They're out there. Surrounded by "finds" of 1990 Donruss and Fleer, but they're out there. Decades old, high-grade baseball cards owned by folks who will eventually get around to doing something with them. The latest discovery isn't big on quantity, but the material itself is off the charts. All Sports Auctions recently acquired a consignment of … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1978-79 Topps Basketball
The NBA was having a rough time back in the late 1970's. The league had merged with the ABA but the limited excitement created by the move didn't last long. Rumors of franchise shifts were common and sometimes they happened. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson hadn't yet arrived and Michael Jordan was still in high school. Trading card sets were kept to a … [Read more...]
Jewels in the Junk – 1990s NBA Sleepers
We’ve written, at some length, about the formative and transformative periods in the history of basketball cards. We all know the drill by now: star-studded 1961-62 Fleer gives way to, well, nothing for the better part of a decade. Topps redefines the hobby, first with its legendary 1969-70 set, then as the only game in town until early 1980s. Topps makes for the exit, again, … [Read more...]
Rare Vintage Cards, Pack Collection, Game Used Items Part of Hunt Auctions Sale
Pieces of multiple long-time private collections—many coming to auction for the first time—are headlining Hunt Auctions’ newly launched April Premier Live Auction. Leading off the sale is the third installment of the “Texan Collection” of historic sports cards. Curated over a 40-year period, the collection is one of the finest assembled of its type with the initial two … [Read more...]
Memory Lane Sets Company Record as Spring Auction Nets Nearly $7 Million
Memory Lane’s 20th anniversary year is off to a strong start. The Southern California-based company unleashed the largest auction in its history last month, with 440-page catalog featuring over 1,700 lots. When the dust settled in the wee hours of Sunday morning, a new single auction record had been established with nearly $7.6 million in sales. The figure beat the … [Read more...]
Heritage to Offer Near Complete Box of 1964 Topps Penny Packs
In an era where even the “lower end” sports card packs can’t be touched for much less than $3 (when you can find them), it’s seems almost unfathomable that you could once buy a pack for a penny—and get a stick of gum to boot. The penny packs were—and are—decidedly less prevalent than their multi-card wax-wrapped brothers. Finding a display box of 1-cent Topps packs … [Read more...]
1986-87 Fleer Basketball and “Rightful” Rookie Cards
In terms of the sheer depth and quality of their rookie cards, three basketball card sets forever stand alone. Why “forever”? Because, these days, it's unlikely that all major card manufacturers will simply bail on basketball for several years. The gorgeous 1961-62 Fleer set, for instance, is hilariously stacked, featuring rookie cards of inner-most circle legends Wilt … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: There’s Low-Grade — and Then There’s Low-Grade
As a pre-war collector, I've bought my share of ugly cards. I'm not enamored with them, really. And, like most, I'd like to have cards in the best condition possible. But unless you've got unlimited resources, if you're a collector of early cards, sacrificing a little on condition sort of goes with the territory. After all, these cards are, in some cases, 100 years old or … [Read more...]
1914 Fatima Card Find in Maryland Includes Hall of Famers
The hobby’s modest population of a deadball era trading card set just grew by 38. New Jersey-based Just Collect just purchased the previously unknown group of 1914 Fatima tobacco cards (T222) from a Maryland family that had owned them since the year of issue. The group includes several Hall of Famers including Walter Johnson, Frank Chance, Grover Cleveland … [Read more...]
Gehrig Rookie, Fresh-to-the-Hobby ’52 Mantle Headline LOTG Sale
Just days after Major League Baseball announced plans for an annual Lou Gehrig Day at ballparks across the country, Love of the Game Auctions is bringing the original Ironman’s rookie card to market. LOTG launched its Spring 2021 Premier catalog sale on Wednesday night with Gehrig’s 1925 Exhibit card as the headliner. One of the hobby’s rarest pre-War rookie cards, the … [Read more...]