A fresh-to-the-hobby collection of 432 T206 baseball cards will hit the auction block for the first time Monday when Huggins and Scott launches its second auction of 2017. Well preserved and in the same family perhaps since they were first pulled from cigarette packages more than a century ago, the collection is an early candidate for the year’s top hobby finds.
“The consignor is an older man who was originally from the Washington, D.C. area. He walked into our shop in Silver Spring, Maryland unannounced one day last month carrying them in a briefcase where they’d been placed into plastic sheets,” Huggins and Scott’s Josh Wulkan told us. “He told us a friend of his had sold some vintage O-Pee-Chee cards through our last auction and they’d done very well. That man recommended us to this gentleman, whose father had died years ago and left these T206s to him. He felt the time was right to sell them and he just showed up one day with the briefcase.”
Huggins and Scott submitted a large number of the cards for grading with the majority earning grades of VG-EX or better. Thirteen of the cards were given Near Mint 7 ratings by PSA and will be among the finest known examples to come to auction. The majority carry Sweet Caporal or Piedmont advertising on the back. The lot includes dozens of Hall of Famers including a Ty Cobb portrait with green background that’s expected to fetch $15,000 or more. Some of the lesser grade cards will be sold ungraded in lots.
The collection also included several T3 Turkey Reds. Some T204 Ramlys and some early 20th century non-sports cards.
The auction catalog has plenty of other pre-War cards. An M116 Sporting Life Ty Cobb graded SGC 86 (NM+) will be up for grabs along with a collection of original Addie Joss cards, a 1934-36 Diamond Stars Master set, a T205 near set and a rare find of three original glass plate negatives used to create N173 Old Judge cards, two of which were uncatalogued images.
The post-war collection has a large number of singles, lots, complete and near sets from 1948 to present. Highlights include: 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle RC (PSA 5); 1951 Bowman Willie Mays RC (PSA 4); 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (PSA 1 (mk); 1953 Topps Mantle (PSA 5.5); a 1954 Topps complete set, a completely graded 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set and a 1968 OPC Nolan Ryan rookie card (SGC 86).
Modern era collectors will find multiple certified autographed card complete sets, short prints, 1 of 1s, signed relic cards, dual and triple signed cards and much more.
Headlining the memorabilia section are an 1877-1883 Peck & Snyder Silver Trophy Ball in the original box; a 1952 New York Yankees Worlds Champions pocket watch, a 1919 World Series program and a collection of 1950s contact proof photos used for cards of Hall of Famers.
Huggins and Scott will offer the second installment of the Black & White Hall of Fame Plaque postcard collection, featuring Jesse Burkett, Thomas Connolly, Connie Mack; Honus Wagner and more; a scarce single-signed Lou Gehrig baseball; a “Won in the Ninth” book signed by Christy Mathewson; a twice-signed 1945 Babe Ruth check (PSA/DNA Authentic); a Walter Johnson three-page handwritten letter; a collection of signed Sports Illustrated “newsstand” issues with Mantle, Koufax, Ali, Chamberlain and more.
The auction will feature a large assortment of game-used bats including Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Machado and others; plus batting helmets, a number of jerseys, jackets, hats, shoes, equipment and other items.
Basketball material will include a 1957-58 Topps Complete Set with a PSA 6 Bill Russell rookie card; a 1961-62 Fleer Complete Set with Oscar Robertson and Jerry West RCs graded PSA 7; a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan RC (PSA 9) and an 86-87 Fleer Jordan RC signed at his fantasy camp.
The football category features an array of vintage programs, tickets and ephemera from the turn of the century through the Super Bowls with 1920s programs and signed cards. Highlights include complete and near sets from 1948-1986; low pop, high-grade singles from 1950 Bowman and a large collection of signed mini-helmets.
If Non-Sports cards, comics, coins, Americana or Political collecting is your cup of tea, the auction will have a 2009 UD Prominent Cuts Signed Abraham Lincoln 1 of 1 insert card; a 2007 Historical Cuts Dual-Signed Ulysses S. Grant & Robert E. Lee 1 of 1 insert card along with graded comics, vintage coins, currency and other items.
There are hundreds of web-only lots in the auction, starting with lot #1662. More information including a downloadable catalog is available at HugginsandScott.com.
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