There were phenomenal finds and disturbing discoveries. Record revenue and sensational selling prices. No matter the month, there was something collectors were talking about this year. In the first of a two-part series, we look back at the last year in the hobby with some happenings from the first half of 2019. The year began in strange fashion with the viral … [Read more...]
Sports Card Buying Trips Yield Inventory
"Buying trips" have been a way of life for some dealers as far back as the 1970s and 80s where shoeboxes full of sports cards were carried into conference rooms at hotels across North America. Dealers built their show inventory by advertising their presence in local newspapers and on radio. Closets and attics emptied, dealers forked over a few bucks and … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: Large Find of 19th Century Tobacco Cards Enters Hobby
Finding even a small 19th century tobacco collection is a notable discovery. But when that collection includes hundreds of cards, it's a haul rarely seen. That was the case, however, with a collection recently acquired by Dave Hobson of BaseballCardBuyer.com, who was approached by the owner of approximately 800 19th century cards including both sports and non-sports … [Read more...]
REA Lands Fresh Find of Rare Early 20th Century Cards
A new year has ushered in an early candidate for one of the top vintage baseball card finds of 2019. A Virginia man recently visited the offices of Robert Edward Auctions, carrying with him a collection originally pieced together by his grandfather more than a century ago. Luckily for all involved, grandpa had the good taste (or good luck) to associate … [Read more...]
The Hobby in 2018: Big Finds, Big Pulls, Big Bucks, Big Business
You can always expect some big-ticket items to sell but the top sports memorabilia-related stories aren't always about what stuff sells for. There were plenty of interesting happenings over the last 12 months. From a wild moment at the National to a newly uncovered and virtually untouched collection of decades-old cards and some notable business moves, there was a … [Read more...]
Salvaged by Dad in ’64, 1950s Cello Boxes Finally Sold
Sam Droganes’ business pedigree includes confectionaries and fireworks. And after Heritage Auctions’ Fall Sports Catalog Auction ended Friday night, the Kentucky businessman had scored a sweet five-figure profit worth celebrating. Three boxes of 1950s Topps cards consigend by Droganes, 53, in the two-day auction, including 36 unopened cello packs from the fourth series … [Read more...]
House Cleaning Job Yields Cardboard Gold
Who hasn’t dreamed of wandering through an old abandoned house or estate sale and uncovering a stack of old baseball cards? It’s happened plenty of times, after all, but luck definitely has to be on your side. While not everyone finds a couple million dollars worth of Ty Cobb cards, it would be nice to find something besides 1990 Fleer, wouldn’t it? For one Baltimore … [Read more...]
REA’s Fall Auction on Fox Business News
Viewers of Fox Business News got a look at some of the items in the current Robert Edward Auctions catalog on Monday morning. REA's Brian Dwyer offered a show and tell of some of the big ticket pieces in the auction, which opened October 5 and runs through the 28th including a T206 Cobb with Cobb Tobacco back; a high-grade Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig signed baseball, an unopened … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Trickle Down Effect of Major Hobby News Stories
Several years ago, there were so many stories, columns, blog posts and TV reports about the “dying sports card industry” that it kind of become a running joke. The theme was pretty much always the same. Most of the people writing those words fell into three camps: 1) they collected as kids in the late 1980s or early 90s, were now discovering their cards weren’t worth … [Read more...]
Retiree Talks of Seven-Figure Collection With 5 1952 Topps Mantle Cards
We've written about that incredible childhood collection that included five 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards and other high-grade beauties from the early 1950s. Consigned to Heritage Auctions, many of them have already sold and a PSA 8.5 Mantle--one of the hobby's best-- is among those currently on the block where it's expected to surpass $1 million. It … [Read more...]