Who hasn’t dreamed of wandering through an old abandoned house or estate sale and uncovering a stack of old baseball cards? It’s happened plenty of times, after all, but luck definitely has to be on your side. While not everyone finds a couple million dollars worth of Ty Cobb cards, it would be nice to find something besides 1990 Fleer, wouldn’t it? For one Baltimore … [Read more...]
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Editor’s Blog: At Quarterback for the 49ers, Number 16…Arnie Galiffa?
One of the best things about collecting sports memorabilia is that you don’t have to be wealthy to own things that have great stories behind them. Sure, it’s nice to be able to afford a high-grade Mickey Mantle rookie card or one of Ty Cobb’s old bats but even decades-old relics can sometimes be acquired for a pretty modest investment. If you know sports history, … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Hondo Has Us Pining for Cards from “The Missing Years”
Last weekend's six-figure sale of the PSA 10 1969-70 Topps John Havlicek rookie card was quite a jaw dropper. The price, of course, was incredible for a relatively modern basketball trading card of someone not named Jordan but kind of funny since it's not really a "rookie" card. No, Hondo had spent seven years with the Boston Celtics before Topps and … [Read more...]
Notes: NPR Segment on MLB Authentication; Topps Talk on Squawk Box; Topps & Fallon?
With the World Series opening up Tuesday night, MLB authenticators will get busy tagging anything and everything that's game-used. Even the champagne bottles from the winning team's locker room. The magnitude of the games means there will be heightened interest--and value--in what's used. What happens to most of it is up to the teams. Authenticators generally have a … [Read more...]
Notes: Chantilly Show; 1914 Cracker Jack Jackson Auction; “Mrs. Jay” Passes; Fultz Debut Jersey
The CSA Chantilly show is back this weekend with dealers from 18 different states occupying 300 tables at the Dulles Expo Center. The show takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 12-14. It’s the 21st year the show has been held at that Virginia location, just outside Washington, D.C. Over 75 autograph guests are slated to attend including Alex Ovechkin and … [Read more...]
Notes: Shop Door Smash Caught on Video
It's a gut punch for a small business owner when someone does something to make their job even harder than it already is. After getting a call at home about an active alarm at his shop in wee hours of Sunday, Mike Fruitman of Mike's Stadium Sportscards in Aurora, CO, spent his morning looking at security camera video and contacting police. Someone had smashed the glass on … [Read more...]
Notes: Foreign Hoops Buyers; CU’s Hall Fired; Most Watched Auctions; Giveaway News
Basketball cards may not rank at the top of the North American sports card pecking order but they’ve got one thing going for them that others don’t. While MLB and the NFL can say they have avid followers in other countries, there’s not much doubt that hoops’ appeal is much broader. The game is hugely popular in some of the world’s biggest nations and continues to … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Size of the Sports Memorabilia Market
I get emails and calls from reporters, authors and other information seekers on a fairly regular basis. Probably the most popular question is “do you know how big the sports memorabilia industry/hobby is with regard to annual sales?” Hey, it beats the most popular question from circa 2008 which was “how come baseball cards aren’t worth anything anymore?” I’d … [Read more...]
Notes: Value of SGC’s NSCC Display; T206 Exhibit a Big Hit; Mayweather Signs; Packers Sets
As we showed you last month, SGC offered a museum-like display of high-end baseball cards, jerseys and other memorabilia at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. It was to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. So how much was it all worth? Over $37 million. The display included perhaps the most valuable collectible contract in sports - the … [Read more...]
News & Notes: Tigers Talk Fan Mail; Heritage Expands in Chicago; eBay & ESPN
The mail comes from kids. From adults. From fans. From collectors. And it keeps coming. Spring training. Regular season. Off-season. Fan mail is nothing new, of course. Fans have always sent players notes of admiration, praise, encouragement--- or something not so nice. In an age of social media, though, most of … [Read more...]
