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📸 Before It Became a Bowman Card
I spotted this fantastic original Jim Finks photograph for sale on eBay. It’s from the Sporting News Collection and was used for his 1950 Bowman rookie card.
Put it next to the finished card and you get a great look at how Bowman transformed its source photography into the miniature works of “art” that make those early sets so appealing.
There’s also a little mystery (at least to my amateur eyes) surrounding when the photo was taken. PSA dates it c. 1949, which would put it around the beginning of Finks’ career with the Steelers; he signed with the team in August 1949. But the handwritten notes on the back include “2nd yr Steelers” and what appears to be “1950.” Since the 1950 Bowman set wasn’t produced until sometime that summer, either date could potentially work. The photo may have been taken in 1949 and annotated later, or it could actually date to 1950. If you’ve got a better idea, please let me know!
So much of the original material behind our favorite cards has disappeared into collections, or simply disappeared altogether, that I think it’s worth documenting this stuff whenever I get the chance. And while the original photo is pretty expensive, Finks’ cards themselves can still be found for pretty reasonable prices on eBay.
Also, the biggest recorded sale (by a lot) I could find for a Finks 1950 Bowman wasn’t a high-grade example. It was an autographed copy that REA sold for $4,797 in its Fall 2025 auction.
💰 A $7,925 Berk Ross Set and the Hobby’s Invisible Market
Last week, if you were browsing Facebook hobby groups, you might have seen a collector offering a complete 1951 Berk Ross set in its original boxes (72/72) for $7,925, or best offer (I’m still not sure why people bid against themselves in listings), shipped and insured.
It’s a super-cool item, and it reminded me of previous sales of the set, like the following one from Mastro & Steinbach’s August 1997 catalog.
And this complete set that Memory Lane Inc. sold for $5,918.40 in January 2025 (which I think is the exact same one being offered on FB). You can also find a ton of graded individual cards, and two-card panels, on eBay.
But what it really got me wondering, given how many four- and five-figure items you see offered on Facebook, X, Instagram, at shows, and directly between collectors and dealers, is how much of the hobby is effectively invisible from a sales-data perspective?
I’ve kicked around estimates as high as 20–25%, but I really don’t know. When a major auction house (like Heritage last week) can sell $62 million in a single auction, it takes an awful lot of private transactions to move the needle.
What do you think that number is? And has anyone come across a detailed estimate or research attempting to quantify it? I’d love to see it.