When news about the PRISTINE Joe Montana rookie card that sold for $65,000+ dollars hit the Internet, I immediately began doing my research. It took a little longer than expected but what I found came as somewhat of a shock. The auction house that sold the card, Modern Marvels Auctions, is owned by Dave Amerman.
If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you might know him as the stereotypical Jersey Boy, “12 Pack”, from the hit reality dating show, ‘I Love New York’. He has also appeared on ‘I Love Money’ and currently stars in ‘Daisy of Love’, which can be seen on VH1.
TV persona aside, Dave is a very serious business man who is looking to take a bite out of eBay and has targeted “high-end” cards and memorabilia for his auction house. His company website states that he has created a market for Superfractors, Cut Signatures, Rookie Autographs, and other rare and one of a kind cards.
I recently had the opportunity to do a quick interview with Dave about collecting, Modern Marvels Auctions, his reality TV fame, and much more. If you’d like to check out his auction site, which recently made a sale of a lifetime out of the gate, CLICK HERE.
Dave with a Babe Ruth hair cut signature which goes on sale in September
W.H. – You have become a staple of reality TV and pop culture as “12-Pack”, what made you want to get into the business of trading cards?
D.A. – I was into the business of trading cards since 1991, a solid 15 years before I bacame a reality TV icon. My collection has grown to upwards of $1million in memorabilia.
W.H. – What separates Modern Marvels Auctions from eBay and other auction houses?
D.A. – Modern Marvels Auctions offers sellers a place to list their cards with no fees as eBay does. We offer a much safer environment with high end deals and personally make sure that all items we sell are exactly as they are advertised. We only deal with extremely high end memorabilia of $1000 and up.
W.H. - Do you collect trading cards today or is this more of a business venture?
D.A. – I personally collect cards, auto’s, game used items, but personally am a game used rookie Jersey fanatic.
W.H. – What is the biggest misconception about Dave Amerman?
D.A. – The biggest misconception about me is the fact that I have several degrees in English, Business and film. A financial license, series 6, series 63 and life insurance licenses. I was a straight A student in high school and college and was going on to study Law before I got into television. I was actually accepted into medical school, University of Medicine and Dentistry NJ (UMDNJ) right out of high school but elected not to pursue medicine.
W.H. – Will Modern Marvels Auctions have a presence at the National Sports Collectors Convention in late-July?
D.A. – I will be attending the National in Late July personally but will not have a booth due to the fact that I did not know if I was going to be able to attend. I will be walking around with some UDA Lebron Jersey’s for sale or Trade and probably a bunch of Mantle Autos and I will probably showcase my Randy Moss Game Used Rookie Jersey for sale or trade! Hope to see you there.
CLICK HERE to visit Modern Marvels Auctions
Thanks for that interview Mario. I would just like to say that my wife and I watch Daisy of Love and have come to realize what a classy, intelligent, and funny individual Dave is. I know that sounds odd coming from a surreality show, but Dave has really shined through as a genuine person. I am glad to see he is a success and wish him the best. We meet new collectors everyday!
I will call Shenanigans on him being accepted to medical school out of high school. Just saying.
awesome interview
I knew I liked this guy for a reason!
He’s got a strong TV persona that rubs many people the wrong way but behind all that he’s a collector just like you and I.
If this was a telephone interview, maybe something got lost during transcription but I’ve got the feeling, the beautiful feeling, that this was an email interview.
When answering a question regarding the biggest misconception, listing the things that are true isn’t the way to go. You do not say, “The biggest misconception about me is that I have a huge man-sword,” as that infers you have a tiny man-sword.
At the very least, it’s certainly amusing to read someone say,”The biggest misconception about me is that I have all these degrees and I’m brilliant. (paraphrased, of course)”
I think what he meant to say was, “The biggest misconception about me is that I can only wear velcro shoes. In reality, I have upwards of 17 pairs of shoes that only use laces as fasteners.”
Not that there is anything wrong with email interviews, kris. Just sayin’. Good interview Mario.
Originally it was intended to be a phone interview, per Dave’s request. I just did not know how to approach it from a technical standpoint.
“I was into the business of trading cards since 1991, a solid 15 years before I bacame a reality TV icon”
He’s a reality tv icon?
I appreciate everyone’s comments. Here’s my take on the reality tv icon response.
Reality tv has been around for what? Ten+ years? I would say it got big during the first Survivor and the winner, Richard Hatch, was probably the first reality tv icon. What has he done since then besides going to jail?
Amarosa from The Apprentice was big for a while and appeared on a few shows but has since vanished. As much as I loathe her, I’d say the biggest reality tv icon at the moment is Tiffany “New York” Pollard. Aside from her, 12-pack has starred in three incredibly successful shows for VH1. I’d say he has a right to call himself a Reality TV icon.
The reason I interviewed him was for his potential to be a big player in our hobby. You’d be surprised how courteous he was, as opposed to a former hobby icon who was once a fixture on the Home Shopping Network days.
I think his auction site should be the focus of things here. That could be huge.
Either way, that hair-do gives me the douche-bumps.
That’s a very reserved comment, Gellman!
A little skeptical about the $65k Montana grade in that the website doesn’t show any close up of the “pristine” card. Maybe a little too close of a relationship to Beckett? Isn’t this how PSA got its start with a T206 Wagner?
That is cool he collects, unfortunately he looks like a douche bag. I am not familiar with his career to comment on that.
Andrew, I adore email interviews. They give the subject of the interview complete and total control over how he words himself and what he actually says to the audience/readership. He can answer the questions whenever he sees fit, submitting them after spell-checking and copy-editing. So when someone soils the bed and writes up incoherent drivel defending their intelligence — well, I don’t know.
I’m in Canuckdia, so I haven’t had the pleasure of viewing any of these wonderful VH1 programs, by the way.
Anyone notice the card up for auction? Dr Suess. Isn’t that “Man on the Street” Shane’s card.
He sold it about three months ago on eBay.
Really Mario whats this guy all about? The hobby that we all love? Or just promoting his web site? To make a buck? Either way the guy comes off like a real ass-bag?
Have a Great Weekend…………..
He seems like the slimebag rich kid type. Super spoiled, and gets everything he wants. Whats with the partial mohawk ?
The Mojo Hand
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/197821640_7c241d2d67.jpg
Now we are talking. I wonder if she collects?
I don’t understand the comments about his appearance.
Would you prefer a Chris Olds-type?
I’ll defend him saying that he was accepted to med school out of hs. There are a few med schools that have like an 8 year undergrad through medical program that takes people out of high school. NEOUCOM in Ohio is one example. The place he says he was accepted to appears to be the same kind of deal. Not saying it’s a good school, or he’s not a douche (he seems like one on tv, but then Steve McNair seemed like a family man so who knows or cares). Interesting stuff though about his business, and it does seem he’s truly interested in collecting, as he mentions a specific collecting interest.
I will let you all know that modern marvels is not solely owned by him… Also he’s not a rich kid at all.