When the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum made arrangements to include some highly valuable trading cards in its new “Shoebox Treasures” exhibit, they knew they’d have to be well protected—not just from theft but from the impact of being on display for thousands of visitors each month. Part of a permanent display, the group of ‘holy grail’ cards includes a T206 … [Read more...]
Crunching the Numbers: High-Grade Jackie Robinson Cards
The checklist is a short one. During his relatively short playing career, Jackie Robinson appeared on baseball cards for a very limited amount of time. While they're all very desirable and many represent key cards in some very popular vintage sets, high-grade Robinson cards bring robust interest whenever they're offered for auction. But which years … [Read more...]
Jackie’s First Card–in Color
Jackie Robinson’s first baseball cards were issued as part of a promotion by Bond Bread during his rookie year in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, full color cards of the game’s new star were still a few years away and the fans of the Bond sets have to settle for a black-and-white image. Make that ‘had to’. Digital artist Marina Amaral has … [Read more...]
Early Jackie, Popular Vintage Part of Extra Innings Auction
Mile High Card Company opened its Extra Innings Auction Monday with some iconic rookie cards and the highest graded example of Jackie Robinson’s 1948 R346 Blue Tint card all on the block. The origin of Blue Tint cards are a bit of a mystery but collectors generally agree they were hand cut from strips of eight. Smaller in size than a standard card, they measure just 2" by 2 … [Read more...]
Robinson Rookie Cards Still Hobby Gold
On October 23, 1945, baseball changed forever. World War II had ended just months earlier and a new era was coming. Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey believed it was time to integrate baseball. The Kansas City Monarchs shortstop he’d been watching was the man he’d been looking for. Just three years later, kids were about to find an … [Read more...]