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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Century-old cards found in Ohio attic expected to fetch millions

The cards are from an extremely rare series issued around 1910. Up to now, the few known to exist were in so-so condition at best, with faded images and worn edges. But the ones from the attic in the town of Defiance are nearly pristine, untouched for more than a century. The colors are vibrant, the borders crisp and white.

* * * *

The best of the bunch—37 cards—are expected to bring a total of $500,000 when they are sold at auction in August during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore. There are about 700 cards in all that could be worth up to $3 million, experts say. They include such legends as Christy Mathewson and Connie Mack.

Time to start digging through the attic again.

Srul Itza Posted: July 10, 2012 at 07:09 PM | 34 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: business, general, history, special topics

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1. YR Misses Reggie Bars Posted: July 10, 2012 at 10:50 PM (#4179666)

Wow, those look magnificent.

2. Howie Menckel Posted: July 10, 2012 at 11:15 PM (#4179749)

I got to inspect a remarkable collection a couple of years ago.

Authorities were stumped why so many 'ancient' cards, autographed photos, and other memorabilia were of huge names, while so many others were of obscure people, as far as they were concerned.

Right away, I noticed that it was a "Hall of Fame only" collection.

No ex-commish or 1890s players were turned away, but I didn't see a single item of a stellar player not inducted.

Was a stash of an alleged criminal*

* #innocentuntilprovenguilty

3. Infinite Joost (Voxter)

Posted: July 10, 2012 at 11:27 PM (#4179781)

4. McCoy Wilfong for Money Posted: July 10, 2012 at 11:47 PM (#4179798)

That's why vintage Chris Sabo cards will never be worth anything.

5. willcarrolldoesnotsuk Posted: July 10, 2012 at 11:53 PM (#4179802)

[Jamie Moyer joke]

6. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:02 AM (#4179806)

That's why vintage Chris Sabo cards will never be worth anything.

Never despair, he could still get into the Hall of Fame. Who knows, Barry Larkin could be the 21st century's Frankie Frisch.

7. Pat Rapper's Delight Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:15 AM (#4179811)

I sure hope Topps gets in on the bidding in order to shred these cards into 100 pieces so a couple of fibers from each can be glued onto limited edition redemption cards in 5-card packs of 2013 Topps Black Swamp that retail for $19.99.

8. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:28 AM (#4179815)

That's pretty awesome. When we were kids, my brother and I went through my grandparents' attic and found 20-30 old cards from the 50s. Nothing as exciting as this but we did find one of these in good condition, as well as a Minnie Minoso and some other famous but not terribly valuable guys.

9. Squash Posted: July 11, 2012 at 02:22 AM (#4179847)

Wow. Was that little tin airtight and vacuum sealed? Those are some amazingly white edges.

10. zenbitz Posted: July 11, 2012 at 02:25 AM (#4179848)

I think this trumps the fact that I "found" (they weren't really lost) my box of 80s comics in my Mom's attic (silly me, should stopped looking in the basement). It's hard to judge their worth because the ones in good condition only top out at a few bucks a piece (except for my "Groo: The Wanderer" collection), and the rest are pretty meh condition (yellowed, minor cover damage). Most interesting (to me) were Flash #110 and Amazing Spiderman #110 from the late 60s that I bought from a bargain bin at the local variety store for $0.25 (in 1985 or whatever). They are worth $80-100 "mint" (which they are not, but not sure where on the fine-very fine scale they land)

Assuming of course you can find a buyer, the whole box topped out at about $1000.

11. Squash Posted: July 11, 2012 at 02:39 AM (#4179850)

Assuming of course you can find a buyer, the whole box topped out at about $1000.

That's not bad. You're probably several standard deviations from the normal collectible find. Most people's collections from the 80s consists of several thousand worthless 87 Topps commons.

12. The Well-Tempered Javier Vasquez (loungehead) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 07:15 AM (#4179865)

Like mine, although I had much more '88 Topps and '90 Donruss - somehow I latched onto two of the uglier sets around (although I suppose the '88 Topps is better than the wood border from '87).

It's always weird to hear about Defiance, OH out of the blue. My wife is from Napoleon, which is 20 miles or so away, and there is nothing in that region but extremely flat land. ....and awesome baseball cards, I guess.

13. Neutral Milk Dotel (Dan Lee) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 07:21 AM (#4179867)

Never despair, he could still get into the Hall of Fame. Who knows, Barry Larkin could be the 21st century's Frankie Frisch.

In that case, now's the time to start buying Lenny Harris cards in bulk.

14. Neutral Milk Dotel (Dan Lee) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 07:26 AM (#4179869)

there is nothing in that region but extremely flat land. ....and awesome baseball cards, I guess.

Also Etch-A-Sketches, Dum Dums, and my alma mater.

15. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

Posted: July 11, 2012 at 07:38 AM (#4179872)

This is the kind of thing you dream about if you collect cards.

16. Lassus Posted: July 11, 2012 at 07:59 AM (#4179874)

This is the kind of thing you dream about if you collect cards.

Seriously. Hell, I never collected cards, and I dream about it. (I guess comics are close.)

17. zonk Posted: July 11, 2012 at 09:21 AM (#4179921)

This summer, I've found myself stopping at lots of rummage and estate sales in hopes of uncovering a box like this...

I'm still lugging around two big crates of my own card collection - mostly 70s/80s/90s, so pretty worthless... come on, moms out there - I'm counting on you to start pitching out all those collections your kids left in your basements and attics! My retirement is counting on you!

18. Ken Griffey's Grotesquely Swollen Jaw Posted: July 11, 2012 at 09:28 AM (#4179925)

I can't imagine waiting two weeks to check on the value of these cards after finding them, my mind would be going crazy with the possibilities immediately. Like, even if you're not a baseball fan the value of old cards is pretty well known.

19. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

Posted: July 11, 2012 at 09:34 AM (#4179929)

20. SoSH U at work Posted: July 11, 2012 at 10:15 AM (#4179964)

My grandmother, bless her, didn't throw out any of my dad's old baseball cards from the 40s and 50s. And they're still in the same crate that's preserved them pretty damn well for 60 years. I've never had them appraised, but I know they're are some really valuable cards in there. But as my dad did for me, I'll be turning them over to my baseball-loving son.

21. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: July 11, 2012 at 10:56 AM (#4180012)

Part of why things like this are worth so much money is what happened to my old man: his baseball card collection, thousands strong, was thrown away by his mother while he was in college. He claims to have had vintage Mantle & Jackie Robinson cards that would now be worth something.*

My mother didn't throw away my set of 1953 Topps, because they were held together with a rubber band. But she did chuck a 1952 Topps Mantle, a 1953 Bowman Musial, and worst of all, a postcard from Mecca signed by "el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X)". Of course I didn't help matters myself by putting that 1953 set into 5 photo albums with sticky page backings and killing 90% of their resale value.

*Except they wouldn't be worth much if moms all over America hadn't shitcanned vintage Mantle & Robinson cards.

Yeah, that's the part that most people seem to omit.

22. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: July 11, 2012 at 11:00 AM (#4180018)

If you guys really want to go on a treasure hunt, the place to go might be Mexico. It's not outside the realm of possibility that there may be cards of some of the Negro Leaguers that played there in existence. A few cards have been uncovered from Mexico from roughly that time period but not of any of the big names. If you could find a Josh Gibson or Cool Papa Bell, you'd have the only cards that exist for either one would probably be a millionaire.

A Virginia ex-baseball dealer I know actually went down to Cuba a few times and got some amazing Negro League memorabilia before all the many middlemen and baksheesh artists took out nearly all of his profit margin. He eventually got so disgusted with the baseball memorabilia business in general that he gave it up to become a full time postcard dealer.

23. gef the talking mongoose Posted: July 11, 2012 at 11:02 AM (#4180020)

The paper drives of WWII were obviously carried out by government authorities eager to drive up the future value of the comics they weren't consigning to the recycling piles.

24. gef the talking mongoose Posted: July 11, 2012 at 11:05 AM (#4180027)

Most interesting (to me) were Flash #110 and Amazing Spiderman #110 from the late 60s that I bought from a bargain bin at the local variety store for $0.25 (in 1985 or whatever). They are worth $80-100 "mint" (which they are not, but not sure where on the fine-very fine scale they land).

That's pretty damned good. Flash 110 would've been very early in the run. I've been really surprised, after re-entering the comics field about 8 years ago after a quarter-century hiatus, to find out how highly priced late '60s & early '70s ASMs are; that was a really popular title, & you'd think supply would depress demand &, hence, value.

25. Sunday silence Posted: July 11, 2012 at 11:46 AM (#4180066)

Wow, those look magnificent.

are those cards shown from the actual horder or are those reproductions? Those pictured are already bagged apparently so not sure those are the actual cards found in the attic.

26. Blubaldo Jimenez (OMJ) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:04 PM (#4180087)

Prizewinner of Defiance,OH indeed. Better Defiance pitcher, Billingsly or Niese?

27. Red Menace Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:16 PM (#4180107)

Like mine, although I had much more '88 Topps and '90 Donruss - somehow I latched onto two of the uglier sets around (although I suppose the '88 Topps is better than the wood border from '87).

I won't stand for this attack on the beautiful wood-paneled '87 Topps!

28. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:19 PM (#4180110)

If you guys really want to go on a treasure hunt, the place to go might be Mexico.

"No, false alarm. It's just another severed head."

29. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:22 PM (#4180115)

and there is nothing in that region but extremely flat land

there was this guy

30. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:24 PM (#4180119)

I can't imagine waiting two weeks to check on the value of these cards after finding them, my mind would be going crazy with the possibilities immediately. Like, even if you're not a baseball fan the value of old cards is pretty well known.

A person who's not all that into baseball might not have recognized these as baseball cards, as such, since they're a different size and aspect ratio and most of the players are long-forgotten old-timers. Most people who think "baseball card" imagine something 2.5'' by 3.5'', like the modern cards, and can't name many old players beyond Babe Ruth.

31. Lassus Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:32 PM (#4180133)

If you guys really want to go on a treasure hunt, the place to go might be Mexico.

Nerds everywhere still hope that the lost Doctor Who episodes are recorded in studios in Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

32. The Keith Law Blog Blah Blah (battlekow) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:34 PM (#4180136)

It's always weird to hear about Defiance, OH out of the blue. My wife is from Napoleon, which is 20 miles or so away, and there is nothing in that region but extremely flat land. ....and awesome baseball cards, I guess.

There's a cromulent folk-punk band called "Defiance, Ohio". If they ever sell out, they'll have to rename themselves "Alliance, Ohio".

33. The Keith Law Blog Blah Blah (battlekow) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 12:36 PM (#4180139)

Karl Kissner picked up a soot-covered cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse in his grandfather's attic. Taking a look inside, he saw hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine. They were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing.

But some of the names were familiar: Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.

34. The Well-Tempered Javier Vasquez (loungehead) Posted: July 11, 2012 at 01:11 PM (#4180176)

I won't stand for this attack on the beautiful wood-paneled '87 Topps!

Perhaps you could use some Sauder Furniture, then. They're headquartered in Archbold, Ohio ... 20 miles north of Defiance.

Even if the wood-paneling isn't particularly aesthetically pleasing to me, I think that set wins over 1988 with average card value. Of course, this probably means somewhere around 3 cents each instead of 2.

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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Century-old cards found in Ohio attic expected to fetch millions

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