Some were rare. Some carried high grades. Most were old, but some were not. The common denominator was interest–and there was apparently a lot of it.
Heritage Auctions wrapped up its Summer Trading Card Auction early Sunday morning, the third installment of a first-ever three night close at Heritage thanks to the volume of items in the sale. Over 2,000 lots were sold in a 72-hour period.
In all, eight cards tallied over $100,000 including the 20% buyer’s premium and 17 netted $50,000 or more. In all, the auction realized $8,337,306.
The top-selling item was a 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle graded PSA 9 which set a new price record at $396,000. One of ten 9s on record (two better), the card smashed the old auction mark of $87,768 set in 2009. The last 8.5 sold at auction went for $37,619 in 2011.
The auction marked the launch of an ongoing sale of a massive T206 master set collection pieced together over many years by long-time collector David Hall. The entire collection encompasses over 5,000 cards and will be sold over the next several months. Part 1, consisting of 188 lots, resulted in 
sales of over $1.2 million.
Hall’s T206 Eddie Plank, carrying a Sweet Caporal 150/30 back and graded PSA 3, will head to another advanced collection after rocketing to $252,000. His Hindu back Ty Cobb, one of only six known, netted $126,000 while a pair of rare-backed Walter Johnson cards brought in over $180,000. Five years ago, the Cobb had sold for just over $42,000.
In all, the Hall Collection is expected to bring in more than $8 million when all of the cards are sold.
The auction also included one of Babe Ruth’s rarest issues, the 1933 Butter Cream. Fewer than ten are known to exist with none higher than the PSA 5 example that sold for $192,000, making it the third highest-priced card in the sale.
One of only two known copies of the W600 Sporting Life Honus Wagner Type 1 cabinet cards also generated a buzz. Graded PSA 4, the card of a young Wagner in his Sunday best, posing for photographer Carl Horner, sold for $180,000.
Other pre-War highlights included a 1933 Goudey #144 Ruth (PSA 8) which sold for $66,666; a 1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb PSA 7 ($54,000) and a 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie PSA 4.5 ($51,600).
Two post-War cards topped the six-figure mark: a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card graded PSA 8 reached $111,000 while a PSA 7 copy of Mantle’s popular 1952 Topps issue hammered at $105,000.
One of three 1960 Topps Willie Mays cards graded PSA 10 went for an eye-popping $75,000 while a PSA 9 1953 Bowman Mantle settled at $60,000, continuing the upward climb for one of the Yankee icon’s most attractive issues and establishing a new record.
The auction included several high-end modern issues, topped by a 2011 Bowman Sterling Mike Trout Red Refractor 1/1 that netted $72,000.
Heritage will conduct its next Platinum Night Auction August 17 and 18.
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