Goudey Lajoie, T206 Cobb Top Memory Lane Sale

One of the rarest post-World War I baseball cards changed hands for $46,000 as Memory Lane wrapped up its latest I Own It Now catalog sale.  The 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie card, graded PSA 7 (near mint) was one of dozens of high grade and rare vintage baseball cards offered.

The Lajoie card wasn’t placed into bubble gum packages that season as the company created an artificial scarcity by withholding card #106 in hopes of increasing sales volume.  Collectors, most of them youngsters, wrote to Goudey after the packs disappeared from store shelves, wondering why they couldn’t locate #106 and the company responded by printing and shipping the Lajoie cards to those who asked.

Memory Lane’s I Own It Now offers buyers the opportunity to purchase rare items for a listed price or wait several days in hopes of making a lower offer when the straight sale portion ends.

Among the other cards sold was a T206 Piedmont Ty Cobb portrait with green background.  Graded near mint plus, it sold for $28,000.  A 1928 Sweetman Company Babe Ruth graded PSA 3 (very good) found a new home at $22,500 while a mint, graded 1948 Bowman Stan Musial rookie card sold for $13,880.

Other prices realized included:

• 1948 Leaf #4 Stan Musial Rookie PSA 8 NM-MT $9060

• 1954  Red Heart Stan Musial PSA 9 MINT $8045

• 1963 Topps #200 Mickey Mantle PSA 9 MINT $7760

• 1958 Topps #66 Bobby Hull Rookie PSA 7 NM $6250

• 1957 Topps #10 Willie Mays PSA 9 MINT $5635

• 1952 Topps #353 Bob Del Greco PSA 9 MINT $4025

• 1960 Topps #200 Willie Mays PSA 9 MINT  $3220

Memory Lane is now taking consignments for its Summer Catalog Auction and is offering free passes to the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention for those who consign high quality items.  Call (877) 606-5263 for more information.

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 35 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]