A large collection of ungraded tobacco cards that have been in a Georgia family for generations will hit the auction block later this year.
The stunning stash of ungraded century-old find includes over 2,000 T206s including dozens of Hall of Famers, 245 T210 Old Mill Tobacco cards including a Joe Jackson and over 180 T205s.
The Jackson card that is part of the 1910 Old Mill Tobacco series is one of the hobby’s most valuable pre-War cards. Issued during Jackson’s time with the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association, the card is exceptionally rare, with fewer than 20 graded examples in existence.
Heritage sold a T210 Jackson graded SGC 3.5 for $492,000 in May of last year and a PSA 3.5 for $600,000 in 2019. The 3.5 had been consigned by a North Carolina man who had inherited it and only recently learned of its value.
The Old Mill Jackson may be the star of the newly uncovered collection but the quantity of T206 Hall of Famers is a sight to behold, too.
Among the highlights in the newly discovered collection:
- (18) T206 Ty Cobb
- (14) T206 Cy Young
- (12) T206 Christy Mathewson
- (10) T206 Walter Johnson
- (5) T205 Ty Cobb
The condition of the cards varies, but generally ranges from Poor to Very Good with some better, according to Derek Grady of Heritage Auctions, who helped the family with the consignment.
While they aren’t likely to receive high technical grades, finding such a large quantity of cards previously unknown to the hobby at large is pretty rare these days.
The better cards will be sent in for grading and offered by Heritage later this year.
