Wid Conroy was what we’d call today a “super utility man,” capable of playing any infield or outfield position. He was almost always in the top ten in most offensive categories and once finished second to Ty Cobb in stolen bases. Conroy was so well thought of that American Tobacco featured him on two different cards that were distributed in cigarette packs from … [Read more...]
Wheatland Auction Includes Over 500 Lots of Cards, Memorabilia
High grade vintage sets and near sets from the 1956-1980, numerous T206 cards including a Green Portrait Ty Cobb and a scarce Nap Lajoie error are among the marquee items in Wheatland Auction Services’ newest online auction. In all, over 550 lots are being offered, with many carrying $10 or $20 opening bids. The group of sets includes popular issues such as 1956, 1968 and … [Read more...]
Sterling Sports Auctions Catalog Includes Over 1,000 Lots
Hundreds of pre-War cards including a PSA 7 1935 Goudey Babe Ruth headline the newest Sterling Sports Auctions online catalog. The sale is the largest offering from Sterling in over six years and includes over 1,000 lots, ranging from 19th century baseball cards to popular issues from the modern era. Ruth, Cobb, Mathewson, Johnson are among the names featured in the … [Read more...]
Selling Packs with T206 Cards in 1909 Was Sometimes Hazardous
Eventually they would be sold with more kid-oriented products like caramels and bubble gum but 110 years ago, if you wanted a picture of a professional baseball player (and who wouldn't before color magazines, TV or even radio?), you had to have access to tobacco, or at least someone who used it. When the American Tobacco Company's massive promotion began in 1909, word … [Read more...]
2nd Edition of T206 Book Earns Publishing Award
The second edition of The T206 Collection: The Players and Their Stories was recently awarded a gold medal at the 31st annual Independent Book Plublishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards in Chicago. Originally published in 2010, the book’s second edition includes new photos of some of the hobby’s top T206 cards and additional content. Authors Tom and Ellen … [Read more...]
A Nine-Year-Old Gets Hooked on Baseball History, Tobacco Cards
My son was calmer than me. “$30 is the price,” the veteran card dealer said. “$20,” my nine-year old countered staring down the white-haired linebacker of a man. I am in part to blame for this negotiation. I showed The Sandlot movie to my family on a cold winter night several years ago. All my kids took something from the movie. My daughter embraced the … [Read more...]
More Fake Pre-War Signed Cards Found
Collectors continue to cast a net in search of more fake autographs found on pre-War baseball cards. A problem that came to light with phony signatures on T206 cards last week does not appear to be confined there. The cards were discovered when the unsigned copies of the same cards were found to have been sold not long before they entered the market as … [Read more...]
Heroes and Villains in the Fake Autographed T206 Story as More are Uncovered
While the recent exposure of some phony autographs on genuine T206 cards isn’t the biggest scandal in hobby history, it may be in the early stages and certainly worth the discussion it’s generating. On Wednesday, more fakes emerged including a Frank Baker, fully authenticated, that sold at auction for over $24,000 just one month ago. It's the latest in a … [Read more...]
Notes: Six-Figure Jordan Game Jersey Card; New T206 Podcast; Steiner’s New Book
It’s the card that helped change the collecting landscape. Upper Deck’s 1997 Michael Jordan Game Jersey autographed cards were among the first sports cards to pair a “relic piece” with an on-card autograph and serial number. Only 23 were signed by Jordan and one of them is closing at auction Thursday night. Bidding is expected to pass the six-figure mark … [Read more...]
Top T206 Collection Nets Over $8 Million
The All-Time Number One T206 set on the PSA Registry is no more. Broken up and sold card-by-card in a special catalog sale through Heritage Auctions, the collection of 520 cards netted over $8.15 million when the final numbers were calculated Friday. The pre-auction estimate of just under $3.5 million itself was more than doubled. Every card in the … [Read more...]