They sat in a closet in an apartment above an old department store on the east coast for decades. Mixed in with other old postcards, no one gave the old baseball players a second thought. Even the 1982 death of the man who likely acquired them more than 70 years before that didn’t result in a trip to a baseball card dealer. Now, however, they’re about to … [Read more...]
Jackpot: Old Storage Unit Buy Surrenders a Gem
Sometimes spending that extra five bucks is worth it. Just ask Sandy Healy. The New Hampshire realtor and her husband opted to outbid another person at a storage unit auction in Nashua eight years ago. They made the buy because Sandy’s husband saw the word “Bowman” on one of the storage boxes inside the unit and recognized it as a baseball card … [Read more...]
Notes: Goldin in Deal with Japanese Company; Newman Collection Update; Cold Storage Mantle; Hobby vs. COVID
Goldin Auctions is partnering with the largest chain of sports and gaming card shops in Japan. The deal with MINT Co., Ltd., will enable collectors in Japan to "more effectively buy and sell high-value cards in the international market," according to Goldin. Each of the cards MINT sells through Goldin Auctions will be authenticated and graded by PSA. Beginning this … [Read more...]
Abandoned Detroit Plant That Held Millions of Junk Era Cards Being Torn Down
If you’ve been a long time reader, you might remember the photos of that abandoned building in Detroit that held dozens of cases of 1990s era cards. They were discovered about five years ago by some young men who were part of a group that makes a hobby of checking out what’s inside old structures. The photos looked pretty intriguing, even with the cards … [Read more...]
Newly Uncovered Tobacco Card Hoard Includes 18 T206 Cobbs
A large collection of ungraded tobacco cards that have been in a Georgia family for generations will hit the auction block later this year. The stunning stash of ungraded century-old find includes over 2,000 T206s including dozens of Hall of Famers, 245 T210 Old Mill Tobacco cards including a Joe Jackson and over 180 T205s. The Jackson card that is part of the 1910 … [Read more...]
6-Figure “South Dakota Find” Includes Pair of Mantle Cards, Other High Numbers
They're out there. Surrounded by "finds" of 1990 Donruss and Fleer, but they're out there. Decades old, high-grade baseball cards owned by folks who will eventually get around to doing something with them. The latest discovery isn't big on quantity, but the material itself is off the charts. All Sports Auctions recently acquired a consignment of … [Read more...]
1914 Fatima Card Find in Maryland Includes Hall of Famers
The hobby’s modest population of a deadball era trading card set just grew by 38. New Jersey-based Just Collect just purchased the previously unknown group of 1914 Fatima tobacco cards (T222) from a Maryland family that had owned them since the year of issue. The group includes several Hall of Famers including Walter Johnson, Frank Chance, Grover Cleveland … [Read more...]
Cool Find: Two New 1922 Fans Cigarette Cards Discovered
The T231 Fans Cigarettes set is an incredibly scarce type. But recently, the known checklist has nearly doubled with the find of two new cards. Nearly doubled with the addition of two cards? No, that's not a typo. The 1922 Fans Cigarettes cards are so rare that only three were previously known to date. The three known cards were Larry Gardner, Carson Bigbee, and Hall of … [Read more...]
Old Furniture Yields NFL Treasures
It was a disappointing end to the season for a team that was within striking distance of a long-awaited return to the Super Bowl. For fans of Green Bay Packers history, though, January is still packing plenty of great moments-- thanks to a couple of discoveries surrendered by decades old pieces of furniture. A ticket and one-page program from a 1924 game emerged from … [Read more...]
2020 Sports Collecting Year in Review
It was like one long Stefon skit from Saturday Night Live. 2020 had everything. Millennial artists doing weird things to famous rookie cards. A case break party at a football stadium. Babe Ruth in a baggie. Pre-War white elephants in Yahtzee boxes. Russian ransomware. Card shows during a raging pandemic. And the hobby's hottest nightclub … [Read more...]