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...]
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The Wayback Collector: Mount Rushmore of Vintage Cards
Recently on Twitter, PSA posed an interesting question: What would be on your Mount Rushmore of baseball cards? After giving it a bit of thought, I've at least got my own list. As a bit of a disclaimer here, my Mount Rushmore is more about the most popular and prestigious cards, not necessarily the most expensive. These, to me, are the biggest cards in the hobby. While … [Read more...]
Record Price for ‘Authentic’ T206 Wagner Highlights $2.7 Million Memory Lane Auction
A restored copy of the famed T206 Honus Wagner sold for a record price of $420,000 early Sunday morning, as Memory Lane wrapped up its Holy Grail Rarities Auction. Graded ‘Authentic’ by PSA, the card’s history can be traced back some 50 years. It last sold in a public auction in 2011 for $188,000. The price attained by Memory Lane makes this copy the most … [Read more...]
Notes: The Athletic Visits Panini; Wagner Update; Charity Jersey Auctions; Holiday Sales
The Athletic published a story about Panini America this week, discussing the company’s exclusive licenses with the NBA, NFL and most college sports programs as well as its exclusive autograph agreements with athletes. After 50 years with Topps, the NFL gave an exclusive deal to Panini a few years ago and the NBA has done the same. Topps just renewed its deal with MLB. … [Read more...]
T206 Wagner Headlines New Memory Lane Auction
The first T206 Honus Wagner card to be offered at auction in nearly 18 months has hit the auction block as Memory Lane Inc. opens its year-ending ‘Holy Grail Rarities’ auction. It’s one of over 1,000 sports card and memorabilia listings in the auction, which runs now through December 15. Graded Authentic by PSA, the Wagner card has been restored on two occasions, … [Read more...]
Shortprints in Pre-War Sets Cause Collector Headaches
Collecting pre-war cards is generally a challenging pursuit. Often, these cards are more than 100 years old and are difficult to track down. And even in the cases where cards are plentiful, it can still mean an expensive activity. Adding to the difficulty in assembling pre-war sets are shortprinted cards. These shortprints are even rarer than the regular cards and can make … [Read more...]
Value of The Top 20 Baseball Cards in 1989 Will Have You Drooling
If you had money to invest 30 years ago, you could have put it in any number of places, depending on your willingness to take on a risk or two. The stock market. Real estate. Precious metals. You may have been the subject of much derision if you had opted to put at least some of it in baseball cards, but it wouldn’t have been a bad idea, as long as it wasn't 1989 … [Read more...]
Baseball History on Display at NSCC
They weren’t for sale, but several valuable pieces of sports memorabilia and high-end cards had a museum-like showcase at the National Sports Collectors Convention. SGC gathered them together and created a display in the corporate area, complete with glass showcases for each and video displays telling the story of the player and the memorabilia. Security guards were … [Read more...]
T206 Big Four Stand the Test of Time
The 1909-11 T206 white border set is arguably the most famous baseball card issue of all time. Driven by massive popularity, it's a set that has been widely pursued by collectors for more than a century. Among the 524 known cards, four stand out among the rest. To the hobby, these are known simply as 'The Big Four.' Honus Wagner T206 The biggest of the big is the easily … [Read more...]
Honus Photo Brings Big Bucks; Brady Back on Panini; New Badlands Card Shop
One of a few surviving images of Carl Horner's early 20th century photo you see on the world's most recognizable trading card sold for $38,789 early Sunday. RMY Auctions offered the 3 1/2" x 4 3/4" photo in its July auction. Carrying a 1912 file stamp date on the back but produced a few years earlier, it is considered the second finest example of its kind. … [Read more...]
