A remarkable collection of vintage, graded baseball card sets dating back to the 19th century has been acquired by Memory Lane Inc. An advanced east coast collector has decided to part with more than 20,000 PSA graded cards and his sets are now being offered for sale. Staggering in both volume and quality, it’s believed to be the largest 
such grouping ever to come to market at one time, presenting a veritable cardboard history of professional baseball.
Virtually all of the hobby’s hallmark sets, from 1887 and ‘88 Allen & Ginter to the post-War Topps and Bowman issues are represented, many among the finest sets on PSA’s Set Registry. Included within those sets are some of collecting’s truly iconic cards, such as the T206 Honus Wagner (PSA 2), T206 Eddie Plank (PSA 5), 1909 American Caramel Joe Jackson rookie (PSA 4), 1915 Cracker Jack Jackson (PSA 8), 1916 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie (PSA 6), 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie (PSA 9) and 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (PSA 8).
For now, all are being offered by Memory Lane as complete sets, providing a seldom seen opportunity for collectors. Many are ‘master sets’ featuring hard to find variations. Several include a Babe Ruth card. Regardless of the measuring stick, their combined value runs deep into seven figures.
“We are honored that this gentleman entrusted us to sell what is one of the hobby’s greatest collections,” said Memory Lane’s J.P. Cohen. “We’ve enjoyed helping him acquire many of these same cards over the years and it’s a thrill to see them together in one place.”
The list of those now available for sale includes the legendary 524-card T206 (set rating 5.74); both Allen & Ginter sets (4.83 and 6.58), 1888 Goodwin’s Champions (5.41), 1909 American Caramel, 1909 Dockman & Sons Gum, 1909 Philadelphia Caramel, 1909 Ramly, 1910 American Caramel Pirated (90.9% complete), 1910 Philadelphia Caramel (93.3% complete), 1910 Standard Caramel, 1911 Mecca Double Folders, 1911 T205, 1911 Turkey Red, 1912 Hassan Triple Folders, T207 (each near complete), 1913 Fatima Team, 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack (7.50 rating), 1921 American Caramel E121 Series of 80 (69.8% complete), 1922 American Caramel E-210 and 121, 1927 York Caramels basic type 1 and type 2 (90% complete), an incredible 1932 U.S. Caramel that is 100% complete with an 8.0 rating, 1933 Delong, 1933 Goudey, 1933 Goudey Sport Kings (7.89 rating), 1934 Goudey, 1934-36 Diamond Stars (71.7% complete), 1935 Goudey (80.5% complete), 1941 Play Ball, 1948 Bowman (8.0 rating), 1948-49 Leaf, complete runs of all major Topps and Bowman issues, nearly all in near mint or better overall grade including the 1952 Topps, 1953 Topps and 1951 Bowman issues, 1959 Fleer Ted Williams (8.72 rating) and various insert and secondary sets from the late 1960s and early 70’s, all in high grade.
Acquiring the collection caps a busy month for Memory Lane. The company sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of high grade star cards during this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, then wrapped up a million dollar catalog auction late last week. Now, the company is accepting offers for pieces of a collection that is likely to turn the hobby on its ear.
“As always, we’ll pour everything we have into making sure that the sets in this collection reach the price level they deserve while finding the right match for each one,” Cohen said. “It’s truly a dream collection but vintage cards are our bread and butter. We’re excited about marketing these to our clients and we’re sure we’ll find some new buyers once word spreads about how special this collection is.”
See images from the collection in the slide show below as well as a complete list of sets.
Partial List of Available Sets (basic and master constitute one master set where indicated)
1887 Allen & Ginter (N28)
1888 Allen & Ginter (N29)
1888 Goodwin Champions (N162)
1909 American Caramel (E90-1)
1909 Dockman & Sons Gum (E92)
1909 Philadelphia Caramel (E95)
1909 Ramly Cigarteees (T204)
1909 T206 White Border-Basic
1910 American Caramel Pirated (E90-2)
1910 E98 Set of 30
1910 Philadelphia Caramel (E96)
1910 Standard Caramel (E93)
1911 Mecca Double Folder (T201)
1911 T205 Gold Border-Basic
1911 T205 Gold Border-Master
1911 T3 turkey Red Cabinets-Basic
1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders
1912 T207 Brown Background-basic
1912 T207 Brown Background-Master
1913 Fatima Team Cards (T200)
1914 Cracker Jack
1915 Cracker Jack
1916 Sporting News (M101-4)
1921 American Caramel Series of 80 (E121)
1922 American Caramel (E120)
1922 American Caramel (E121)
1927 York Caramels Type 1 (E210)-Basic
1927 York Caramels Type 2 (E210)
1932 US Caramel
1933 Delong
1933 Goudey
1933 Goudey Sport Kings
1934 Goudey
1934-36 Diamond Stars-Basic
1934-36 Diamond Stars-Master
1935 Goudey-Basic
1938 Goudey
1941 Play Ball
1948 Bowman
1948 R346 blue Tint Hand Cut
1948-49 Leaf-Basic
1948-49 Leaf-Master
1949 Bowman-Basic
1949 Bowman-Master
1950 Bowman
1951 Bowman
1951 Topps Blue Back
1951 Topps Red Back-Basic
1951 Topps Red Back-Basic
1952 Bowman
1952 Topps-Basic
1952 Topps-Master
1953 Bowman Black & White-Basic
1953 Bowman Color
1953 Topps
1954 Bowman-Basic
1954 Bowman-Master
1954 Topps
1955 Bowman-Basic
1955 Bowman-Master
1955 Topps
1956 Topps-Basic
1956 Topps-Master
1957 Topps-Basic
1957 Topps-Master
1958 Topps-Basic
1958 Topps-Basic
1959 Fleer Ted Williams
1959 Topps-Basic
1959 Topps-Master
1960 Topps
1961 Topps-Basic
1961 Topps-Master
1962 Topps-Basic
1962 Topps-Master
1963 Fleer
1963 Topps-Basic
1963 Topps-Master
1964 Topps-Basic
1964 Topps-Master
1965 Topps-Basic
1965 Topps-Master
1966 Topps-Basic
1966 Topps-Master
1967 Topps-Basic
1967 Topps-Master
1968 Topps-Basic
1968 Topps-Master
1968 Topps Game
1969 Topps-Basic
1969 Topps-Master
1969 Topps Supers
1970 Topps-Basic
1970 Topps Super
1971 Topps
1971 Topps Greatest Moments
1971 Topps Supers
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