The night of this auction, I called in to bid. As the night progressed and the auction came to a close, I became the successful high bidder on 2 of the cards and opted out of continuing to bid on the other 28. I was amazed that what started out at just over $15,000 for the collection ended up going upwards of $50,000.

That experience taught me that 19th century material is so scarce that those few collectors involved will pay what they have to in order to aquire material. This was a much different philosophy than what I was used to.

In April of 1999, I sold my 20th century collection, sought resources to educate myself on 19th century material and began collecting. My main avenue for gathering material was on the Web. Timeless hours of research were spent uncovering the auctions, dealers, collectors and various resources surrounding this marketplace. I hired a programmer and developed an online system that I could use in order to efficiently track the material as it became available.

In late July of this year, after discussions with fellow collectors, I was encouraged to form an organization called 19thCenturyONLY to help create a greater appreciation for the niche of 19th century sports collectibles. In October, I made my personal online portal to 19th century sports collectibles available to the public.

Members of 19thCenturyONLY include all known collectors, dealers, publications and auction houses that deal with the 19thCenturyONLY marketplace. This total is currently in excess of 600 individuals and entities. Material from the 19th century is currently collected by this very limited group. It is collected aggressively by only a few.

I made this portal available so interest will spread to new 19th century collectors and bring knowledge and strength to the market. The problem currently, is that with so few collectors, there may be only one or two people interested in a specific item which is reflected in market value.

Once a collectors needs are met, the market becomes thin and the price drops as a result. Because knowledge is not widespread about this material, it is often grossly undervalued in the market. For those that realize this, they are in on the ground floor of an exciting new hobby and investment possibility.

With 20th Century cards, the price level has not stabilized, with one auction consistently outdoing the next. In relation to the collectible formula, high grade cards are scarce, considered desirable and the demand is widespread and continually growing.

Therefore the price levels have been rising quickly. The landmark sale of an early 20th Century T206 Wagner went for $1.26M, a mid-20th century 1954 Hank Aaron recently selling for upwards of $100K and a late 20th century card of Alex Rodriguez from 1994 sold for $20K.

What about the 19th century? Logically you would think that good examples of early cards would realize the highest prices. Recent sales show an 1887 N173 Old Judge cabinet of King Kelly selling for $13,486, a set of 6 Allen & Ginter N29 baseball players selling for $5,222 and an 1895 Mayo Cut Plug card of Anson selling for $2,922.

It is my belief that current prices of 19th century material are at a bargain level. At minimum, I believe these items should relatively soon be 4x to 5x their current levels and in just a few years, 8x to 10x plus. This can be determined by taking a closer look at what I call the "collectible formula": scarcity + desirability + demand = the price level. Scarcity- the items couldn't be any scarcer, in most cases there are but few or sometimes only one example that exists; desirability- I believe these items are desirable pieces of history, illustrative of the early beginnings of baseball, photography, lithography and tobacco premiums. Demand, however, has not fully been fully developed yet. This weak link in the formula has resulted from the lack of widespread information about these items. There are few individuals throughout the country that seek this material or even know about it.

As far as condition for 19th Century items, these items are so scarce that condition is less of a factor. A 1909 T206 Doyle in PSA2 Good condition, (few known examples) recently sold in a Mastronet auction for $178,500 An equivalent 19th century example would be the 1895 Mayo's Cut Plug N300 Delehanty. It should bring a comparable realized price since I believe the Delehanty exceeds the Doyle in terms of desirability in the eyes of experienced 19th Century collectors.

The demand for 19th century items, however, is still not strong. Most collectors have little understanding of 19th century material. Our new group will serve as a facilitator to create more widespread knowledge and interest in 19thCenturyONLY material. The greater the interest, the more interesting the market becomes. The site has been developed to be a gateway to 19thCenturyONLY resources on the Web. Now, when members log on to the internet they can start at http://www.19thCenturyONLY.org. It's like a 19th century sports collectibles customized Yahoo!

On the site, members can click on the left navbar and go to AUCTIONS. For example, if ebay is selected, it will appear on the right side of the 19thCenturyONLY site. While on ebay a member can go to LIVE DISCUSSION and talk with other 19thCenturyONLY members about what's going on or you can post a message to appear in the "daily digest" just by clicking on the left navbar.

Members can visit other AUCTIONS (contact them to consign material), visit DEALERS sites, COLLECTORS sites, the GALLERY of images, GRADING services, PUBLICATIONS, and so on. They're already pre-programmed under the PORTAL categories. You can do all of this while staying within the 19thCenturyONLY Web site. It's a gateway to the entire spectrum of 19th century sports collectibles.

Additionally, members can post items FOR SALE, or post items on your WANT LIST, keep up with the EVENT CALENDAR and participate in POLLS.