Prior to his military service, Warren Spahn had little reason to believe he’d retire as the winningest left-handed pitcher in baseball history. In his rookie season with the Boston Braves in 1942, Spahn was only used in four games (two starts), yielding a discouraging 25 hits and 11 walks in 15 2/3 innings pitched. When duty called, Spahn hung up his spikes and spent three … [Read more...]
T206 Icons, Vintage Sets, Singles, Wax, Jordan Cards Headline Big Mile High Auction
An example of one of sports collecting’s most famous face is coming on the auction block next week. Mile High Card Company will offer a T206 Honus Wagner at the top of its catalog, one that includes over 1,600 lots in all. It’s not the only big ticket item on the docket, though. MHCC will also offer the highest graded card from the famed “Lucky 7 Find,” a … [Read more...]
Partial Unopened Box of 1948 Bowman from “Beer Box Find” Returning to Auction
The Bowman baseball beer box find is back. Three years after its discovery in the home of a Tennessee family, a nearly full 1948 Bowman baseball box is coming back on the market. The box, containing 19 of the 24 wax packs, sold for $521,180 through Mile High Card Company in 2017--an average of $27,430 per pack and $5,486 per card. It was the headliner in a … [Read more...]
Diving into the 1948 Bowman Gum Sets
In 1948, Bowman threw its hat in the gum card business. The company was quite ambitious, not only producing its first baseball cards, but also complete sets for two emerging sports, football, and basketball. That had to raise some eyebrows as few football and basketball issues were produced to that time. But the sports were certainly growing and Bowman no doubt wanted to … [Read more...]
Lelands Opens Monthly Auction Platform
Lelands is opening 2018 with a new series of auctions designed primarily for old school collectors working with a modest budgeet. “The Monthly” will feature a variety of sports cards and memorabilia, most with opening bids of $100 or less. The company describes the new platform as “a continuing series of hobby friendly auctions that takes you back to the good old … [Read more...]
New Wave of Rare, Vintage Unopened Packs Coming to Auction
The improbable “Beer Box Find” that brought a treasure trove of rare vintage unopened boxes to the market several weeks ago has a sequel in the works. Mile High Card Company will offer several more vintage unopened wax boxes in its September auction--including one full AND one nearly full 1965 Topps Football wax box--all originating with the same Tennessee family that had … [Read more...]
Were 1948 Bowman Packs a Reasonable Deal?
If the new owner of the hobby’s most expensive unopened packs would opt to open just one, he could probably sell tickets to the viewing party. While the 1948 Bowman set isn’t the most attractive piece of hobby history, the story of the find and the resulting auction is the stuff of legend. Opening a 69-year-old time capsule you never knew existed is great … [Read more...]
1948 Bowman Baseball Packs Sell for $521,180
A forgotten cache of unopened boxes and packs of decades-old baseball, football and basketball cards turned turned into a high six-figure windfall for a Tennessee-based consignor early Friday morning as Mile High Card Company's auction came to a close. As we first reported last month, the group was headlined by a one-of-a-kind partial box of 19 packs of 1948 … [Read more...]
Notes: Vintage Box Auction Update; Tarasenko Signs; Judge’s Blast Gets a Card
Factor in the buyer’s premium that the buyer will pay and Bidding for the 17 packs and display box of 1948 Bowman baseball has pushed past the $200,000 threshold as the Mile High Card Company auction enters its final days. The one-of-a-kind partial box is the headliner in Mile High’s current auction but the consignor who called the company this spring with the improbable … [Read more...]
More ’48 Bowman Pack Pictures…and the Box That Held a “Promo Pack”
The newly discovered 1948 Bowman unopened partial wax box has generated what might be the biggest buzz of the year so far. No boxes—no packs, even—were known to exist until Mile High Card Company received the partial box on consignment from someone in the south. The box that will be in their upcoming auction held 19 of the original 24 packs. The ’48 Bowman set was … [Read more...]