PSA is adding photo-matching examination to its professional model bat authentication service. Collectors, dealers and auction houses who submit a bat for authentication and grading can now ask PSA to research available photos and video, looking for potential matches to that item. There’s an additional cost for the service but conclusively photo-matched items have … [Read more...]
T206 Near Set Draws $128,000, 500 HR Bat Collection Nets $300,000 at MHCC Auction
From 19th century baseball cards to a Mike Trout game-used bat, there was plenty of variety in Mile High Card Company’s latest catalog auction. When the dust settled, hundreds of pieces of sports history had found new homes. Bidding stretched well into the early morning hours of Friday. Among the most popular items sold when the hammer finally fell: … [Read more...]
Red Sox Bat Collector Co-Hosting Program at Library of Congress
Red Sox collector Jeff Boujoukos is taking his bats to the Library of Congress. Boujoukos, who set out years ago to try and collect a game-used bat from every Red Sox player from 1960-present, and Red Sox curator Sarah Coffin will host a program on Sox history at the Library on Saturday, March 23. The bat collection will help tell the story of the team from … [Read more...]
Collector Matches Ty Cobb Bat To Iconic 1913 Photograph
Justin Cornett owns an oil brokerage firm in Houston. This month, the sports memorabilia collector drilled down into his photo collection and hit the jackpot, matching a game-used bat of Ty Cobb he won at an auction last year to an iconic image of the Georgia Peach and Shoeless Joe Jackson. “I started shaking a bit,” Cornett, 43, said when he made the … [Read more...]
Notes: 30 Years for MN Shop; Gehrig Contract; BoSox Bats Featured; Hugs for Homers
It’s one of the longest continuously operating sports card stores in the country. The Ballpark, a fixture in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since 1988, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Owner Calvin Havercamp moved his shop once, but that was 17 years ago and he remains entrenched in Apple Valley, MN. The Ballpark is popular with old school collectors … [Read more...]
Review: Legendary Lumber Book Will Take You Deep
The fourth volume in a set of award-winning books on sports collecting is now on the market. Legendary Lumber: The Top 100 Player Bats in Baseball History is authored by PSA President Joe Orlando with usual collaborators Tom and Ellen Zappala. It joins previous releases The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs, The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball’s Prized … [Read more...]
PSA/DNA Offers Game-Used Bat Giveaway, Other NSCC Promotions
The hobby’s biggest show opens in a month in Rosemont, IL and PSA/DNA will be among the companies offering some giveaways during the five-day event at the Stephens Convention Center. One of them could put a valuable piece of wood in your collection. The company will hold drawings for game-used, signed bats from Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas and Kris Bryant. “The … [Read more...]
Notes: NSCC Live Auction; Instagram for GU Bats; New OYO Products
There will be an auction of high-end memorabilia during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, IL this summer. Goldin Auctions says it’ll conduct what will be the only live auction during the show on Thursday, July 27 with just 100 premium lots valued at $10,000 or more on the block. The company’s conventional summer catalog auction will also get … [Read more...]
Babe Ruth Bat Top Seller in $1.2 Million Auction
Even on the ice, Babe Ruth memorabilia is a hot ticket item. A game-used bat by Ruth, from the 1919-1922, has been in the Hull family for years. First, it was owned by hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, and then by his son, fellow Hall of Famer Brett Hull. For hockey fans, that was a different kind of stick. But someone paid the cash to win it. Wednesday, it was the top … [Read more...]
Carlos Gomez Shows off Bat Collection
The career of Carlos Gomez has seen plenty of twists and turns. The veteran outfielder enjoyed a bit of a renaissance with the Texas Rangers late last season and is now a free agent. The debate about exactly what his 2017 employer can expect will certainly continue until Opening Day. There is no debate, though, about how much appreciation the soon-to-be … [Read more...]