Over 1,000 lots ranging from the 19th century to the current era are on the block in Sterling Sports Auctions’ September catalog. The auction is underway now. Dozens of iconic single cards join complete sets, lots, autographs and unopened material. It’s a “collector-oriented” auction with lesser grade vintage stars and rookies available and some lots starting with a … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: A Look at an Ivy Andrews Gum Card Rarity
While Goudey was the undisputed king of 1930s baseball gum cards, numerous other sets popped up throughout the decade. One of those was the 1933 George C. Miller Candy set and the set contains a rarity that is not known to all collectors. The player in question was Paul 'Ivy' Andrews and one variation of the card in particular is a difficult find. Let's take a closer look at … [Read more...]
Behind the Exhibits: The Multi-Player Cards (Part II)
Exhibit cards are among the more affordable pre-war cards that can be had. While it's true that there are some expensive ones, by comparison, they can often be nice ways to score some bargains of big name players. In the first part of a three-part series, we took a look at the earliest Exhibit cards that were issued. Next up, we'll review the popular 4-on-1 Exhibits. The … [Read more...]
Behind the Exhibits: The Early Cards (Part I)
Exhibit cards are among the more affordable pre-war cards that can be had. While it's true that some can be expensive, by comparison, they can often be a good way to score some bargain-priced cards of big name players. Here's the first in a three-part series focusing on these vintage issues. First, we'll take a look at the earliest Exhibit cards. The First Exhibit Baseball … [Read more...]
Key Cards From Baseball’s Second Class of Hall of Famers
Baseball's first Hall of Fame class from 1936 remains its most legendary. Consisting of five true greats of the game in Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Ty Cobb, it can never be equaled. But the follow-up class that was inducted in 1937 included some special players, too. The Wagner T206 card, Ruth's M101-4/5 rookie cards, Ty Cobb's … [Read more...]
Diving Into the Rarity of the 19th Century ‘Champions’ Sets
In addition to the N172 Old Judge set, the Champions tobacco card sets produced by Allen and Ginter (N28 and N29), Goodwin (N162), and Kimball (N184) are among the most popular cards of the 19th century. Those multi-sport sets were a stark change from the earlier Old Judge cards since they boasted colorful, strong lithography that paved the way for the tobacco and caramel cards … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: Early Old Judge Trade Card Advertised N173 Baseball Cabinets
In the 1880s, Goodwin created a massive set of baseball cards for distribution in its Old Judge cigarette packages. The cards are among the more popular pre-war issues and comprised one of the very first baseball card sets in collecting history. The company also issued a larger, lesser known but more attractive set of baseball cabinet photographs. These photographs featured … [Read more...]
Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones Headline the 1932 Abdulla Sports Records Set
There were a multitude of international sports card tobacco sets issued in the pre-War era. Many of those sets are multi-sport releases featuring all sorts of athletes from around the globe. One of the tougher such issues is the 1932 Abdulla Sport Records set. About the 1932 Abdulla Sport Records Set This German tobacco card issue was released in 1932 by … [Read more...]
Athletes Headline the 1945 Leister Autographs Game Set
During World War II, the creation of sports cards was halted dramatically. But several sets were created during wartime, even if some of them weren't technically trading cards distributed inside of packs. The 1945 Leister Autographs game set was one of those -- here's a closer look at this interesting game card set that was issued during World War II. 1945 Leister Autographs … [Read more...]
1944 New York Yankees Stamps Set Celebrated World Series Champs
It was the end of a dynasty. The New York Yankees had appeared in every World Series from 1936 through 1943 with the exception of 1940. Even more impressive is that they won the World Series six times in those seven appearances. The Yankees would go on another incredible run starting in 1947, winning six more titles in another seven-year stretch. In 1943, they needed only … [Read more...]