I Love Gold - Collection of BGS 9.5 90's Rookies

[rohara99]

Collected hockey cards as a kids growing up from 1990-2000 with my dad and brother. Got relatively serious into grading and buying/selling on ebay in 99-00 before taking a break in high school (like many others). Got back in for a year or so in 2005, had all the YG's (which I recently sold for a monster profit) and now I'm back collecting and tracking down BGS 9.5's of all the cards I wanted in the 90's growing up.

Have been selling off my fairly substantial collection of PSA 8-9's and BGS 8-9's of all the usual 90's rookie and upgrading to BGS 9.5's. Which BTW were impossible grades back in the early 00's and sold for way more then PSA 10's. Funny how times change, PSA is worth more then BGS and BGS 10's and Black Labels (lol) are all over the place.

Anyways, here's the goal:
- 90's rookie cards
- Must be BGS 9.5
- Prefer the HOF type guys but dabbling in some odd ball players that I liked (Straka, Palffy, etc)
- Dont really care about sub-grades (also wasn't a think 20 years ago)

With a side goal of:
- 70-80's rookie cards
- Must be BGS graded
- Have already tracked down some Lemieux's
- Closing in on a Roy
- Gretzky prices are crazy right now... any low grade BVG's out there?

I've already picked up some PSA 10's that I'm selling to fund a BGS 9.5. Despite the fact that the PSA's are more valuable I just can't stand the PSA holders so BGS it is!

Now with that said currently at the top of the list are the following:

Modano Upper Deck
Bure Upper Deck
Iginla SP
Marleau Upper Deck
Thornton Upper Deck
Hossa Upper Deck

Not sure why but I haven't seen a Bure 9.5 in months of looking; lots of PSA 10's changing hands but no BGS out there at all. Some of the mid 90's stuff also has crazy low pop (Pronger UD, Neidermayer UD, Iginla SP) that its going to be a long search for those ones.

Anyways, thanks for looking. If you have any 90's BGS 9.5 up for sale please let me know! Assuming there is interest I'll be sure to post updates as I track more down.

 

[SNobles]

Just an awesome looking collection of cards. Such childhood memories.

 

[CeddieB]

Great looking stuff. I'm going a bit the opposite way for my 80's RC's - selling/trading BVG/BGS to buy PSA's.

Check out what I have available here: http://hobbyinsider.net/forum/showthread.php?t=439802

 

[langway05]

Great story and I'm really impressed with the BGS 9.5 Topps Finest Kiprusoff :banana:

 

[rohara99]

Just an awesome looking collection of cards. Such childhood memories.

Thanks!

Great looking stuff. I'm going a bit the opposite way for my 80's RC's - selling/trading BVG/BGS to buy PSA's.

Check out what I have available here:

I have an extra Jagr OPC BGS 9.5 (if it ever shows up in the mail) that I'll make available.

Great story and I'm really impressed with the BGS 9.5 Topps Finest Kiprusoff :banana:

Thanks! That card was actually purchase a long time ago and being a Flames fan is probably one of my favorites.

 

[creasecollector]

Great collection, keep it up!

 

[rohara99]

Couple other purchases in the last month or so....

Marleau Upper Deck PSA 10 (that I'll hold till I can track down a BGS 9.5)

And a couple Mario's (one of my favorite player growing up and a card I never thought I'd own). Picked up the Topps PSA 7 first for a great price on facebook; which I just sold to help fund the OPC BGS 6 which also just showed up. The OPC is crazy mint beside the obvious centering issue.

I've also since tracked down a Topps BGS 9 which is more then good enough for now. Haven't decided if I want to keep the Topps and OPC combo or sell the OPC to help fund other cards (like a low grade Gretzky rookie).

Whats everyones thoughts on the OPC vs Topps? Personally I think I'd prefer a higher grade Topps vs a much lower grade OPC, or am I crazy?

 

[rohara99]

Imagine the year is 2002 or 2003.... you want to own 4 of the hottest rookie cards out there, these 4 are them.

Thanks Gomaz for getting in contact with me. Happy to add these 4 to the collection.

Also as an aside I remember taking public transit to a local show here in Calgary back in 99 or 00 to specifically buy a copy of this Gagne card. It showed up in Beckett at the top of a hot or potential list and I needed it. Anyways, took well over an hour each way and I parted with $20 to buy this card way back in the day. I think it booked for $15 at the time maybe, not sure what it books for now.

Also love these Zenith cards, have a bunch of raws and my best ones graded out as 8.5's a long time ago. Those edges and corners were killer.

:beer:

EDIT: checked an old Becket from August 2002... amazing! haha. Check out those insane 'Mint 9' prices.

Of note Gem Mints weren't even priced because they 100% didn't even exist. Cause I'm a nerd for this stuff the first Lecavalier didn't even grade out Gem Mint till the end of 2003 and the second not till November 2004.

 

[chefjason]

Those are sweet, gotta get my kipper and iggy rcs graded one of these days

 

[wreckless]

Love the gold BGS. Beauty collection.

I'm looking for a Bure 9.5 as well, haven't seen one in 2+ years

 

[rohara99]

Those are sweet, gotta get my kipper and iggy rcs graded one of these days

Yea I have a couple Iginla SP’s to get graded but they are 8.5-9 territory. 9.5’s are tough to track down and have a crazy premium.

Love the gold BGS. Beauty collection.

I'm looking for a Bure 9.5 as well, haven't seen one in 2+ years

I just picked up a BGS 9 as a placeholder. If one doesn’t pop up I’ll pony up for a PSA 10 and cross it over (which ends up super expensive obviously).

 

[gomaz]

Thanks Gomaz for getting in contact with me. Happy to add these 4 to the collection.

Also as an aside I remember taking public transit to a local show here in Calgary back in 99 or 00 to specifically buy a copy of this Gagne card. It showed up in Beckett at the top of a hot or potential list and I needed it. Anyways, took well over an hour each way and I parted with $20 to buy this card way back in the day. I think it booked for $15 at the time maybe, not sure what it books for now.

Great meeting you yesterday man and proud to place these cards into your growing collection! Enjoy and welcome!

 

[rohara99]

Yesterdays mail.... no gold but a silver Lemieux RC will do just fine. Crazy how much 'whiter' the Topps card stock is then the OPC. Is that normal?

Also not gold or BGS but figured why not. Its a pop 5 and is a tough grade IMO based on all the raw copies of rc's I have from this set. That left border always seems to take a beating.

 

[rohara99]

So a quick update from last week.... down a couple golds in a trade with a local member to pick up the GOAT of hockey cards. And a couple other purchases have come in.

Mogilny OPC Premier

Also picked up the Jagr Score Traded (and an extra low grade UD used for trading).

And drum roll.... picked up a Gretzky OPC, which honestly I never thought I'd own one. Thanks to CeddieB for working with me on the trade. Such a super cool card that after all my previous year collecting I'm not sure I had ever even held one. Super cool to have one in hand!

Woo!

With all that in mind currently at the top of the list (for what seems to be impossible to track down) is as follows:
BGS 9.5 Jagr ProSet RC
BGS 9.5 Bure Upper Deck RC
BGS 9.5 Neidermayer Upper Deck RC
BGS 9.5 Pronger Upper Deck RC
BGS 9.5 Iginla SP RC
BGS 9.5 Thornton Upper Deck RC
BGS 9.5 Marleau Upper Deck RC

And the following, which are easy to track down, just some crazy prices lately that I'm not willing to pay.
BGS 9.5 Roenick OPC Premier RC
BGS 9.5 Sundin OPC Premier RC
BGS 9.5 Joseph OPC Premier RC

Couple more cards on the way in the mail, might have an update on the weekend if stuff starts rolling in. I also just submitted 25 cards to Becket which should knock some other odd ball 90's off my list (Naslund UD RC, Lindros Score RC, Alfredsson UD RC, etc). Mostly stuff that people aren't grading or isn't widely available.

 

[CeddieB]

And drum roll.... picked up a Gretzky OPC, which honestly I never thought I'd own one. Thanks to CeddieB for working with me on the trade. Such a super cool card that after all my previous year collecting I'm not sure I had ever even held one. Super cool to have one in hand!

Glad we were able to work out a deal - good luck with the rest of the list!

 

[creasecollector]

Love seeing your progress with this awesome collection - keep it up.

Congrats on landing that Gretzky OPC rookie! Can't stop now!

 

[themikeray]

I love the classics! It takes me back to my childhood

 

[rohara99]

Love seeing your progress with this awesome collection - keep it up.

Congrats on landing that Gretzky OPC rookie! Can't stop now!

Yea, now Roy and Yzerman rookies have moved way up the want list. OPC 8.5 or 9's.

I love the classics! It takes me back to my childhood

Same, thats why I'm doing this. Its fun. And most of these cards aren't breaking the bank.

__________


Couple more mail days worth showed up...

Jagr OPC 9.5 (which was my whale card 20 years ago lol). Anyways I had bought this duplicate nearly 2 months ago and it just never showed up. Filed a no show with ebay and was refunded by the seller. Then the other night my neighbor showed up at our door with the package in hand; canada post had delivered it to his mailbox and he never checks his mail. Super glad to have it as I had traded my other copy in the Gretzky trade, so everything worked out. For the record I resend payment to the seller, of which he was very grateful as he never sent it tracked shipping.

I also believe there is still some room for upward movement on this card when Jagr rolls into the HOF... any thoughts? The pop isn't low and Gem Mints counts are climbing by a couple cards a week so there is still solid raw copies out there. Who knows!

An Ed Belfour Upper Deck 9.5... nearing completion on my 90-91 UD wantlist.

A couple more 90-91 Upper Decks. Mogilny 9.5 and Bure 9 (seriously can't track down any 9.5s).

And a couple 90-91 Scores that I picked up for a steal. Not sure if I want to dive into tracking down Score 9.5's of all the usual suspects yet but we'll see.

Also as a general thought BGS 9.5's of 90's stuff and 8-9's of 80's stuff just isn't widely available right now. Supply seems to be super limited for some of these cards I'm trying to track down. Like why is Bure UD not more available? Why are there zero Patrick Roy BGS 9's for sale? Do people think there is still upward movement on this 80-90's stuff?

Crazy times, cheer!

 

[Fred Bear]

Awesome stuff. I have piles of these cards that may be worth grading in the next couple of years if the market keeps doing what it's doing.

Also as a general thought BGS 9.5's of 90's stuff and 8-9's of 80's stuff just isn't widely available right now. Supply seems to be super limited for some of these cards I'm trying to track down. Like why is Bure UD not more available? Why are there zero Patrick Roy BGS 9's for sale? Do people think there is still upward movement on this 80-90's stuff?

Crazy times, cheer!

In general, the BGS stuff is much lower volume. In the case of Bure, 3000 total graded PSA (873 10s) compared to 1200 BGS (185 9.5s). Couple that with the fact that PSA (avg of last 5 sold - $95) outsells BGS (avg $63) and most guys are going to send to PSA unless they really want/collect BGS.

 

[rohara99]

Awesome stuff. I have piles of these cards that may be worth grading in the next couple of years if the market keeps doing what it's doing.

Thanks! I must have 1000+ rookies cards from the 90's. Maybe 25% pack pulled, rest bought as singles or in bulk 20-25 years ago and I honestly couldn't find much that I was confident in gem minting. I had cracked several boxes of 90-91 UD back in the late 90's and lots is damaged enough straight from the pack that its more 8-9 quality then 10.

In general, the BGS stuff is much lower volume. In the case of Bure, 3000 total graded PSA (873 10s) compared to 1200 BGS (185 9.5s). Couple that with the fact that PSA (avg of last 5 sold - $95) outsells BGS (avg $63) and most guys are going to send to PSA unless they really want/collect BGS.

Yup. Might require some PSA 10 cracking haha.