One of the T206’s Big Four sold for a big price as Mile High Card Company closed out its Summer Catalog Auction late last week. A PSA 4 (VG/EX) copy of the rare T206 Eddie Plank sold for $318,997, setting a record for the grade.
The Plank, Honus Wagner, Sherry “Magee” error card and the Joe Doyle “NY Nat’l” variation are typically the most sought-after cards in the set and most sets are considered complete without them. The Plank card was pulled from production relatively early in the promotion, for reasons that are still unknown.
Vintage cards dominated the auction, but the fourth best 1991 Topps Desert Shield baseball set on PSA’s Set Registry was the other lot to cross into six figures, selling for over $102,000.
A 1952 Bowman baseball set with each card graded PSA 8 was also among the stars of the auction, selling for $90,099.
With over 2,200 lots, the event was one of the largest in Mile High’s history and you didn’t have to look far to find the most famous baseball player of all. A 1915 Red Sox team photo featuring a young Babe Ruth made its auction debut, taking in $85,366 while a rare 1926-29 Exhibit Ruth card with his PSA 7 graded autograph on it went for $62,312.
Ruth cards in the sale included a 1921 American Caramel Co. E121 SGC 2 that set a new record price for the grade at $48,066 and a 1933 Goudey #53 GC 6.5 that hammered at $45,390.
1952 Topps Mantle cards always draw a crowd and Mile High’s PSA 4 example soared to $74,122 while a 1968 Topps # Johnny Bench rookie graded PSA 10 fetched $50,166. A 1961 Fleer Jim Brown graded PSA 10 rocketed to $54,259, more than nine times the last recorded sale.
Basketball card collectors saw a record fall when a 1969-70 Topps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rookie card graded PSA netted $35,864, the most ever paid for a NM/MT graded example.
A BGS 7 copy of the red hot 1984-85 Star Company Michael Jordan was “one of the most contested lots,” according to Mile High, netting $34,672. Another hot Jordan card is the 1986 Fleer Sticker and Mile High sold a PSA 10 copy for $47,070.
Other single cards sold included:
1978 Topps Eddie Murray PSA 10 ($50,043)
1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie SGC 8 $34,693
1971 O-Pee-Chee Nolan Ryan PSA 10 $37,658
1939 World Wide Gum Ted Williams PSA 6 $30,674
2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Stephen Curry Gold Rookie Autograph PSA 9/10 auto $25,666
1948-49 Leaf Jackie Robinson PSA 5 $21,493
1912 L1 Ty Cobb Leather $13,850
A 1962 Jell-O complete set of 200 hammered at $30,391 while a 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set with each card graded PSA 9 took in $16,423.
There was memorabilia in the auction, too, including a 1961-63 Yogi Berra Hillerich And Bradsby Louisville Slugger bat (PSA/DNA GU 9.5) that sold for $32,528.
Related Stories:
Newly Uncovered 1915 Red Sox Photo with Ruth, Vintage Greats to Headline MHCC Auction
8 Cards Top Six Figures in $8.3 Million Heritage Auction
Long-Time Collector’s T206 Set Gets Solo Auction Spotlight
REA Encore Sales Pile Up the Lots as March Event Launches
Rare Cards, Ruth Bat, 1953 Topps Art All Part of New REA Catalog
Rare and High-Grade Babe Ruth Cards Pace $9.1 Million Memory Lane Auction
1915 Red Sox Postseason Postcard with Babe Ruth Set for Auction
Wheatland’s 800-Lot Auction Offers a Little Bit of Every Era
