It’s only August but Chris Rothe is probably a hands down favorite for “Luckiest Collector of the Year.” The Maryland resident dropped $500 on the 20-spot 1955 Bowman cello pack break conducted by Vintage Breaks and landed the now famous Mickey Mantle card with a value that might be more than 100 times that amount. While a few dozen in the audience at the National Sports … [Read more...]
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Found at Flea Market, Rare Mascot Dog Food Mantle, Berra Bring $28,000
Those two super rare 1950s Mascot Dog Food cards featuring a pair of Yankee icons sold for more than $28,000 combined Sunday night. A Mickey Mantle card brought $23,600 while a Yogi Berra sold for $4,720. Both had been graded 1.5 by Beckett Grading Services. The cards were originally found inside a family photo album last year at an Adamstown, PA flea … [Read more...]
1890 Players League Documents; Aaron Rookie Card Pace $2.5 Million Memory Lane Auction
A collection of historic baseball-related documents carrying the rare signatures of some of baseball’s earliest stars sold for over $136,000 combined in Memory Lane’s recently completed Winter Auction. Dubbed ‘The Northeast Find’, the documents were actually found more than 25 years ago in the storage room of an empty, dilapidated office in upstate New York that was … [Read more...]
Newly Found Obscure Mantle, Berra Cards Hit Auction for 1st Time
Discovered last fall, two virtually unknown cards of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra from an obscure regional set produced in the 1950s are now on the auction block. Wheatland Auction Services is offering the cards, which were produced for Mascot Dog Food, in its current sale. The Lancaster, PA auction company has placed a $20,000-$100,000 estimate on the Mantle card and … [Read more...]
Notes: Huge Mantle Collection; Rookie Card Update; OJ Signing Already
Hundreds of vintage Mickey Mantle cards including rarities and multiple copies of popular 1950s regionals are entering the hobby through a long-time collector who’d quietly accumulated them years ago. Stored in albums, the cards were carried into the National Sports Collectors Convention over the summer by an older man wearing a vintage Cubs jersey. He stopped just … [Read more...]
Babe Ruth Bat, PSA 9 Mantle Rookie Headline Upcoming MLI Auction
Babe Ruth wasn’t a leadoff hitter, but one of his old weapons is serving in that capacity in Memory Lane Inc.’s power-packed Fall Classic Auction catalog. A 1922 game-used Ruth bat—with important side-writing from the Louisville Slugger Factory—is being offered in the sale, which is set to open September 30. The bat, sent by Ruth to Kentucky during spring … [Read more...]
1960 Topps Tattoos Among Company’s Quirkier Sets
When most collectors think of Topps, their mind generally goes to baseball cards. But the company produced a wide variety of non-card issues and the 1960 Topps Tattoos release was a unique collectible. Tattoos? Yup...well, sort of. There was no artist needed, no painful procedures--and any regrets could be quickly washed away. Here's a bit more on this oddball … [Read more...]
Stocking Up to Meet Vintage Sports Card Demand at the National
If you collect vintage sports cards, filling your want list at the National Sports Collectors Convention is usually faster than buying on eBay. Name a set and there are likely at least a few dealers who have those cards in their inventory. Collectors from across the country are spending plenty of money this week. Some are filling sets. Others are buying in hopes … [Read more...]
The Man Who Wrote the Book on Mickey Mantle Baseball Cards
Like millions of other kids, he started collecting baseball cards in the 1950s. Bill Wilen really got serious as an adult, focusing on Mickey Mantle. Over the years, he's acquired virtually every Mantle card issued from 1951-2000. Now, they're all up for auction. The retired Chicago area attorney is at the National Sports Collectors Convention, showing … [Read more...]
NM Ruth Rookie Card Fetches $552,000
A 1916 M101-5 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie card graded PSA 7 (near mint) sold for $552,000 during the first of a three-day catalog sale conducted by Heritage Auctions last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The card is one of the three 7s in PSA's Population Report (the company has graded only three as high as 8). The cards section led off the auction, with dozens … [Read more...]
