Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

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Dear Babe: I have inherited some 30,000 cards dating back to the mid-1950s. What is the best way to price out this collection? There are Topps cards, Denny's cards and Post cereal cards. I have Mickey Mantle cards No. 200 and No. 350. -- T.S., Litchfield Park, Ariz.You could have some very valuable cards. I was going to suggest picking up a Beckett baseball card guide, because it has more expansive listings than Tuff Stuff's guide, which covers all major sports. However, when you start throwing in Post cereal cards and Los Angeles police sets, the equation changes. Your best bet is probably Beckett's Almanac of Baseball Cards or The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest. Both those guides have mainstream and oddball issues, including the 1962 Post cereal cards. I should note that Tuff Stuff does include some listing for 1962 and 1963 Post cereal cards, but it sounds as if you'll be ending up with quite an array. Whatever you have, condition is the key. Here's a link to Beckett's online info on grading, which will also help you to determine the condition of your cards -- http://www.beckett.com/estore/helpsys/viewarticle.aspx?ArticleId=257.If you've got vintage cards that are in good enough condition to earn high marks from a top grading company, you may want to go that route.For example, Mantle was No. 300 in 1961. Beckett and Tuff Stuff list that card at $600-$650. In the 1962 and '63, Mantle was No. 200 in the Topps sets. Those two cards also book at $600-$650 as well. However, Beckett's Graded Card Investor & Price Guide says a near-mint (8) version of that 1961 card is worth $1,000 with a mint (9) card valued at $3,250. Values for 1962 Mantle cards earning high grades are $1,500-$8,000, while the 1963 card with high grades books at $1,500-$5,000. Dear Babe: I received a gift of a premium shoe polish can endorsed by Muhammad Ali. It is called "CHAMP.'' It's a 1.8 oz tin with his picture. -- Don White, AtlantaA number of tins have been offered in recent eBay auctions, but only two sold. One went for $11.50, while the other sold for $12. Those totals include the ever-popular S&H. Other auctions with starting bids of $9.99 closed without attracting any bids. I'd say $7.50-$15 is probably a good range. Dear Babe: I have a mint copy of the March 19, 1971 Life magazine with a photo taken by Frank Sinatra from the Ali-Frazier fight on the cover photo. -- Vance Garnett, Washington, D.CSinatra photo or not, everyone who has a Life magazine stack in the garage or attic can be an online dealer. There is no lack of supply, which translates to low prices. The only one I found in completed eBay auctions sold for $14 (including shipping and handling). The top reasonable price in an eBay store was $28 with S&H. There was one store trying to sell it for $125 plus S&H. Methinks that magazine will be for sale for some time, but you never know. Dear Babe: I have a Wheaties cereal box with Cal Ripken's picture and printed signature on it along with the number 2,131. It has never been opened. -- Jenna Kessler, Buford, Ga.I'd say it's worth $5-$10. You might want to consider getting rid of the cereal. You have a couple of choices on storing Wheaties boxes. First, open it carefully from the bottom and remove the cereal. If you don't, at some point you're going to end up with bugs. Once the cereal is gone you can open all the flaps and flatten the box. Since they are hard to store, most collectors accept boxes that are flattened. Or if you just have one, leave it intact sans cereal for display purposes.(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)