One of two known 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics CDVs, discovered last year inside an old photo album in Maine, is heading to auction next month. The early baseball card showcases one of the first organized teams at the height of their fame.
Saco River Auctions of Maine announced the find online in September and has since had the card authenticated by both Sportscard Guaranty and a Boston conservator 
who specializes in what are known as albumen prints. It is expected to sell for more than $50,000.
The only other known copy featuring baseball's first championship club resides in the Library of Congress.
The Atlantics were one of the first organized teams, playing what was a new game. A powerhouse, they were a charter member of the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857 and played as a club until 1875.
The rare specimen was uncovered by a picker who visited a yard sale in Bailey
ville, ME. He consigned the card to the auction after hearing a similar story that played out last summer when another picker located a 19th century King Kelly card that wound up selling through Saco River for $72,100.
Here's the back story of the card that has the vintage card world buzzing ahead of its auction date of February 6:
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 1870s Harpers Weekly photo Brooklyn Atlantics Philadelphia Athletics Anson $239.00 Time Remaining: 1d 34m Buy It Now for only: $239.00 |
 BASE BALL MATCH ATHLETICS OF PHILADELPHIA ATLANTICS OF BROOKLYN 1865 BASEBALL $145.00 Time Remaining: 2d 18h 17m Buy It Now for only: $145.00 |
 Articles on Brooklyn Atlantics Players Including Al Nichols Dickey Pearce $21.60 Time Remaining: 5d 7h 33m Buy It Now for only: $21.60 |
 Baseball print 1865 Philadelphia Athletics vs Brooklyn Atlantics New York 19 $14.95 Time Remaining: 8d 3h 33m Buy It Now for only: $14.95 |
 1865 Newspaper Civil War BASEBALL Brooklyn Atlantics vs Philadelphia Athletics $44.00 Time Remaining: 13d 13h 27m Buy It Now for only: $44.00 |
 1866 PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS BASEBALL BROOKLYN ATLANTICS TEAMS RARE $49.99 Time Remaining: 17d 19h 9m Buy It Now for only: $49.99 |
 1865 BROOKLYN ATLANTICS BASEBALL CARD FIRST BASEBALL CARD A MUST SEE $250,000.00 Time Remaining: 25d 9h 56m Buy It Now for only: $250,000.00 |
 Photo BaseballAthleticsPhiladelphiaAtlanticsBrooklyn1865 $11.00 Time Remaining: 25d 17h 46m Buy It Now for only: $11.00 |
[...] auction company said the card was located by an antique picker looking through an old photo album last year. He consigned it to the small auction company, which had recently sold another rare [...]