – CGC 8.5 HOF Rogers Hornsby
2. 1936 – CGC 6.5 Lou Gehrig
3. 1953 – CGC 6.5 Mickey Mantle  
4. 1954 – CGC 9.0 Willie Mays
5. 1982 – CGC 8.0 Wayne Gretzky
6. 1982 – CGC 8.0 Larry Bird
7. 1949 – CGC 9.8 Ben Hogan
8. 1960 – CGC 7.0 Arnold Palmer
9. 1998 – CGC 9.6 Michael Jordan
10. 2008 – CGC 9.6 LeBron James
11. 1937 – CGC Signed (Gem Mint 10 Auto) Bob Feller

Complementing the above, below are just a few of the first cover Hall of Famers with very high grades:

1. 1950 – CGC 9.6 Ted Williams, Two Higher
2. 1936 – CGC 9.0 Joe DiMaggio, Three Higher
3. 1963 – CGC 9.4 Cassius Clay, One Higher
4. 1947 – CGC Jackie Robinson, Three Higher
5. 1948 – CGC Joe DiMaggio (2^nd Cover), Two Higher
6. 1949 – CGC 9.2 Stan Musial, Three Higher

There are 7 more, high grade, SI’s included but not mentioned here.

There are two Heritage auction links –  

https://sports.ha.com/c/my/consignments.zx?saleNo=50002&auctionStatus=current

https://sports.ha.com/c/my/consignments.zx?saleNo=151820&auctionStatus=current&domain=all

 

I have consigned 24 of the most popular, highest graded TIME Magazines in existence.  Nearly all submissions are first covers or special events with the highest grade, or one of the highest grades, of that issue.  My last blog (#21), covered the current grading situation which is moving toward lower and lower grades on comparable items allowing older graded items an increased chance of being and staying the highest grade.  The 5-18-18 Heritage auction offers some of the most difficult, hardest to find, high grade, newsstand TIME Magazines known to the hobby.   Search Ebay “TIME Magazine” and you will find 72,000 auctions – but NOT ONE will have a higher grade of that issue than ANY of the 24 items in this Huggins auction.

My opinion – I know the population of graded TIME issues and this auction will not be duplicated in its breadth or depth of quality and value perhaps ever again.  If you are like me and you research past auctions, you find unbelievable deals that you missed.  Don’t miss this one.

 

Take a look at these auctions and try to remember any previous auctions, recent or long ago, where you have seen TIME grades this high and best of luck bidding.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

May, 2018 is proving to be the Graded validation month for Sports Illustrated and TIME magazines.  First, the international publication of Sports Collector’s Digest has chosen to print a feature on the graded phenomenon, propelling Graded SI’s into the national spotlight.   Second, the two largest Graded SI and TIME auctions ever, close for bidding 5-10-18 and 5-18-18 respectively.  And third, Graded SI’s are featured on the cover of Huggins’ May 10^th auction catalog.  Not bad for the graded neophyte!

In advance of presenting my opinions on the two upcoming May graded auctions, I’d like to briefly re-state my cause behind all the blogs, pubs, auctions, etc.  I began blogging one year ago in an effort to bring fellow SI collectors together and to establish a forum for questions, insights, stories, as well as exposing hobby trends and nuances.  I wanted to communicate the stuff I learned the hard way.  This is blog #22 and if you are new to the site SportsIllustrated.com, I invite you to go back and catch up on where the hobby has been, where it’s headed, and the accuracy of my hobby predictions.  Regarding my blog opinions and advice, the best verification of my sincerity is that I follow my own advice.  I also buy, sell, and trade SI’s and TIME mags as a business.  In the past year, my business has grown in large part because I live my advice.

I have developed a sincere interest and desire on the part of the two auction houses who are now not only interested, but anxious for my consignments.  I promote my consignments because they are consistent with every word of every blog I have written.  I want my followers to be presented with the hobby trends ahead of the curve – which brings me to today’s subject – The Huggins Graded SI auction.

I have consigned 36 of the most popular, highest graded SI’s in existence.  Nearly all submissions are first covers or special events with the highest grade, or one of the highest grades, of that issue.  My last blog (#21), covered the current grading situation which is moving toward lower and lower grades on comparable items allowing older graded items an increased chance of being and staying the highest grade.  The 5-10-18 Huggins auction offers some of the most difficult, hardest to find, high grade, newsstand Sport Illustrated known to the hobby.   Search Ebay “Sports Illustrated” and you will find 117,000 auctions – but NOT ONE will have a higher grade of that issue than ANY of the 36 items in the Huggins auction.

My opinion – I know the population of graded issues and this auction will not be duplicated in its breadth or depth of quality and value perhaps ever again.  If you are like me and you research past auctions, you find unbelievable deals that you missed.  Don’t miss this one.

Here are a few examples of the “None Higher” FIRST COVER items up for auction:

1. 1954 #1 – 9.8 w Baseball Cards
2. 1954 #2 – 9.4 w Baseball Cards
3. 1955 Al Rosen – 9.0 w Baseball Cards
4. 1969 Hank Aaron – 8.0
5. 1956 Paul Hornung – 9.4
6. Wilt Chamberlain – 8.0

Here are just a few examples of very high grade first covers included:

1. Willie Mays
2. Jim Brown
3. Cassius Clay
4. Bart Starr
5. Roberto Clemente
6. Henry Aaron
7. John Elway
8. Tom Brady
9. Peyton Manning
10. Rocky Marciano
11. Joe Namath
12. 1980 Olympic Hockey
13. Gary Player
14. Duke Snider
15. Yogi Berra
16. Carl Yastrzemski

There are 14 more, high grade, SI’s included but not mentioned here.

Here is the Huggins auction link https://hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/consign.pl

Take a look at these auctions and try to remember any previous auctions, recent or long ago, where you have seen grades this high and best of luck bidding.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Sports Illustrated Blog #21 – SI and TIME Grade Trends.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Congratulations!  We’ve come a long way in one year – we’ve established real creditability to our newest passion in collecting – Graded SI and TIME magazines.  As our collections have evolved in this short year, so have a number of very important trends in our hobby – trends effecting the very core of our collections and/or investments.  

 I have sent many raw SI and TIME newsstand issues for CGC grading over the past 24 months and I have noticed a consistent, changing trend in the grading process as well as the resulting grades themselves.  I have noticed that comparably conditioned magazines over the past two years seemed to be grading lower, and lower, and lower.  In the beginning, with a fair amount of accuracy, I could predict the grade results of my submissions within plus or minus one grade level.  The grading process has evolved to be so specific and detailed to date that I cannot accurately evaluate submission grade returns even within 2-3 full grade points.  As grade processes get more organized and incorporate more technical equipment, grades go down.

 Why am I blogging this and why do you care?  You care because the grading process can be expensive especially if you are submitting mags which will grade too low for your interests.  But thinking a bit outside the box, this phenomenon also is creating a unique opportunity for those who care to capitalize on the increasing difficulty of obtaining the highest grades.  Many of the highest grades in existence today have the potential to remain the highest or among the highest over the long term.   If this premises proves to be true, then current high grade issues are a bargain at today’s prices and….

 The longer a graded mag maintains the highest grade, the more likely it will always be the highest grade.

Some might think my advice on this subject could be self-serving because I am a seller, but I started this blog with the intention to “advise” regarding hobby trends and nuances and this fits the criteria.   I have asked several avid card collectors about any trends in card grades over the past decade or two.  The answer I received was that many (not all) of the highest graded cards on record over many 1000’s of submissions, were graded 10-20 years ago.  It seems that with mags as well as cards, as the grading process matures and evolves, the high grades get tougher and tougher.

In my next blog, I will detail two of the largest ever SI and TIME graded magazine auctions coming up in May but, for now, I want to draw attention to the opportunity created by these auctions.  Many of these graded mags (Huggins –SI, Heritage – TIME) are the highest or among the highest ever graded and may remain so long term (exactly what I am blogging about).  Most of these mags were graded 1-2 years ago (when CGC SI grading was just getting started and my TIME issues were the first ever graded by CGC) and represent very difficult, None Higher grades.  If you follow magazine auctions on ebay, you know it is extremely rare to find even one magazine which would challenge any one of these items.  There are 36 SI and 24 TIME mags in the upcoming May auctions.  In my professional opinion, these two auctions represent a rare opportunity, perhaps the last opportunity, to obtain one or more of these None Higher, POP 1, POP2, items in such a large variety at one time.  I believe future auctions with grades this high will be fewer in quantity and less opportunistic.

 Remember, only those reading this blog have this insight.  Visit these two sites and decide for yourself. 

In Heritage there are two links https://sports.ha.com/c/my/consignments.zx?saleNo=151820&auctionStatus=current&domain=all; and https://sports.ha.com/c/my/consignments.zx?saleNo=50002&auctionStatus=current

In Huggins and Scott there is one link https://hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/consign.pl

Take a look at these auctions and try to remember any previous auctions, recent or long ago, where you have seen grades this high and best of luck bidding.

 I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Sports Illustrated Blog #20 – August National Sports Collector’s Convention Signers – Cleveland

 

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

If you are planning to attend the NSC Convention this year, August 1-5 in Cleveland, it’s not too early to start thinking about getting those coveted autographs.  There are over 80 signers already committed and that total is sure to grow as we near the show date.  With so many of our favorite athletes attending, this is a great opportunity (in a number of cases likely your last opportunity) to have your treasured piece signed, commemorated, personalized (only in certain circumstances), dedicated with achievements/records and unconditionally authenticated.

Although there are those that prefer pure, raw, original condition magazines, I strongly contend that there is a significant audience for signed magazines, especially hard to find, high grade SI and TIME covers.  I have personally seen signed, authenticated covers outperform their unsigned equivalent in select instances.  Remember, on high grade or graded copies, there is always the risk of handling degradation before, during and after the signing process so be careful.  For what it’s worth, I will be taking that risk this year in Cleveland.

Don’t you be disappointed after spending the significant signing fee for a signature on a printed photo that is exactly the same as everyone else.  Be original – bring a high grade SI or TIME rookie cover to have autographed.  You’ll be very glad you did.

Below I have posted a coded list of committed signers for this year in Cleveland.  Bold print means I have a very high grade or the highest CGC grade of this rookie SI or TIME cover.  Italics print means I have a high grade (ungraded) newsstand rookie copy for sale. I have multiples of quite a few covers, all newsstand, all rookie appearances, all copies worth a signature.  Not all my magazines are listed on eBay, so if you see a player of interest and can’t find an auction, just email me and I’ll send you pictures and prices.

Also below, I’ve included some samples of the many 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s SI mag covers available from my eBay store so you can visually inspect the ones of interest.  Again, just let me know if you need more info.

2018 National Signers
Alomar	Rice, Jim	Lambert
Bench	Ripkin	Lilly
Boggs	Rodriguez, Ivan	Reed, Andre
Carew	Rose, Pete	Russell, Andy
Carlton	Santiago	Sanders, Barry
Clemens	Smith, Ozzie	Shell, Donnie
Cordova	Sutter	Smith, Bruce
Dawson, Andre	Trammell	Smith, Troy
Eckersley	Winfield	Taylor, Jason
Evans, Dwight	Yount	Taylor, L.T.
Gibson, Bob	Anderson, Ken	Theismann
Gossage	Bettis	Thomas, T
Grace	Bleier	Wagner, Mike,
Henderson, Ricky	Brazile	White, Charles
Jackson, Reggie	Butkus	White, Randy
Jefferies	Campbell	Youngblood, Jack
Johnson, Randy	George, Eddie	Berenger, T
Kaline, Al	Greene, Joe	Benson, Corbin
Kluber, Cory	Greise, Bob	Eden, Barbara
La Russa	Griffin	Tyson
Lynn, Fred	Ham	Gilmore
Morris, Jack	Harris Franco	Laettner
Murry	Kelly	Bourque
Perry, Gaylord	Kosar	Craig, Jim
Raines	Kramer	Esposito

 

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Sports Illustrated Blog #19 – Sports Illustrated’s First Graded Price Guide.

Today is a big day in SI collecting.   With this blog, I am introducing the first CGC SI graded price guide.   Every collectable had to start somewhere, from cards, to comics, to raw magazines and now to graded magazines.  The first caveat I will make is yes, I know, I’m a seller of graded magazines which is a conflict.  My answer to that is who better than me.  I have firsthand knowledge of the selling points of most of the higher valued items in the list.  I know where most of the 9.8’s, 9.6’s, and 9.4’s are because, for the most part, I bought the raw magazine, had them graded and sold them personally.  And finally, in an effort to back up what I print, I am definitely interested in listening to any (wholesale) offer of the retail selling price listed in my guide.

Let’s also treat this list as a guide, a beginning – something to build on.  In my pursuit of High Grade Newsstand SI’s, I often sense the indecision and sometimes fear that a seller experiences when they have no guide by which to base their selling price.  With this guide, the seller will at least be informed as to what I have experienced.  He/She will have a starting point on which to base negotiations.  Valuing graded collectables is much easier than non-graded simply because the grade itself (assigned by a recognized grader – CGC) is a form of value.  In the same way that we recognize a dollar bill to have a value, so do we recognize 9.8, 9.6, or 9.4.

First glance at some of the guide values will surprise some readers so I sent a preliminary version of this guide to several of my SI buyer contacts to gain a perspective from their angle.  Without exception, each contact expressed a form of excitement regarding where the hobby was headed, recent auction results and universal support for the guide itself and the content.

Evolving guide prices will be always be driven by cover popularity and the difficulty in finding a high grade newsstand SI.  I hope this effort will result in more magazines being graded so the census numbers grow and in turn become more statically valid.  Small and large collectors and investors will experience firsthand the probability of finding vintage (pre-1980) magazines above the grade of CGC 7.0 not to mention CGC 9.0!  And we all will begin to better understand the price points on the highest of CGC graded issues.

I predict that some SI issues will never achieve a 9.8 while others will top the charts in multiple cases.  I am the largest purchaser of CGC graded SI’s and have never received a 9.9 or 10.0 which gives you some idea of your chances for one of these grades.  It seems these grades have been reserved only for comics.

Note that I have included a value designation of “Open” in a number of places.  I have chosen to use this designation because no magazine of this grade has ever been transacted and the price will be determined at the first auction.  Also, top grade values are tougher to predict because when multiple bidders are vying for the highest grade item with a POP 1, no one knows the summit.

So here you have it.  Feel free to write me with any questions or opinions.  Any experiences you have had are openly welcomed as well.

Ranking – Top 100 Hardest to Find Sports Illustrated Issues
Rank	Year	Newsstand Cover	CGC Grade 9.8	CGC Grade 9.6	CGC Grade 9.4	CGC Grade 9.2	CGC Grade 9.0	CGC Grade 8.0	CGC Grade 7.0
1	1961	Roger Maris	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000
2	1956	Mickey Mantle (all pages)	Open	$25,000	$10,000	$7,500	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000
3	1959	Johnny Unitas	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$1,500
4	1967	Roberto Clemente	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000
5	1969	Reggie Jackson	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,000	$1,000
6	1961	Fran Tarkenton	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$500
7	1968	Pete Rose	Open	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500
8	1969	Hank Aaron	Open	Open	Open	Open	$10,000	$2,000	$1,000
9	1963	Cassuis Clay	Open	$25,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000
10	1960	Jim Brown	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$1,500
11	1962	Mickey Mantle	Open	Open	Open	Open	$2,500	$1,000	$500
12	1961	Bart Starr	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,000	$1,000
13	1955	Ted Williams	$15,000	$7,500	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$500
14	1964	Swimsuit	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$2,000	$1,000	$500
15	1965	Joe Namath	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000
16	1965	Swimsuits (1965-1969)	Open	Open	$10,000	$5,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000
17	1974	Hank Aaron 715	$10,000	$4,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250
18	1970	Swimsuit	Open	$10,000	$5,000	$4,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000
19	1960	Jack Nicklaus	Open	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000
20	1971	Swimsuits (1970-1979)	Open	$5,000	$4,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500
21	2002	Tom Brady The Natural	$3,000	$1,000	$400	$250	$100	Common	Common
22	1954	Issue #2	Open	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$500
23	1956	Warren Spahn	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,000	$500	$250
24	1981	Wayne Gretzky	$25,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250
25	1977	Larry Bird	Open	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250
26	1970	Steve Prefontaine	Open	Open	Open	$2,000	$1,000	$750	$500
27	1955	Yogi Berra	Open	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$750	$500	$250
28	1980	Olympic Hockey	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$500	$250
29	2002	Tom Brady Amazing	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250	$100	Common	Common
30	1955	Al Rosen	Open	Open	$3,000	$1,500	$1,000	$500	$250
31	1956	AllStar Game	Open	Open	Open	$3,000	$1,000	$500	$250
32	1955	Willie Mays	$25,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250
33	1983	Michael Jordan	Open	$25,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500
34	1975	Ali Frazier	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250
35	1974	Ali Foreman	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250
36	1971	Ali Frazier	Open	$5,000	$3,000	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250
37	1955	Hogan	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,500	$1,000	$500	$250
38	1956	Mantle WS	Open	Open	Open	Open	$2,500	$1,000	$500
39	1996	Derek Jeter	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250	Common	Common	Common
40	1962	Tarkenton	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250
41	1967	Yaz	Open	Open	Open	Open	$2,500	$1,000	$500
42	1957	Mantle	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,000	$500	$250
43	1965	swimsuit	Open	Open	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500
44	1967	Orr	Open	Open	Open	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500
45	1965	Oliva	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,500	$1,000	$500
46	1962	Gifford	Open	Open	Open	$1,500	$1,000	$500	$250
47	1973	Secretariat	$25,000	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$500	$250
48	1970	Butkus	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,000	$500	$250
49	1959	Mays	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,000	$500	$250
50	1962	Mays	Open	Open	Open	Open	$1,000	$500	$250
51	1976	Brett	Open	Open	Open	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250
52	1976	Schmidt	Open	Open	Open	$2,000	$1,000	$500	$250

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

 Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

In previous blogs, I have eluded to a really cool way of organizing and presenting your magazine collection especially if you are interested in both TIME and SI (Newsweek works too).   Let’s call this idea “a collection within a collection” (CWC).   As a high grade seller of SI, TIME and Newsweek, I am getting more and more requests for athletes that have graced the cover of each magazine at least one time.   For example, Secretariat appeared on the cover of all three major magazines in 1973.  A collection consisting of these three issues in graded or ungraded high grade condition really attracts the attention of those looking for a unique collecting edge.  Obtaining the highest grade of all three issues is a very solid collection or “registry” all by itself.    Now multiply this opportunity by at least 50 – 100 multi-cover appearances and you have a very interesting, diverse playing field from which to choose your passion.  Collecting in this way gives you the opportunity to highlight your collection with your favorite player without having to buy tens or hundreds of covers at a much greater expense.

Next time you’re thinking about new ways to collect or display, consider a CWC and watch the value and display appeal of your collection upgrade.

Below I have illustrated a few examples of some really neat CWCs as well as the Collector’s Guide to the 26-50 ranking of TIME Magazine covers.  If you are interested in learning more about any one of the mags below, just shoot me a note with your questions.  Thanks and enjoy the show.

       

	Ranking – Top 100 Hardest to Find Sports Illustrated Issues
				0.5	1	0.6	0.9	1
	Rank	Year	Newsstand Cover	Newsstand Population Scarcity	Condition Scarcity	Cosmetics	Collectability	Investment Potential	Total	Weighted
	26	1947	DiMaggio	9	10	8	9	8	44	13997
	27	1954	Snead	8	10	10	8	8	44	13824
	28	1934	Gomez	9	10	8	8	8	43	12442
	29	1977	Carew	7	9	9	10	8	43	12247
	30	1962	Robertson	8	10	8	10	7	43	12096
	31	1964	Parseghian	7	10	10	8	8	43	12096
	32	1955	Campanella	8	10	8	8	8	42	11059
	33	1960	Rafer Johnson	8	10	8	8	8	42	11059
	34	1982	Montana	7	9	8	10	8	42	10886
	35	1972	Bench	7	10	7	10	8	42	10584
	36	1955	Stengl	8	10	8	8	7	41	9677
	37	1966	Marishal	7	10	8	8	8	41	9677
	38	1952	Stanky	8	10	8	7	8	41	9677
	39	1998	Jordan	5	7	10	10	10	42	9450
	40	1968	Hull	7	10	8	8	7	40	8467
	41	1972	Shula	7	9	7	10	7	40	8335
	42	1985	Bird/Gretzky	6	7	8	10	8	39	7258
	43	1968	McClain	7	10	7	7	7	38	6483
	44	1964	Bauer	7	10	8	6	6	37	5443
	45	2008	James	5	6	8	10	8	37	5184
	46	1985	Rose	6	7	8	8	7	36	5080
	47	2001	Earnhardt	5	6	9	8	8	36	4666
	48	1985	Tiegs	5	7	8	8	7	35	4234
	49	1972	Spitz	5	7	8	8	7	35	4234
	50	1945	Ott – Pony Edition	8	10	3	8	8	37	4147

 

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

Mays, Aaron, Lucas, Groat, Hornung, Jackson, Bench, Rose, Carew, Taylor, Fisk, Bird, Jordan, Brown, Gretzky, Montana, Marino, Elway, Kaline, Oliva, Yaz, Namath, Gwynn, Morgan, Havlicek, Tarkenton, Player, Nicklaus, Jabbar, McDowell, Koufax, Dawson, Cousy, Ryun, Brett, Schmidt, and Yount.

What do they all have in common?

They are all living.

Why is this important?  More important to them but also important to entrepreneurs interested in capitalizing on a burgeoning opportunity – Getting your mags signed NOW!  Autographs are fun, signed mags are better, signed high grade (or graded) mags are best.

I could have named hundreds more stars and recognizable names above but think of the names missing from that list – Ali, Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams, Maravich, Hogan, Starr, Lombardi, Chamberlain, Drysdale, and Musial to name a few.  No more autographs of these guys.  That finality always inspires an urgency among collectors to add any of these to their collection when the opportunity arises.

With a little planning and a stick-to-it determination, anyone can build a formidable collection in a relatively short period of time.  Here is my recommended steps for building a high/highest grade, one of a kind autograph collection.

1. Signatures are very popular but getting them on the right medium is key to maximizing value and presentation. In my opinion, cards, envelops, tee shirts are all fine but high grade magazines are best and TIME and Sports Illustrated covers (esp graded) are meant for signatures.  If placed cosmetically with the appropriate marker (think about this in advance so when asked you are ready) it’s like apple pie and ice cream – meant for each other.
2. Obtain, buy, trade, for high grade SI and TIME covers of stars, athletes well in advance. I like to buy my high grade covers on a ten year plan – sometime in the next ten years I plan to cross paths with every signer in my collection.  This allows time for keeping everything to a plan.  For example, if I had a very high quality, raw, 1974 SI Henry Aaron 715, I might either send to his signing desk, attend a signing show, or better yet, travel to his office, mag in hand, to obtain a great signature while safeguarding the condition of my mag.  Then I would get it graded and have a real trophy.
3. Contact a reputable seller and buy a few raw mags at first to test the quality of the mags. Some sellers have consistent, really nice stuff with honest evaluations while others not so much.   If your purchases are up to your standards, check into the price and availability of more of the same.
4. I like to have multiples of my favorites, if possible (newer raw mags can be purchased for $10-$20, pre 1980 will average between $50-$100 depending cover and condition), and 40-50 different covers ready for signing at all times.
5. It’s your option to have your mag graded before AND after signing, or just after. It costs a bit more to do both but grading your mags in advance lessens the risk of a surprise grade later on.  You can also just buy a graded mag that is ready for a signature.  Again, you’ll pay a bit more for a CGC high grade magazine, but you’ve removed the risk of future surprises.

So don’t put off until tomorrow what you can get signed today.  Tomorrow may be too late.

 

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

 

In previous blog 15, I opened up the issue of TIME magazine and its importance within the magazine collecting trade.  I don’t want to get too far away from my passion – SI – however I think we have a picture here that is incomplete without both pieces (TIME and SI) in place.

 

The best way to illustrate TIME’s place in sports magazine history, is to compare the timing relationship between TOPPS/Bowman/Leaf/Goudey in cards and SI/TIME in magazines.  Although both SI and Topps have been extremely popular in their own right since 1954 and 1952 respectively, Bowman/Leaf/Goudey and TIME brought us quality card and cover appearances extending back nearly another 50 years.  While SI began its complete, in-depth sports coverage of our favorite athletes in 1954, TIME bridges the gap between 1923 and 1954 with regard to featuring our favorite, most dominant sports heroes of the era.  The first card and cover appearances of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and many other famous HOFers predate SI and Topps publications.   The best way to think about early Time covers is to draw the analogy – Bowman/Leaf/Goudey are to Topps as TIME magazine is to Sports Illustrated.

 

TIME covers have a particular color and flair that are distinct and recognizable from a distance which is perhaps one reason for their collector popularity.  To me, the esthetics of the 47 Robinson, the 36 DiMaggio, or the 50 Williams covers, as well as 50-100 others, create an iconic, long lasting impression about the times and the athletes.   Bowman/Leaf/Goudey card values have soared over the years and are among the most sought after in the hobby.  Likewise, TIME magazine is headed in the same direction as more issues are graded and auctioned.  2018 will be a great year for magazine collecting.

 

I have put together a list (with individual rating) of the 50 most popular, hardest to find TIME magazine sports covers of all time.  Below I have listed the top 25 with the subsequent 25 to appear in my next blog.

Rank	Year	Newsstand Cover	Newsstand Population Scarcity	Condition Scarcity	Cosmetics	Collectability	Investment Potential	Total	Weighted
1	1930	Bobby Jones	10	10	10	10	10	50	27000
2	1953	Mantle	10	10	10	10	10	50	27000
3	1954	Mays	10	10	10	10	10	50	27000
4	1936	DiMaggio	9	10	10	10	10	49	24300
5	1947	Robinson	9	10	10	10	10	49	24300
6	1950	Ted Williams	9	10	10	10	10	49	24300
7	1949	Musial	9	10	10	10	9	48	21870
8	1949	Hogan	9	10	9	10	10	48	21870
9	1925	Bobby Jones	10	10	8	10	10	48	21600
10	1925	Sisler	10	10	8	10	10	48	21600
11	1928	Hornsby	10	10	8	10	10	48	21600
12	1929	Foxx	10	10	8	10	10	48	21600
13	1962	Palmer	8	10	10	10	10	48	21600
14	1962	Lombardi	8	10	10	10	10	48	21600
15	1963	Clay	8	10	10	10	10	48	21600
16	1962	Nicklaus	8	10	9	10	10	47	19440
17	1937	Feller	9	10	8	10	9	46	17496
18	1936	Gehrig	9	10	7	10	10	46	17010
19	1972	Namath	7	10	10	10	9	46	17010
20	1973	Secretariat	7	9	10	10	10	46	17010
22	1974	Reggie Jackson	7	9	10	10	10	46	17010
23	1965	Brown	7	10	9	10	10	46	17010
24	1945	Ott	9	10	7	9	9	44	13778
25	1935	Dean	9	10	8	8	9	44	13997

 

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!

Welcome to my 15th in a series of Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blogs – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.

First a couple of housekeeping matters from previous blog #14:

Thanks to reader response, I’d like to qualify a statement from Blog #14 – “With any signature you buy or otherwise obtain, make sure you receive an accompanying certification (preferably from PSA , JSA, or CGC) of its authenticity.  In general, the higher the profile of the athlete, the more important the certification.

And have a quality piece for your autograph.

Below is a $1000 signature on a 10 cent magazine (due to condition)

I wonder if the owner of the one above wishes he had that signature on the one below.

Enough said on the subject.

Thanks to my reader input on this one and feel free to send questions anytime.

Today’s blog, the first of two on the subject, is perhaps the most important and relevant blog I have written to date involving magazine collector opportunity.

In previous blogs, I have very briefly touched upon the existence of another high quality, popular and very collectable magazine which happens to be closely linked to Sports Illustrated.  Perhaps some of you SI guys are like I used to be – steadfastly loyal to collecting only SI.  Then I discovered another really cool and pertinent segment of the collectable magazine presence – TIME Magazine.

One of the first things you’ll notice upon a bit of research is that the two magazines, TIME and SI, have been forever joined together by publisher and chronology, a fact appealing to sports collectors in general.  Time magazine’s first publish date, March 3^rd 1923, marked the beginning of significant, responsible world news reporting by a single publication.  Although primarily a world news magazine, TIME’s versatility stretched across the sports spectrum to all newsworthy sports, people, and events.  As a testament to its trustworthy, respected global news coverage, TIME has remained in continuous publication since 1923.  In 1954, Time Inc, recognizing the growing demand for a weekly sports magazine, expanded its publications to launch a new magazine – Sports Illustrated, Inc, and a star was born.  As a result, TIME is forever recognized as the precursor of SI.

An interesting component within the timing of the SI launch is its relation to the first appearance of TOPPS baseball cards.  Comparisons can be drawn between magazine publications and baseball card printing – TIME is to SI as Bowman is to TOPPS.  Why do I make this point?  While the actual grading of magazines may be more similar to that of comics than to that of cards (hence CGC being the dominant market share leader in the space), the other aspects of collecting SIs and the sports-oriented Time magazines that predate them are more analogous to cards.  They are extremely condition sensitive, with very few older issues having survived the years in pristine condition.  They are also scarce, cards having been tossed out as seemingly worthless in the 50s, 60s, and earlier, and magazine publication being limited, especially for newsstand copies estimated to comprise a mere 2% of total production annually.  Finally, both are pieces of sports history and have an artistic component as well, thus appealing to avid sports fans and collectors of all things sports related.

However, unlike baseball cards of this era that have little continuity between printing years and manufacturers (significant breaks in printing between Tobacco and Topps), TIME magazine provides a nice, neat, uninterrupted transition right into its first publication of Sports Illustrated lending an easy and fun path to collect both, side by side.  I have found that collectors are drawn to the unique opportunity of owning the best of both magazines.  For example, the possibility of owning a first cover CGC 9.8 1950 TIME Ted Williams AND a first cover CGC 9.8 1955 SI Ted Williams is a collector’s dream.  An additional benefit of this type of collecting is that graded magazines make for a highly attractive display as well as reminiscent conversation.  Other similar vignettes available are Cassius Clay, Mantle, Mays, DiMaggio, Aaron, Musial, Jim Brown, Nicklaus, Palmer, Marichal, Lombardi, Bench, Rose and many more.  For a complete list of TIME covers, just search a chronology of TIME magazine covers.  Sports Illustrated has a published a picture review of every cover since 1954 for those interested in knowing what’s out there in SI.

If the esthetics, continuity, respectability and relationship to SI haven’t convinced you of TIME’s relevance, consider “age”.  Some of these issues are approaching 100 years old and that’s old in magazine years.  Although a very few early submissions have graded in the 9.0’s (one before 1936), any grade above CGC 6.0 is a rare find to date.  More early TIME issues will surface but I’m betting the covers I have detailed above will grow in popularity and value exponentially compared to the rest of the market and as collectors scramble to own the highest grade of both mags.  Once Mom and Pop realize what they have in their attic, more submissions will emerge which will reinforce my assertion that early TIME issues above the CGC grade of 6.0 will be hard to find.

To all avid SI collectors, keep TIME magazine on your radar screen as a great way to best bridge the time and space of sports magazine collecting.

Next blog:  A review of TIME first appearance sports covers and why they are important.  Also, I will rank the top 25 covers to target.

Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!