Pre-War Cards Top Vintage Sports Card Auction

The holidays are coming and stock portfolios continue to fall but collectors are still willing to invest in the future of old baseball cards.

Goodwin & Company closed out its 2008 auction schedule late last week with its Masterpieces & Uncommon Commons XIX sale. Leading the way was a T206 Walter Johnson "hands at chest" version graded PSA 9. The minty specimen from the last century sold for $47,853.

Total take for the 900+ lot auction, including the 17.5% company buyer's premium, was $822,833.

Pre-World War II Hall of Famers were again the focus of much of the bidding. Aside from a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax rookie graded SGC 96 (mint), which sold for $27,010, five of the top seven realized prices were for lots that were nearly a century old. The list included:

• T206 Rube Marquard PSA 9 $21,580
• 1909 E90-1 American Caramel Joe Jackson rookie card PSA 3 $20,089
• 1911 T3 Turkey Red Ty Cobb with checklist back PSA 5 $18,262
• 1915 Cracker Jack Honus Wagner PSA 8 $15,630
• 1910 Tip Top Honus Wagner SGC 30 $14,394
• 134 different T206 cards with 31 Hall of Famers and 69 graded $10,812

A 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card graded PSA 7, brought $11,166 while a Roger Maris autographed baseball sold for $5,142.