Bidding on the PSA 10 1979-80 Wayne Gretzy O-Pee-Chee rookie card offered by Goldin Auctions has already hit $200,000, making it the highest priced hockey card ever sold at public auction. It’s likely to go much higher. The auction won’t end until August 4.
The card being offered is the only OPC Gretzky rookie card ever to be rated ’10’ by PSA.
A 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Babe Ruth rated PSA 8 sold for $55,622 Thursday night, setting a new record for the grade. Two 1933 Goudey Ruths from the main set also established new plateaus. Each was graded SGC 88 and both sold for just over $35,000 each.
More big ticket cards are on the eBay auction block right now, including a 1954 Topps Hank Aaron graded PSA 8.5 that is pushing in the six-figure vicinity, a PSA 6 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and the second PSA 9 Pete Rose rookie card to come down the pike in the last couple of weeks. The latter is already over $120,000 with a few days left to bid.
The revised and expanded ninth edition of “America’s Great Boxing Cards”, an encyclopedia and checklist of boxing cards, has been released by long-time collector Adam Warshaw and his publisher.
“The latest edition picks up where the other editions stopped,” he told us. “It contains all of the set descriptions and checklists that made the prior editions so useful, plus a ton of new research.”
Warshaw says he’s added sets of vintage boxing cards to the book, dramatically expanded the sections on postcards, premiums and ephemera and expanded coverage to modern cards as well.
“The new edition is 320 pages and is the most comprehensive I have issued to date.”
The book is available here.
A pro sports agent believes there’s more money to be made in game-worn memorabilia.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, “agent Neil Schwartz is spreading the word about the potential benefits of selling game-worn jerseys, helmets, cleats, and other equipment, both at the NFL and college level.”
Of course, the NFL and some of its teams have gotten involved in distributing jerseys and game-used memorabilia through various means, including charity auctions and private deals with sellers but Schwartz apparently wants something bigger and more organized. While college players can’t sell their game-used items for cash, Schwartz told Florio he’d like to see items from high-profile athletes given to them once their eligibility is up so they can benefit.
You can read the entire article here.
Thanks to some overzealous autograph seekers last summer, the New York Giants have changed their policy on training camp autographs. In short, if you’re not 12 and under, good luck with current players.
The team will make some members of the team’s active roster available after practice to youngsters who arrive early and sign up for a wristband that will let them into a designated area. To their credit, the Giants are bringing in a group of former players each day of camp to sign for all fans.
If you’re in the area, the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond is having a day-long “History of Football Cards” program on Saturday, July 16. The details are here.