The only PSA 10 1967 Topps Rod Carew rookie card ever graded by PSA sold for a whopping $95,294 at auction early Thursday morning. Mile High Card Company sold the card, which generated quite a profit for its owner.
The Carew, part of the tough high number series in ’67, was last sold 2 1/2 years ago for just over $40,000 when it was liquidated along with other cards in the collection of former big leaguer Dmitri Young.
Other vintage cards sold in the auction included:
- 1957 Topps Paul Hornung rookie card, PSA 9, $23,962
- 1957 Topps John Unitas rookie card, SGC 96, $21,575
- 1957 Topps Bill Mazeroski rookie card, PSA 10 (1/1) $21,762
- 1962 Topps Mike Ditka rookie card, PSA 9, $17,987
A 1911 panoramic photo from the Addie Joss family benefit game sold for $25,988.
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Five years ago, if you wanted a PSA 8 rated Nolan Ryan rookie card, you could usually find one for under $1,000 without a lot of effort. Not a pittance, by any stretch, but something a dedicated collector of vintage cards could presumably handle with some careful saving and shopping.
High grade rookie cards of Hall of Famers have been a pretty safe place to put your money for a while and cards representing the most popular players in any sport have been at the forefront of the growth. Many may look at Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig or Michael Jordan as players who have enduring notoriety beyond the sports world but Ryan—even more than 20 years after his last pitch—is not far behind. That’s one reason why the supply of high-grade Ryan cards can’t keep up with demand.
The big increase, though, has come at the elite level. PSA 9 Ryan cards, like the one up for bid on eBay tonight, have shown explosive growth just in the last two to three years as this story points out with some interesting numbers.
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1980, 81 Topps FB vending cases and a ’78 cello FB case sold for a combined $43,000+ late Thursday night at Collect Auctions.
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Topps is going to give collectors an opportunity to be a part of 21 different case breaks throughout 2015. Randomly seeded in packs of Series 1 will be redemption cards for case break slots.
Case breaks will be streamed via You Tube, so collectors can watch live while cards for their slot are unveiled.
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The Philly Show, presented by Hunt Auctions, returns for its three-day run this weekend. The Valley Forge Casino Resort is again hosting.
Over 90 dealers, authentication companies and other hobby businesses will be set up.
The autograph guest list has a definite Philadelphia flavor. Former Phillies Darren Daulton, Mickey Morandini, Bobby Wine and Johnny Briggs join ex-Eagles Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter and Bill Bergey along with Flyers’ great Dave Schultz. There are others as well.
Hours are 3-8 p.m. on Friday, 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday.
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Who are the highest valued names in sports memorabilia? Learn more here.