The 2 Greatest Words; BGS Mail Day

Many months ago, I made the decision to begin preserving certain cards in my collection in the most effective manner possible; submitting these cards for Beckett Grading.

I suppose it all started over a year ago when I was pondering the most effective way to store my cards. As I began to realize that binders, at least in my case, weren't keeping the vintage cards from all the dust that tends to get under the plastic sheets. 

With some cards of Hall of Famers in my collection dating back to the 50's, I knew it was up to me to preserve some of them, and what better way than having them graded at the same time.

As for the PSA vs Beckett debate, I've always been more fond of the latter of the 2 due to their accessible population report online, sub-grades (not for vintage, though), and autograph authentication grades as well. That's why I hand-selected a few Beckett cards to send off for grading, cards I just recently got back in the mail.

Quite possibly the biggest surprise of the bunch was the  1970 Kellogg's 3D card of Tom Seaver receiving a stellar grade of 8.0. I knew the card, especially for its age, was in very good shape which is why I sent it out. However, I wasn't expecting it to return with a grade so high. After all, 8.0 is cutting it very close to the grades some modern cards, typically chrome cardstock, tend to receive.

In what could very well be the greatest duo ever shown on a combo card in baseball card history, MLB legends Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays both appeared on this Managers' Dream card as a part of the 1962 Topps set. For many years now, it's been up to me to take good care of these 50+-year-old cards while also keeping them in as good of condition as possible. That's why, in a way, I felt validated to get this card back at a respectable grade of 5.0.

As if one Mantle card wasn't enough, I made the decision to send out 2 different Mantle's from the same 1962 Topps set with the 2nd card, Mickey's base card, coming back at a grade of 3.5, deemed "very good" by Beckett. Most of the vintage cards in my possession were bought by my Dad many years ago in a big grocery bag for $20, resulting in a massive variety of different cards of Hall of Famers and legends.

Because of how they were stored for so long, the condition on them isn't the greatest, but ultimately, any grade we can get on them is considered a plus due to how long these cards went without proper care. No matter what, a 3.5 on a Mickey Mantle base card is something I'm absolutely stoked about.

And yet, there was an even more magnificent card included in the BGS order. One of the crown jewels of my entire baseball card collection and a card that, to my knowledge, I've yet to show here on the blog. 

This is Ernie Banks' 1954 Topps rookie card, graded at a BGS 3.0, I grade I am incredibly pleased with due to already being at a disadvantage due to the card being slightly miss-cut, particularly noticeable at the top.

For nearly 2 decades, this card sat in a vintage card sleeve in a custom picture frame on a bookshelf in my house, safe from dust, sure, but not necessarily from drops or at least, not protected at the level this card should be. When I was forming this list, Banks' rookie card was an easy choice to include for obvious reasons, but also because it would ensure it would be protected more so than just the picture frame it sat in beforehand.

Along with the 1/1 Cubs quad relic from 2017 Heritage, the Ernie Banks rookie card is at the pinnacle of my entire collection. Now, both incredibly special Cubs cards are safely graded in Beckett slabs, capping off what was a successful BGS order.