One of only ten known surviving copies of the 1916 Weil Baking Babe Ruth rookie card headlines the newest online auction from Clean Sweep.
The card being offered is a low grade example but It’s the first time since 2015 that a Weil Ruth has come to auction and the first time one has sold publicly since 2016. there has not been a public sale of a Weil Baking Ruth Rookie since 2015. Clean Sweep sold the same card in the late 1990s and it was graded at the National Sports Collectors Convention earlier this summer.
Weil Baking was a New Orleans based bread maker whose ad appears on the back of the cards that are today listed as D329 in the American Card Catalog. Other than the ad on the back, the cards are identical to the M101-4 Sporting News cards.
The next headliner is another freshly graded example featuring a Yankee icon: a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card rated PSA 6. There are also a pair of 1951 Bowman Mantle rookie cards in the auction.
The auction also has one of the T206 set’s “Big Four,” a PSA 1 Sherry “Magie” error card.
Other 100+-year old cards include an 1888 Goodwin ‘Round Album’ set, an E95 Honus Wagner (SGC 2.5), a T213 Type 1 Ty Cobb PSA 1, an M101-5 Sporting News Jim Thorpe PSA 2.5, a 1916 Standard Biscuit Joe Jackson PSA AA, 1917 E135 Collins McCarthy Jackson PSA AA and Babe Ruth PSA 1, a 1917 E135 Standard Biscuit Wagner PSA 3 and a pair of 1921 E121 Ruth cards.
For more mainstream collectors, there are multiple 1933 Goudey cards of Ruth and Lou Gehrig, an ultra-rare 1936 World Wide Gum Joe DiMaggio Rookie Card (PSA 2) and a 1938 Goudey DiMaggio (PSA 3).
Post-war key cards include the vital 1948 Leaf Satchel Paige (PSA 2) and Jackie Robinson (PSA 4), 1949 Bowman Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson cards in PSA 6 holders, a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays RC PSA 6 mc and high grade 1960 and 1972 Topps sets. Other vintage sets are being offered as well.
Additional key lots include an autographed 1953 Bowman Color Mantle, a Boys of Summer first edition signed with a note from Jackie Robinson and a game used and signed base from the 2011 Derek Jeter “flip game.” There are thousands of baseball autographs, including card lots and signed items from Hall of Famers.
Basketball lots include Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain rookie cards as well as vintage star cards and sets. Headliners on the football side include a 1948 Leaf football graded set and a high grade 1958 Topps football set. There are also several vintage hockey lots.
Baseball memorabilia closes out the auction with material going back to the 19th century. There are several signed photos and tickets, a run of the great 1956 Big League Statues in the original packaging including a Mantle and a 1950s Exhibit Card machine with Mantle and Mays.
The auction is now open and runs through Oct. 4 at CleanSweepAuctions.com.
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