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Ruth, Aaron Rookies Set Pace in REA Auction

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A  1916 M101-4 Babe Ruth rookie card in near mint condition sold for $600,000 late Sunday night, topping all items as Robert Edward Auctions closed out its Fall Auction.  The PSA 7 blank back version is one of the finest known examples in 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card PSA 7 near mintthe hobby and represented the latest six-figure sale for a card that’s shown explosive growth in recent years.   The consignor had purchased the card for $81,000 several years earlier.  In 2015, the company sold a PSA 6 for $204,000.

A 1916 M101-5 Ruth graded PSA 4 is on its way to a new owner as well, selling for $132,000 including the 20% buyer’s premium added to all winning bids in the auction.

In all, 11 lots eclipsed the six-figure mark when the cyber hammer fell on the multi-million dollar catalog sale, which closed as World Series Game 5 was winding down.  A total of 29,558 bids were placed in the auction, and proceeds for the 2,781 items sold tallied just over $10 million. REA says there were 932 different buyers who won at least one lot.

A mint condition 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card sold for $204,000—the ninth sale of a PSA 9 to go for over $100,000 at public auction in the last two years. 

Mickey Mantle cards and memorabilia also remain among the hobby’s most coveted items from investors and collectors.  A PSA 7 (near mint) 1952 Topps Mantle netted $168,000 while a PSA 8 example of Mantle’s 1951 Bowman rookie card hit $132,000.  A game-worn, autographed 1958 Yankees road jersey donned by Mantle soared to $120,000.

Mickey Mantle road jersey

A recently discovered complete 1958 Topps football wax box with the original empty case we told you about earlier this month turned out to be the fourth highest selling item in the auction when it closed at $156,000.

A new-to-the-hobby collection of fifty Turkey Reds, each graded by SGC, combined to realize more than $290,000, led by a Near Mint example of Christy Mathewson that soared to $57,000.

Among other items sold were:Topps 1958 football box

  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149 PSA 8 $120,000
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 PSA 8  $114,000
  • 1931 Babe Ruth signed game model bat $114,000
  • 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie card (SGC 96) $108,000
  • 1917 E135 Collins-McCarthy #147 Babe Ruth $90,000
  • 1962-63 era Jim Brown game-used Cleveland Browns jersey $78,000
  • 1967 Super Bowl I Full Ticket (Gold) PSA NM-MT 8 – Highest Graded $54,000
This was the largest Fall Auction since REA started hosting the event in 2013 as a companion to its annual spring auction. That 2013 event was a relatively small $3.1 million affair, but collector demand has driven the auction to heights usually associated with the spring auction. This is the first time ever that REA has conducted two $10 million auctions in the same year.
 
According to REA president Brian Dwyer, the results of this weekend’s auction affirmed the company’s belief that the two auctions are equal.  “We have always felt that spring and fall were interchangeable in terms of quality and production value. We promote both auctions the same way to the same bidders and we don’t hold items in favor of one auction or the other.”
 
Dwyer believes that the eight-figure fall auction will turn heads with collectors. “Sometimes seeing is believing, and collectors can’t help but take notice of the impressive results from this weekend.”
 
According to Dwyer, hundreds of new bidders were registered for this event as a result of the company’s outreach inside and outside of the hobby, including an appearance earlier this month on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A greater presence at card shows and appraisal events around the country has also contributed to a rise in consignments and new interest in buying and selling with REA.
 
“We are thrilled to be able to build interest in, and be positive ambassadors for, the hobby and collecting,” said Dwyer.
 
Representatives from REA will next be available at the Valley Forge Show in Valley Forge, PA in early December accepting items for the spring auction to be held in April. 
 
To view prices realized from the Fall Auction, request a free copy of the catalog, or discuss consigning to a future auction, visit www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com. 
 

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 40 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected].