First Cards Back from PSA: Schmidt, Henderson, Yastrzemski

When I bought my Mike Schmidt rookie card, I opted to save a little money by not buying a PSA-graded card.  The dealer who sold it to me represented it as an EX-5 card.  I decided to send it to PSA and also a few others, mostly to protect them in the slabs, not so much to get the grades.  I also sent out a bunch of autographed cards that I had, mostly to get the authentication.  The autographs aren't back yet, but the 4 cards I sent for grading and slabbing are.  I'll make a separate post about one of them, but here are the other three, including the Schmidt.

PSA-graded 1973 Topps Mike Schmidt rookie card.

I was skeptical that the card would earn a grade of EX-5 like the dealer said, but sure enough, that's what we have.  The September 1987 Beckett  that I have lists this card as $100-$150.  After the market really got overheated, the April 1992 Beckett lists it as $300-$460.  This was way, way more than I could ever have spent, or asked my parents to spend, on a card at that time.  I paid just over $100 for it now, and the kid inside me still can't believe I own a Schmidt rookie.  (Nothing against Ron Cey, or even John Hilton, but to me this card is all about Schmidt.)

I bought my Rickey Henderson rookie card off a friend in high school, when he decided he would rather have some money that a small piece of cardboard; I don't remember how much I paid him for it, but I do remember taking the condition into account.  PSA gives it a VG-3, which I won't argue with.  I sent this mostly to protect it within the slab, since it is personally important to me, because I'm a fan of Henderson and the connection to my friend, despite the lack of sharp corners.

PSA-graded 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie.

Finally for now we have my 1972 Topps Yastrzemski, which I like for two reasons.  He was a fine player of course but I don't feel too strong a connection for that reason.  But, it is almost the card mentioned on The Simpsons -- the Carl Yastrzemski with the big sideburns -- but they really meant the 1973.  I am undecided on whether or not I should get the 1973 for that reason.  Second, I remember getting a good deal on it at the time.  There were many card shops circa 1990, and one that I went to sometimes had this card in a glass display case, among many others; I noticed that I thought the price was low.  I think it was marked at $5, and in the price guide it was more like $15.  I noticed it the next few times I was at that shop, and one day I bought it.  The next time I was in the shop, another of the same card took its place, priced more like $15.  It appears to be in good condition, and I don't think the condition is why it was priced low -- I think they had the card for a number of years and just hadn't updated the price.  And if there's a third reason that I like the card, it's that in the 1972 Topps design, sometimes it looks better than others (I think the design doesn't work for the A's cards, for example), but with the Red Sox and Yastrzemski, the design works and it's a nice-looking card.  PSA gave it a 4, so I was right in thinking this was in better shape than some of my other cards, but I was a bit surprised it was only a 4.  I wasn't necessarily looking for a high grade, though, and mainly wanted it slabbed to preserve it.

PSA-graded 1972 Topps Carl Yastrzemski.

I'll post the 4th card I got back another time; it's my favorite card of all time, so it gets its own post.  And, I hope to have my autographed cards back before too much longer, and will post them as well.