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 Ebay Users
Paging Mr. Mint
1/10/2006 3:44:56 PM
Hobby legend Al Rosen joins Beckett Media for a unique magazine partnership
By Tracy Hackler
 When it comes to trading card industry goliaths, they don’t come any bigger than Alan Rosen. Most likely, you know him simply as Mr. Mint.
He’s appeared on “Good Morning America” four times and on “The Today Show,” and he’s been featured in Sports Illustrated and Sport Magazine. He’s omnipresent at every card show that matters, equipped with a seemingly endless supply of cash and an unparalleled willingness to conduct the most consequential vintage card transactions the industry’s ever seen.
The Mint Condition
Potent quotables from the incomparable Mr. Mint
On the appeal of card shows...
"The thrill and the joy is so exciting even after 30 years of doing this. It’s so exciting that I still get butterflies in my stomach when I do shows, hoping that a treasure comes through. Those three days [of a show] are an emotional high. When I’m at a show, I’m in seventh heaven. Driving home from Detroit for 12 hours, that’s the emotional low."
On whether he prefers buying or selling...
"Buying. I hate selling. To have a guy call you on the phone to tell you what he just found in his grandmother’s attic or his friend’s basement... there’s no greater high than that. There’s no greater high than being at a show and having a person come up to my table with a bag or a box or a briefcase and to have them open it up. The anticipation of what’s in there is better than... well, it’s the ultimate high. The biggest disappointment in life is when they open up that bag or box and they ask me a question about something from 1989 that’s worth $2. That’s the low."
On whether he’s nabbed the hobby’s Holy Grail...
"I’ve had in my hands some of the greatest finds in hobby history but I don’t think anyone can say they’ve bought it all or seen it all. That’s what makes me answer the phone at midnight. You never know. I’m the ultimate optimist. I believe every phone call is the next big thing."
On the thrill of the hunt...
"I answer all my phone calls. When I’m on the road, I must call my answering machine every 20 minutes. The thrill of the hunt, the chase for the big one, is always there for me, especially now as I’m getting older and the stuff is harder to get. I’ve never lost the zest for that."
On whether he collects...
"I don’t collect baseball cards. I don’t collect baseball memorabilia. I don’t have one item in my collection. I liken it to the shoemaker who doesn’t keep shoes and the baker who doesn’t keep bread."
On his interactions with some of the greatest personalities of the 20th century...
"Those associations are just great remembrances for me; they’re wonderful. A big thing in my life is bringing my kids to a show and having Joe Montana tell my kids, ‘You know, your dad’s the greatest baseball card dealer in the world.’
"I’m a fan, I’m a star-watcher. Meeting athletes and famous people is a great thrill for me. My wife and I had coffee with Pamela Anderson. Where does a jerk like me come to eat dinner with Donald Trump? Just me, my wife and Donald Trump. I was a bum. I went from business to business and from job to job. I had no direction in my life until I found something I truly enjoyed doing for a living. There are not many people in life who wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work. I’m one of those people."
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In short, Rosen is a brilliant promoter, a masterful marketer and the unofficial spokesman for the entire trading card category. He’s a larger-than-life personality to be sure, and he’s synonymous with big-money deals and out-of-this-world inventory.
And beginning in 2006, Mr. Mint’s seemingly universally recognized mug, not to mention his unrivaled expertise, will grace the pages of Beckett Media publications for the first time.
“I just turned 60, and I don’t know how many more years I’m going to be able to get on a plane and travel to Oshkosh to buy a collection,” Rosen says. “I felt as though maximizing my exposure in the hobby would be helpful in the twilight of my career.”
It’s a highlight-filled career that spans 30 years, and one that has taken him throughout the country in pursuit of one hobby treasure after another. He’s had dinner with Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Donald Trump, to name four. Heck, he’s even been featured in an Archie comic book.
But he’s reached a point in his ballyhooed life where making the most of every exposure-generating opportunity has become paramount. And based on his experience, it’s targeting the experienced collector that makes the most impact.
“I’ve tried so many venues and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, and none of it does any good except going directly to collectors,” Rosen says. “To me, that’s where the meat is.
“I always viewed Beckett as a newsstand magazine. However, there’s always the aphrodisiac of someone picking up your publications on the newsstand. Every magazine you pick up, I want my picture in it. I’m not afraid to be announced.”
Indeed, he is not.
Beginning with the March issues of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Football, Rosen promises to be a page-turning presence on multiple fronts. First and foremost, Beckett readers will be firsthand witnesses to Rosen’s witty, no-holds-barred advertising campaigns that are the stuff of legend in hobby circles. But perhaps more importantly, he’ll also be a Beckett contributor with a monthly “Ask Mr. Mint” column.
Every month, Rosen will welcome questions from Beckett readers regarding vintage sports cards and memorabilia from 1869 to 1969 with the goal of helping collectors both identify and maximize the value of their collections.
For collectors interested in getting a head start on the March issues, contact Mr. Mint via e-mail (mrmint@optonline.net), regular mail (Mr. Mint, PO Box 500, Montvale, NJ, 07645) or phone (201-307-0700) with any questions related to your vintage collections up to 1969.
And if you’re worried that Mr. Mint won’t be responsive to serious inquiries, think again.
“I answer all my phone calls,” he says. “When I’m on the road, I must call my answering machine every 20 minutes. The thrill of the hunt, the chase for the big one, is always there for me, especially now as I’m getting older and the stuff is harder to get. I’ve never lost the zest for that.”
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