19th Century Peck & Snyder Card Brings $75K |
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Tuesday, 10 February 2009 |
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Bidding ended Tuesday night for the much-publicized 1869 Peck & Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings card.
 What's believed to be one of the few surviving copies of one of the world’s oldest baseball card has a new owner.
Memory Lane Inc’s auction of the 1869 Peck & Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings trade card closed late Tuesday night with a final winning bid of $64,073. With the 17.5% buyer's premium, the final realized price was $75,285.78, the highest price ever attained for a Pack & Snyder card.
The winning bidder was Tri-Star Productions' owner Jeff Rosenberg, who told the Fresno Bee he plans to take the card on tour, including a stop at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland later this year.
The rare card generated international headlines after it was pulled from storage last year by the owner of a central California antique and collectibles shop who didn’t immediately realize its potential value. Bernice Gallego dug the card out of a nondescript box and initially placed the card on eBay, hoping it would sell for just a few dollars. She was contacted by interested collectors almost immediately, which led her to investigate further. She consulted with a local collector who advised her that the card deserved special attention as a previously undiscovered specimen. The find led Gallego to a spot on the Tonight Show and her story received national attention through a variety of national print, electronic and online media outlets.
Gallego and her husband Al selected Memory Lane to sell the card at auction on its website. After opening January 20, 96 bids were placed before the auction closed Tuesday night.
It’s believed less than ten of the Red Stockings cards exist. The card was issued as a promotional item by sporting goods dealer Peck & Snyder to honor the rapid rise and success of the nation’s first professional baseball team.
“Baseball has gone through many evolutions, and this card provides a time capsule of what the sport used to look like in terms of the uniforms and equipment," said PSA president Joe Orlando, whose company provided authentication. "The card is a tremendous conversation piece whether you’re a collector, an avid baseball fan or historian.”
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