Carroll Shelby autographed card $$$$

First of all, Welcome!
I doubt the $500.00 claim, but one never knows.
The info you have is correct, as far as I know - I have the complete set, and bonus cards. When I get back from vacation I will take a look @ the info I have @ home - I think I may have an uncut sheet of cards as well, but that may be anther product line.

Mike

 

Hello and welcome to the Site. The Value of the Card is basicly what someone is willing to Pay. I know the Card is a Collectible and is worth a pretty penny. All I can say is Keep an eye on Ebay and see what people are bidding on them.

David.

 

I've got 5 sets of these.

 

Carroll has been autographing items for years now . So that will bring the price down. If was hard to get his autograph then mybe $500.

 

I have been collecting Shelby memoribilia for about 20+ years now. I only have 2 of the Gold Snake autographed cards. They are very hard to find. I personally had Carroll autograph my complete sets of Silver snake cards. Here is a pic of my 2 Gold cards.......

 

I have a complete set of 8 of the Gold Cobra cards with signature. From what I have read, there were 9 cards set to be released, but number 9 never came out. There was a limited production of 2500 of these and each one is hand signed on the front and hand numbered on the back. Anyone know a value? Any interested buyers out there?

 

Do you still have these cards? I may have a friend who may be interested in acquiring them. Drop me a line or respond here. llee98058@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Larry

 

Hello Larry & all the others who have posted questions about these super rare cards,

In the early 1990's a company called Performance Years Quality Card Company produced "wax boxes" of Mustang cards for public consumption which were sold only through a dealer network. I was one of those dealers.
The cards produced which could be opened from these "wax boxes" (limited in print to 2000 sealed & numbered cases-20 boxes to a case) were a 110 card base set, 9 card Shelby "Silver Cobra" subset, a special SP-1 (short print) card, and the super hard to get; one of 8 different "Gold Cobra" hand signed (front) and numbered (rear) cards. I was a large dealer of these "wax boxes" and talked at length with Chris Casperson who was the President of PYQCC about the project. I knew some day these rare cards would take off in collectability beyond the initial buying frenzy they produced in 1992, so I wanted to know as much about them as possible. I found out that there was no #9 card in the "Gold Cobra" set because Carroll didn't want any possibility unauthentic cards being circulated, and the GOLD COBRA stamp on the front of those cards (#1-8) would satisfy this authentication. Hence, because the #9 card has no COBRA stamp, he initially didn't sign any of those for this rare set. Of the 2500 cards he signed and numbered over the course of a few days, Carroll made a list of how many of each card was signed (example...card #1 had signatures numbered 1 through 355) but, unfortunately this list was some how lost by Chris. (I wanted a copy of this for my records, but never got it)
I was truely obsessed with collecting these "Gold Cobra" cards, and found them at a rate of 1 card per 2 cases (40 wax boxes)
I have more info if you are still interested, but yes, I do have a complete set of these super rare cards and have sold individual cards for as much as $750 each (some cards are more rare to get/desirable than others) years before Carroll died. I can only imagine what they are really worth today.
Thanks for Shelby Forums to allow this story to get out.
Scott

 

Yes I still have them. I am not interested in selling them however. As for my reply to the previous comment, I had these signed by Carroll with a deal that I made with him personally.

 

I have a card from the subset that has a picture of Carroll standing among 3, AC Cobras with the # 97, 96, 98 on them, across the hood of the 3 cars bears his signature. There is also a Cobra Snake in the upper left corner. The snake is embossed and looks to be made of 24k Gold Leaf, The back side of the card gives information about how Carroll got started in racing. It also says in the upper left corner 2-9 and on the right corner it reads 429(in ink) of 2500

I was wondering if someone could tell me the value of this item? As I said earlier. I got this in the early 90's then it was listed in a in a sport card price guide as being valued @ $500.00 plus. ??????????????

 

Since the cards were made, I've always wondered how many possible "sets" of the 8 cards existed. Chris Casperson was President of the now defunct Performance Years Collector Card Company. He was a great source of info for me back in the early '90's. I'm not sure where Chris can be reached now, but he is a gear head and my money bets he is involved with collector automobiles in some way. I have not done any research about him in many years, so maybe now is a good time?
I would like to open a sub-forum with the idea of collecting the card number (xxxx of 2500) for each card (#1-8) that he signed. This would tell us exactly how many of each card was signed, and also how many total sets could have been assembled. Card number 7 seems to be a card signed in the most volume. I will check my cards and see what my highest card #7 autograph number is and post that info later...seems like I recall a number like 2237 (which would mean there could not be more than 263 sets) This has always been a mystery to me, and I would like to solve it for sure if possible...one thing is sure though...Having a complete set is extremely rare and a true Carroll Shelby collector should see the value in something like this.
My belief is there are less than 100 sets out there...simply because there are countless people who were satisfied with finding just one of the cards let alone trying to make a set of them. I know of one customer who opened over 60 wax boxes (Series 1 was supposed to have 1 Gold Cobra card per 2 cases of 20 wax boxes) before finding a Gold Cobra card. I also know of a customer who purchased one wax box out of a fresh case of Series 2 (there was always one Gold Cobra card per case of 20 wax boxes in Series 2) and found the card after opening just a few packs.

I would recommend if you do have one or more, you get them insured, and kept in a place where sunlight cannot damage the blue ball point pen signatures. Since Carroll cannot sign anymore, and the rarity of finding them is near impossible, I would value the individual cards between $500 to $1,000 each. I base this on rare trading card autographs from the late Dale Earnhardt. As to what a set could be worth, I firmly believe the right collector would give at least $5,000 for a mint set in a nice display.

I'm sure by now I might have forgot as many facts as I retained, however, I did keep good notes over the years and should be able to find an answer to additional questions you may have. Feel free to write anytime!

Scott

 

Scott,

Not certain where you got your valuation (since you cannot be a neutral third party in this case), but slabbed and graded they go for around $50-$100 each when I have seen them on Ebay


Bill S.

 

I agree with Bill. It's worth what someone will pay for it. In other words, you need someone to agree with you on your valuation. You would be better suited to base your estimate of value off known sales as opposed to your feelings. Otherwise, it looks like you are just trying to manipulate the prices.

Shelby's autograph really has very little intrinsic value, because he signed so many items. If you can't determine the total number of cards of made, it will be harder to establish the value. For all we know you could have six pallets of these cards in your garage.

 

Great info from Montana, but you guys are tough with some of his observations.
Looks to be about $200 a card on this ebay set.
Maybe higher now...?
It may be worth a lot more to someone who has the bucks and wants them.
$1mill for a Hemi cuda? Now that's nuts to me, but...........

 

There are some of us who have been collecting stuff like this for 30+ years, unlike a few of you newbies who jump in with "wow look at what I have and this is what they are valued at" kind of tough to be neutral when you have quick financial gain on your mind.Of course you grasp at straws on outdated auctions such as you have posted above (funny how your very first post here, and you just happen to have a screen capture from that auction ). Yet they now only go for what I quoted above, so one dated auction vs many after that shows what the current prices are, not the one semi manipulated auction from 2012.




Bill S.

 

To further clarify my earlier post, I was in no way connected to the production of these cards, and now what I own is part of my personal collection. I used to be a distributer for Performance Years Quality Card Company…nothing more. I was a trading card dealer during the late 80’s until about 2004, so I have a good knowledge of how the trading card business works, and how values are (and were) determined. I have also been a collector of “cool stuff” for over 40 years…so I’m no NEWBE…This is why I gave the Dale Earnhardt example. I’ve just never been exposed to a situation where the VALUE of a famous persons’ autograph went DOWN after they pass on. In as late as 1995 I have a non-sportscard publication giving these cards a value of $300-$500. At that time any serious Mustang and/or Shelby collector knew this was a low number value. And, as a matter of FACT…I did sell a card #7 to a guy from Canada who wanted to complete a full set he started for the sum of $700 in 2002. This sale was done in the same way one would buy an automobile…I want X, customer will pay Z so we both compromise and it sells for Y. What happens on E-BAY is really irrelevant to me. I’m sure there are a few guys out there who have no idea what they are selling, and sell too low, or for some reason, the correct people who know the real value don’t see the listing or don’t bid for whatever reason. Does this low sale price show the true value for what they bought? I think not! In fact, if I was to look for a great deal of something, E-BAY is one of the first places I will check because of the above reasons. If the item is not represented correctly, no picture, or a slew of other reasons (maybe it’s listed in the wrong category?) I have found items way cheaper than they are truly worth…I’m sure I’m not alone in finding this to be true!
I’ve also seen people trying to sell Silver Cobra cards with Carrolls name on them as authentic…for way lower prices…Buyer Beware! So, does a guy selling a Shelby GT500 in a private sale for cheap, drive down the value of other GT500’s…I would have to say no. A good example is the Batmobile…even 10 years ago would anyone think it was worth what it sold for? How about even today? But it was of that value to the two guys who kept raising the bid at the Barrett-Jackson Auction.
So, now on to more facts about these rare cards…
There were a total of 2,500 Gold Cobra cards made, and 8 different pictured cards made up this 2,500 piece count. If the math were precise, this would make for a total of around 312 cards of each of the 8 cards made. However, I know there were some cards made in a smaller quantity, and some in a larger quantity.
If I remember the story correctly, Mr. Shelby was in a hotel for the running of the Indy 500 where he stayed up most of the night signing & hand numbering these special cards. I believe he did this before driving the pace car before the 1991 race, but I’m not 100% positive on that fact. I meet with Mr. Shelby during the 1994 International Mustang meet in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. After a long day of signing all kinds of items to raise money for his Shelby Heart Foundation, (I believe he asked for a $50 donation per item) I was fortunate to get a chance to shake the hand of a true American success story and get to have a few interesting conversations with him about his racing career, special cars he built, and even the trading cards which bare his signature. What a special time that was! One of the questions I asked was “did you have a number breakdown of how many of each card you signed?” he replied that he definitely did make a list because there was no exact number requested for each card made…just that there would only be a TOTAL of 2,500 cards. Mr. Shelby couldn’t recall the exact numbers of each, but did assure me that he passed that list on to Chris Casperson with the cards when the project was completed. In a conversation later that year with Chris, I found out that the list was lost, and if ever found, I would get a copy…that never happened. I wanted to know from a collectors’ standpoint which of the 8 cards were the most rare, but have no physical proof as of yet. This brings me to my final point for this post…Yes; Carroll Shelby did sign thousands of items. And yes, his autograph is readily available for purchase on many different mediums. But, there is a true numbers trail for these cards and a history as to how they could be acquired originally. Unlike just a simple signature of a hero we all hold so highly in value.

Scott

 

First Bill, I came here seeking knowledge, not sarcastic answers with smilies. Really? Smilies? I won the cards last year at a drawing and they were handed to me in a plastic sandwich bag. There was no value quoted to me then. I just came across them in one of my drawers and my inquiries were for what they were, not their worth, but that wouldn't hurt either. I'm not in need of quick financial gain as I'm 60 and have been retired since I was 46. So no, money is not the object, just the story behind the cards. No I plan on framing them and keeping them with my other collectible items I've accrued for almost 50yrs some only valuable to me. It would just be nice to know the whole story behind them so I can tell people when asked. For someone who has been collecting "stuff like this" for 30yrs, you don't seem to have much knowledge of these cards so you opinions are moot. I have searched for the story behind them and yes, came across an eBay sale from 2012 which I "semi-manipulated" to protect the seller. Most of the searches will come up as sales more than history. If you feel the need to see the complete sale as it's currently listed on the web, I'll PM you the link. Yes it is my first post here, since I just came upon this site it in a search. This particular post comes up. I also PM'd some of the earlier posters with questions. Some were very helpful with their responses thought I'd share it with some of the people here who just might be interested. I'm quite surprised though at your replies to "newbies" since we were all one once and probably asked stupid questions. More suprised to find that kind of mannerisms here at such an elite site. I'm sure Carroll would've been proud.