Dear Babe: I have been trying to get info about this golf club I have. It is a Bulls Eye putter from the 1950s. The blade has the signature of J. Edgar Hoover etched into it. -- Ervin Helman, Hemet, Calif.
While it's good to get the putter out of the closest, it would have been much better for you if Hoover's strange behavior had remained hidden away after his death.
"MacGregor would mark clubs for certain celebrities such as Fred McMurray, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope which were for their personal use only," said Leila Dunbar, a golf memorabilia expert (leiladunbaraol.com). "Therefore, Acushnet could have stamped a putter for J Edgar Hoover using his autograph for the template. If it's authentic, I would place an auction estimate of $100-$200. Given the revelations of the past few years, Hoover is not considered to be a collectible personality. His autograph sells in the $100-$200 range."
Dear Babe: I have an uncut sheet of 50 cards of Mickey Mantle, "7 Mickey Mantle Collection." Can you tell me something about this sheet? -- Sandra Mullen, Wareham, Mass.
You have a sheet of 1997 Mickey Mantle Score Board Shoe Box Collection cards. It's a 75-card set that lists for $60 in the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest and $50 in Beckett's Almanac of Baseball Cards. Five of the cards (Nos. 1, 6, 7, 70, and 74) are die-cut with gold foil. Those book at $3-$4 each. Cards 51-69 are reprints of this regular issue cards from 1951 through 1969. Those list for $1-$3. The Standard Catalog says that two-card Shoe Box packs might contain an actual low-grade Mantle card from those years.
Basically the first 50 cards outside of the three die-cuts (1,6,7) have little value. One has to assume that your sheet has the first 50 cards in the set. It's doubtful you could trim out the three low-numbered die-cut cards.
And just to make matters more interesting there are seven inserts cards. Those who managed to get all seven could send them in before July 7, (7/7), 1998 and receive a $7,000 Mantle prepaid phone card. To ensure there weren't too many winners, the No. 7 card in the set was short-printed. Inserts list for $6-$8. The No. 5 card books at $10-$25, while the No. 7 card lists for $40-$50.
I doubt there is going to be a lot of interest in the uncut sheet. They are hard to display and expensive to ship. An auction with an opening bid of $9.99 plus $6.95 for S&H closed with no takers.
Dear Babe: I have three 1994 Sports Superstar figures by Kenner. They are Deion Sanders, Joe Montana, and Barry Sanders action figures with cards in original packages. -- Robert McAllister, Redding, Calif.
Like many other items produced during the collectibles boom, Starting Lineup Figures have seen values decrease some over the years thanks to the Internet, which increased the supply. More supply, less demand and values go down.
Beckett's annual football card price guide has a section for SLU figures in the back. It lists Montana at $40, Barry Sanders at $30 and Deion at $15. I suspect they sell for much less than that in online auctions with Montana being the most sought-after.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak@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.)
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