About Mr. Mint:

His Career Begins in the Late '70's

In the late 1970's, collecting baseball cards was still a hobby in its infancy until Alan Rosen came along. The owner of a copy machine and antique business in New Jersey, Rosen gave up these pursuits in 1982 to sell sports cards full-time. Rosen was the person who was able to bring the hobby out of the closet and onto the front pages of sports sections in newspapers across the country.

Rosen Acquires the Nickname, Mr. Mint

Rosen attended a small baseball card show in early 1978 and instantly knew that this was the business for him. As he walked the aisles, he continuously spotted cards that were sacred to him as a child growing up in Paterson, NJ. He acquired the nickname Mr. Mint because he instinctively recognized the fundamental qualities of a perfect sports card. He was exceptionally finicky about the condition of the cards he bought, long before such issues as centering or print dots were concerns to most collectors. Rosen was obsessed with finding mint condition cards. And he wasn't afraid to pay top dollar for the finest example of, say, a 1952 Topps Mantle, and then immediately turn around and sell it just as quickly for a reasonable profit. He combined an intuitive sense for the business of collecting with an unmistakable flair for self-promotion - better than anyone else in the hobby.

The Best Known Face in The Hobby

That's why today Mr. Mint is easily the most recognizable figure in the industry having appeared on the front pages of almost three dozen major daily newspapers, as well as having major feature stories written about him in Sports Illustrated and Sports Magazine. But Rosen didn't confine his promotional act to print as he talked widely about the hobby with national celebrities such as Joan Lunden on Good Morning America and with Joe Garagiola on the Today Show. Then, when the hobby became trendy in the mid-'80's, Mr. Mint was front and center, ready to help promote the new-found legitimacy of the hobby and to capitalize on it.

A Flair for Advertising Himself and the Hobby

His weekly full-page ads in the hobby's premier publication, Sports Collectors Digest, have become a much-anticipated staple of the magazine. His ads are often so outrageous and eye-catching that many collectors turn to them first! Mr. Mint is ready to "…parachute from a plane…climb a mountain…drive 5,000 miles…or do it all just to buy your collection."

And his ads, now often on the front page of the Sports Collectors Digest, have resulted in making his briefcase about as famous as he is! Mr. Mint has always let it be known that while other dealers pay by check for collections, Rosen will happily pay in cash. He is known to carry his briefcase to weekend shows across the country filled with up to $100,000 in hundred dollar bills, eager to purchase collections on a moment's notice.

The Indiana Jones of Sports Card Finds

But Rosen's greatest contribution to the hobby may be in the Finds he has uncovered over the years. These pristine, mint cards have infused the hobby with new mint material. He has made more than 30 simply unbelievable finds since 1982 which have brought everything from a warehouse of Topps cards to $250,000 worth of press pins into hobby.

Even with all of the hype surrounding Mr. Mint, it all would be just that, hype, if there wasn't substance packaged with it. Unquestionably, Alan Rosen has certainly brought plenty of substance to the hobby, and collecting is much better off for everything he has done to expand the market. It's safe to say that Mr. Mint is truly one of the hobby's great pioneers.