Sanke Cards

[Gary B]

Hi,

I have asked this question before but it was awhile ago so I thought I would ask again....does anyone out there collect the Sanke/NPG/Liersch cards?

Gary B

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

I have asked this question before but it was awhile ago so I thought I would ask again....does anyone out there collect the Sanke/NPG/Liersch cards?

Gary B

Is thwere a major price difference in these?
Thanks
Chris

[Gary B]

Hi Chris,

There are alot more numbered cards in the Sanke series than Liersch, NPG or Rothenbergs series. On the whole the Rothenbergs are the rarest of the cards. Only 6 cards (all dealing with the Richthofen brothers) were produced in the series and they are exceedingly rare. It took me almost 10 years to find the complete series. The Liersch and NPG cards are harder than the Sankes to find but alot easier than the Rothenbergs. There are probably 50-60 Liersch cards in the series and 60-70 cards in the NPG card series (complete lists are really not available, I have several cards that are not listed in any known references). Sankes are the most prevalent and most popular to collect. There are about 275 pilot Sanke cards in the series (100s more of WWI planes, which are not as popular as the pilot series).

Now, finally getting to your question....prices are related to popularity of the series, card, condition and rarity. An average card in NPG Liersch or Sanke is about $30. Rothenberg cards run higher and one can expect to pay from $90 - $300 per card. There does not seem to be a real price difference between a rare Sanke or Liersch or NPG. Collectors of these cards seem to be willing to pay what the price is to get the card in their collection. There are plenty of Sanke/NPG/Liersch cards that bring in the $100-$150 range with a few bringing $200 - $300.

Hope this answer helps answers your question. (Oh, there are also a few other cards made by some realtively unknown manufacturers)

Gary B

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi Gary,

Could I pickyou brain for a sec...

I have the following to consider
1) Mint Sanke 600
2) Mint NPG 5576 Skagerrak battle scene with Admiral Scheer in the bottom left corner.
3) Mnt NPG5626 of A lohmann founder of the uboot Cargo transport company
4) Mint NPG5482 Kommandant Graf zu Dohna (commander of Aux cruiser "Mowe"
4) Mint NPG5483 Kommandant Graf zu Dohna (commander of Aux cruiser "Mowe"
This time with PLM.
5) Mint Liersch 7336 Kapitäanleutnant Weddigen (With Eks and Navy dagger)

Then a small pile of Liersch and NPG photos ofhigh ranking Generals, the Kaiser etc.

Could you give a very rough ball park figure of what I can pay and still be sure to be able to move at a later stage?

Thanks
Chris

[Gary B]

Hi Chris,

From my years of collecting Sanke cards I can say that the most popular, and hence the ones that bring the most in terms of price, are the pilot cards. For whatever reason the Navy and General/Kaiser cards don't appear to be collected as much. There are people who collect the other cards but I just don't see many of them for sale. If I were to ball park I would guess about $20 - $35 for each of the Navy and General/Kaiser cards. Weddigan might bring a little more due to the fact that he is the "von Richthofen" Uboat commander equivalent.

If you were to do a quick scan of ebay you would be hard pressed to see any navy or General cards for sale, although there are ususally some pilot cards for sale. Additionally, I know of no listing or publication of the "other" (by that I mean non pilot) Sanke/NPG/Liersch cards, thus making it harder for one to collect those cards (since you would not know what you need to complete the series - I find this similar to the Hoffmann cards with no listing, although I understand that Bender might be doing a book on these)

One other note, card pricing can be a little strange. I have participated in autions for cards where the price of a card was pushed up to $175. The next auction the same card barely brings $45.

I hope that this has been of some help. If you do purchase the lot I would be interested in the mint Hoeppner card. Good luck omn the purchase.

Gary B