Four autographed baseball cards of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig from the mind-blowing “Uncle Jimmy Collection” sold for $961,700 late Sunday night as Wheatland Auctions wrapped up its latest catalog sale.
Signed in fountain pen by the Yankee legends, the cards were among the premier items in the massive collection of cards, autographs, photos and memorabilia consigned by the family of the late Jimmy Micioini, a lifelong New Jersey collector.
An avid baseball fan, Micioni died in March at age 97. The memorabilia he’d been collecting at his New Jersey home since the Depression era was apparently known only to his family. He kept meticulous records of autograph requests sent through the mail to current and former players.
The top selling item was the 1933 Goudey Ruth #149 graded PSA 5 with a 6 autograph grade. The best quality example of only three PSA-rated autographed examples known to exist, it netted $324,500 including Wheatland’s 18 percent buyer’s premium.
A PSA 3.5 (auto grade 6) of Ruth’s #144 card sold for $218,300, the same price attained by a 1934 Goudey Gehrig graded 2.5 with a 7 autograph grade. A 1933 Goudey Gehrig carrying a 4.5/8 grade went for $200,600.
Earlier this summer, the signed Ruth #153 sold for $153,400.
There were over 170 signed 1933 and ’34 Goudey cards in the auction, which opened in late July.
A 1933 Goudey Jimmy Foxx went for $25,960, two different signed Rogers Hornsby cards netted over $46,000 combined, a Hack Wilson with a 9 autograph grade reached $19,470 while a signed Goudey of backup catcher/World War II era spy Moe Berg fetched $18,290.
There were other signed vintage cards in the auction as well including a 1939 Ted Williams (PSA 3/8), one of 11 graded by PSA. It sold for $27,730.
Micioni’s collection also included thousands of high-grade baseball cards, some of which have been graded through Wheatland and are being sold across a series of auctions. One of two PSA 10 1973 Topps Johnny Bench cards sold Sunday for $14,160 while one of five PSA 10 1974 Topps Reggie Jackson cards went for $8,850. A high-grade set of 1971 Topps baseball rocketed to $14,160.
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