UPDATE: On Sunday August 18th, 2019 the latest Robert Edward Auction ("REA") was closing. It was around 8pm in the evening, and my cell phone was at 18% charge. I had my eyes on several cards in the auction including a full 1959 Bazooka Willie Mays complete box, a 1909 T206 Ty Cobb w/ American Beauty back, and a perfect PSA 10 1956 Topps Warren Giles. Few years ago, when seeing my updated wantlist, a hobby friend joked “What?? You still haven't picked up the Roger Connor n167?” Well, there was one of those cards in the auction as well and I was outbid a couple days earlier. The auction was going to close within a couple of hours, it was a beautiful evening and my wife proposed a family walk. Luckily, I grabbed my phone, and monitored the minutes, and seconds tick off. Half way into the stroll, I decided to place one more bid. I thought of Jim, another hobby friend, who once owned a complete N167 set when I hit the “Submit” button. I think he helped me out because the bid stuck. I must have hit the “Refresh” button fifty times in the next hour or so as the auction came to a close.
Here’s the auction description: “Rare and extremely desirable example of Hall of Famer Roger Connor from the 1886 N167 Old Judge series. As detailed in the May 2013 article on N167 Old Judges in Old Cardboard magazine, while this set has always been identified as being issued early in 1886, it is very possible (in fact, we think a virtual certainty) that the N167 set actually dates from 1885. Few nineteenth-century cards compare in rarity or significance to N167 Old Judges. These cards represent the very first series of baseball cards ever issued by Old Judge and feature photogravure portraits based on photographs by Joseph Wood. In addition to their very distinctive look, they are also the only Old Judge series to feature advertising on the reverse. The thin stock on which N167s are printed makes them especially susceptible to tears and other damage. The card is graded PR 1 by SGC (submitted by REA) due to heavy creasing across the card, even rounding to the corners and minor edge wear along the top. The important image of Connor, however, is bold and crisp. The reverse, one of the most ornately designed of the era, is free of paper loss and displays only the previously mentioned creasing and light soiling. As the first card of Connor issued by Old Judge, this card would also, by definition, qualify as his rookie card for most collectors. In addition to their enormous significance as the very first tobacco baseball card set, N167 Old Judges have always been recognized as extremely rare. The numbers speak for themselves: To date, only fifty-three examples from the series have ever been graded by PSA or SGC, including nine Connor examples, and we believe this number may actually be slightly inflated due to cards being crossed over from one company to another. Whatever the true number, N167s are rare! This is an outstanding example of the legendary Roger Connor from one of the most condition-sensitive, important, and rarest issues in all of card collecting.”
It might not be in the best shape, but it’s still a killer card. As of today, I’ve only found two other sales of this card:
Spring 2005: 1886 N167 Old Judge Roger Connor PSA NM 7 - Sold For: $43,500
Spring 2006: 1886 N167 Old Judge Roger Connor PSA VG-EX 4 – Sold For: $31,900
Well Elliot….I finally picked up the Connor n167!!!
After the auction, I reached out to REA, and learned the card was originally offered RAW via eBay back in May, 2019. There was a thread about the auction posted on Net54. I tried finding the auction via the eBay site but had no luck since the 90-day limit was exceeded. I called eBay directly, and to my surprise, their Customer Service department was incredibly helpful in helping me track down the original seller of the card. They wouldn't provide me with their ID, but they pointed me in the direction of another item they had listed. Using the eBay contact tool, I reached out with a private message on 8/22/19:
After a few days I had given up hope they were going to contact me, but I was surprised Sunday evening (8/26) with the following correspondence:
Now, that's a story!!! So happy to hear back from the original buyer. Thanks G!
