Two T206 Ty Cobb cards were among the pace-setters as Memory Lane wrapped up its Summer Rarities Auction early Sunday morning.
One of eight PSA 8 graded Cobb Green Portrait cards netted $288,000 in the auction, while the hobby’s highest graded Uzit advertising back (PSA 6) ended at $99,600 including the buyer’s premium.
Other pre-War sales included a PSA 8 T206 Cy Young portrait ($61,776), a near set of 493 graded T206 cards, all graded ($70,800), a PSA 8.5 Addie Joss Portrait ($11,296) and an SGC 1.5 1917 Collins-McCarthy Babe Ruth ($52,800).
Several post-War rookie cards also were among the auction’s big players. A 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card graded 8 by PSA sold for $132,000 while a PSA 9 1957 Topps Johnny Unitas rookie reached $82,800 and a PSA 8.5 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie hit $60,000.
Overall, Mantle cards remained hot with a PSA 2.5 1952 Topps reaching $23,660, a 1954 Bowman PSA 8.5 hitting $18,840 and even a PSA 9 1967 Topps selling for $10,028.
In all, the auction generated proceeds of over $2.9 million.
Buyers also chased numerous high-grade 1950s cards including a 1959 Topps Cleveland Browns team card (PSA 10) which sold for $11,943, a 1959 Topps Lee Walls PSA 10 ($8,156) and a PSA 9 1953 Bowman Color Fred Hutchinson ($7,580).
Modern cards weren’t forgotten. A three-box case of 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite basketball, potentially containing a high-end LeBron James rookie card, paced the category at $75,600.
Among the other memorabilia sold: a 1915 George Grantham Bain Type 1 Babe Ruth photo ($57,600), a Mel Ott single-signed baseball ($26,400), a Ruth-Gehrig dual-signed barnstorming photo ($37,200) and postcard ($7,075); a 1951 Yankees team signed baseball ($10,628); a rare George “Gipper” Gipp signed photo ($12,113) and a 1969 Mets World Series ring presented to the late and legendary New York sportswriter Tommy Holmes ($11,395).
Items from the family of the late Don Baylor were part of the auction including his 1986 Red Sox championship ring ($4,393), his 1987 Twins World Series trophy ($4,251) and 1983 Silver Slugger Award ($1,715).
Complete results are at MemoryLaneInc.com.
The company is now taking consignments for its next auction, slated for later this year.