(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) – If statistics were kept on when the most money is spent on sports cards and memorabilia during the course of a year, we might find that July and August are the winners. The National Sports Collectors Convention sets up shop during early August this year, but major auction houses aren’t shy about leveraging the attention to put up their own catalog and live auction events during the summer. A few major auctions just ended. There are two live, super high-end auctions set to take place during the National. Currently, Huggins and Scott, Goodwin & Company, and Grey Flannel Auctions has their catalog auctions online. The growing Schulte Sports has its July auction is up and running. Soon, Memory Lane and Legendary Auctions will launch events featuring hundreds of items.
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Sports Collectors Daily
Any collector involved with the hobby over the last few decades has a bookshelf, a closet, a room filled with various auction catalogs from numerous sports memorabilia companies. Back in the days prior to the Internet, the only way to participate in an auction was to register by phone/mail and get your auction catalog in the mail. The auction catalog served two purposes; your guide to bidding and as a great reference tool post auction. However, times have changed. The Internet and technology have made such great advances over the years that it’s possible we will see the end of the printed auction catalog very soon. Read full story on Sports Collectors Daily here.
Sports Collectors Daily
Do you ever wonder why or how the decision is made on why sports memorabilia auction companies end their auctions on a certain day of the week? Why Thursday night? Why is always ending in the evening? Well, there is actually some logic and past history to it. First, lets talk about closing days. Back in the 1980s and 90s, prior to the Internet and mobile phone revolution, auction companies usually ended their events on Thursday nights. The reason was really quite simple. Read full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Sports Collectors Daily
(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) –Yet another 2010 Bowman 1-1 Stephen Strasburg rookie card is up on eBay this week. For collectors of vintage baseball cards, it may not even elicit a yawn. “Manufactured rarities” don’t fly with those who prefer Sandy Koufax or Christy Mathewson. The first card offered sold for over $16,000 and the second one, a ‘red autograph’ 1-1, will surpass that by quite a margin.
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Sports Collectors Daily
The black Mizuno bat that Pete Rose used for his final hit — record No. 4,256 — is being auctioned by a New York firm (Lelands.com) that expects it to become one of the most expensive bats ever sold. The 34-inch, 32-ounce bat is the featured item in a collection being sold online through Lelands.com. Rose has authenticated the bat, saying he used it for his single off San Francisco’s Greg Minton on Aug. 14, 1986. Rose never got another hit, leaving the game as baseball’s all-time hits leader. Read full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Lelands.com, Sports Collectors Daily
You need to sell. You’ve got some good material. Most auction companies say they’ll be glad to handle it for you. So how do you decide which one is right for you at this particular time? There are a lot of different factors to consider but here are five of what I think are the most important. Read full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Other Collectible News, Sports Collectors Daily
A 1933 Goudey set, rated 16th on the PSA Set Registry with an average condition near EX, was brought the biggest payday in Legendary Auctions’ latest event. The auction, which closed last week, included a large number of pre-World War II singles, lots and sets. The Goudey set of 290 cards drew 15 bids and included a wrapper from the iconic gum card maker. Interest in Mickey Mantle cards show no sign of abating. A PSA 7 (near mint) 1952 Topps Mantle sold for $35,550, the second highest price paid for any item in the auction. a 1952 Topps set, including a complete run of black back variations, sold for $23,700. Read full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Legendary Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
The Babe’s visit to Montana just months before his death has produced yet another autographed ball and enough memorabilia for Memory Lane Inc. to pay a visit. Two years ago, one of the best autographed Ruth balls of all-time, preserved by a young American Legion player at that tournament, was sold for over $81,000 by Memory Lane Inc. Read full story on Sports COllectors Daily here.
Memory Lane Inc, Sports Collectors Daily
High-grade baseball sets and singles were up for grabs in Heritage Auctions’ latest Signature event but it was a hockey card set that topped bidding in the card portion of the two-day event. A 1912 C57 set of 50, rated the second best on PSA’s Set Registry, sold for $89,625. Read full story on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Heritage Auction Galleries, Sports Collectors Daily
The jersey believed to have been worn by Yogi Berra when he caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series brought a price of $564,930 in Grey Flannel Auctions’ Summer Games sale that closed early Thursday morning. The winning bid included a buyer’s premium. Read full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Grey Flannel Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) – Next time you hear someone in the sports memorabilia business complain that “all of the good stuff has been found”, feel free to let out a hearty chuckle. Or give them a smack upside the head. It’s April or “auction month” if you’re scoring at home and it doesn’t take much detective work to see that great finds are alive and well. The auction companies are still finding great material, whether it’s in the form of ‘new to the hobby’ consignments or great old pieces that have been sitting quietly in private collections.
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Current Auctions, Heritage Auction Galleries, Sports Collectors Daily
John Rows had the good fortune of being the nephew of a Boston Bruins’ scout in the late 1960s. Garry Young was a former NHL coach who traveled to Boston after Bobby Orr’s rookie year and brought home a couple of gifts for kids in the family, jerseys worn by two of the team’s stars, including the teenager Orr, already a sensation. Game-worn jerseys were just thought of as hand-me-downs back then. Decades later, the jersey is one of the finest and most important post-War hockey artifacts in existence. Not long after he brought it home, someone offered $1,000 for it–big money back in the day. Luckily, he kept it. It goes on the block this month at Heritage Auctions and could sell for six figures or more. Read full stroy here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Current Auctions, Heritage Auction Galleries, Sports Collectors Daily
A complete uniform worn by Hall of Famer Steve Carlton during his finest big league season was one of the major targets in Huggins & Scott’s latest catalog auction. The 1972 Phillies jersey and pants had been virtually untouched in the 38 years since Carlton wore it while winning the National League Cy Young award. It brought a winning bid of $17,000. With the 17.5% buyer’s premium added on, the final realized price was $19,975. In ‘72, Carlton had one of the best seasons by a pitcher in baseball history, finishing 27-10 with a 1.98 ERA and 310 strikeouts for a Phillies team that finished with a 62-94 record. Read full story on Sports Collectors Daily here.
Auction Results, Huggins & Scott Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
It’s one of the longest-running and largest shows in the hobby and this past weekend at the Chicago Sun-Times Convention, many of the biggest dealers and auction houses in the industry were once again on hand for the three-day run at the Stephens Convention Center. While the overall attendance at the show seemed to be down a bit from the November event (chilly, rainy weather probably was a factor) and the show floor itself a little smaller than before, dealer-to-dealer business seemed to be OK. It’s always a big show for vintage sports card sales and collectors, who also had a unique chance to get an in person preview of the upcoming auctions being conducted by Mile High Card Co., Memory Lane Inc., Goodwin & Co, and Andy Madec. Read full story on Sports Collectors Daily Here.
Auction Preview, Consignment Information, Convention News, Sports Collectors Daily
(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) – The generations that blamed their mothers for throwing out their baseball card collections are now either closing in on retirement or are already there. Anyone who grew up in the late-1960s and beyond came of age when the world discovered that there were people who were willing to pay money for baseball cards and there were actually a lot of adults who bought them, sold them and traded them. The number of landfills that have welcomed old cardboard over the last 35 years has dropped significantly. Mickey Mantle wound up there. Mickey Morandini did not.
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Sports Collectors Daily
Each week we run a special artile called “Auction Insider” on Sports Collectors Daily. We will also run a small paragraph from each weeks article here on Auction Report with a direct link to the full article for you to enjoy. This week – Some tips on giving yourself a better chance to win what you’re after…plus word of a second major auction during this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention. It’s all in this edition of the Insider (Written by Ryan Friedman, owner of Auction Report) here.
Andy Madec, Auction Report News, Heritage Auction Galleries, Huggins & Scott Auctions, Legendary Auctions, Mile High Card Company, Sports Collectors Daily
(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) – I just finished reading a book called Trust Agents. It’s about the sweeping changes that have come to communications and media in just the last few years and how those trying to make a living in the business world can not only cope, but thrive in the new world. Few businesses are as “old school” as the sports collectibles hobby. It’s one reason why many businesses have to really fight to maintain good cash flow. Until the last four or five years, many sports collectible businesses either didn’t have websites or put one up because they thought they had to but never really took it seriously. A print ad, business cards, a phone and a bulk mailing list was the extent of how hobby businesses reached out to customers. For many, it still is. But the game is changing.
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Sports Collectors Daily
(“Collectors Corner” by Rich Mueller, Managing Editor of Sports Collectors Daily) – When the economy began to suffer in 2008, a friend said he suspected that we would see a “flight to quality” in both the stock market and in the sports card and memorabilia market. During tough times, safe harbors like high grade vintage cards and items associated with Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and a few other icons usually do become more popular with those who have an eye on investing as well as collecting. Scarce, one-of-one graded cards fit in that arena too.
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Sports Collectors Daily
Dozens of the most important football cards ever issued were sold over the weekend in Memory Lane’s first-ever all-football event. Hours before the Colts and Saints prepared to make NFL history in Super Bowl XLIV, some greats from the past were gaining new respect as the focus of a special auction of vintage football cards and memorabilia. Memory Lane Inc hosted its first-ever football-only event, the Big Game Auction, with over 300 lots featuring some of the greatest names in football history. Topping the sale were two of the most desirable football cards of all-time. Read full story on Sports Collectors Daily here.
Auction Results, Memory Lane Inc, Sports Collectors Daily
A 1948-49 Bowman George Mikan PSA 10 lived up to its reputation as the holy grail of basketball cards. The one-of-a-kind card sold for $218,500 in Memory Lane’s Hidden Treasures Auction. It’s believed to be the highest price ever recorded for the public sale of a single basketball card. In all, the Memory Lane Hidden Treasures Auction generated $1.8 million in sales and featured a number of rare pieces representing sports and non-sports collectibles. Read the full story on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Memory Lane Inc, Sports Collectors Daily
Collectors chased down a Babe Ruth bat and some rare vintage baseball cards in Huggins & Scott’s catalog auction. An early Babe Ruth bat generated the most interest in Huggins & Scott’s December auction. The 1918-21 era Ruth warclub sold for $40,000. With the company’s sliding buyer’s premium scale, the winning bidder paid only $3,000 additional for a total of $43,000. Authenticated and graded ’7′ by PSA/DNA, the bat drew eight bids. n old-fashioned bidding war ensued for a collection of 1954 and ’55 Esskay Meats Baltimore Orioles cards. Desired in any grade by serious collectors, the cards were split into sixteen different lots. Together, they realized an incredible $78,607. Cards of Duane Pillette and Fred Marsh topped five figures. Read the full story on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Huggins & Scott Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
Most players in the ABA were barely making $50,000 per year. Early Thursday morning, one of their old jerseys sold for more than that. They weren’t around long, but the Spirits of St. Louis were one of the more memorable teams in the American Basketball Association. The team’s unique jerseys have been one of the more popular game-worn targets for collectors and one of them was the subject of a bidding war in Grey Flannel Auctions’ holiday sale. Read the full story here on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Grey Flannel Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
Two T206 baseball cards that rival the famed Honus Wagner in scarcity were among the headliners in Heritage Auctions’ latest catalog sale. An Eddie Plank card, one of about 50 that have been graded, sold for $155,350 including a 19.5% buyer’s premium. The card was one of the best examples in the hobby, authenticated in an EX-MT 6 holder by PSA. Heritage had two other Plank cards in the sale, as well. A PSA 3 copy, one of just 17 graded by PSA (four higher), brought $77,675 including the BP. The third Plank sold was the printing error variation that left the card devoid of some color. Handcut and graded authentic, the card sold for $26,290. Read full article on Sports Collectors Daily.
Auction Results, Heritage Auction Galleries, Sports Collectors Daily
The jersey worn by Wilt Chamberlain in the 1972 NBA All-Star game sold for $72,000 in Grey Flannel Auctions annual sale during Hall of Fame induction weekend. Saturday’s event featured game-used and personal items from dozens of NBA players and coaches. The jersey, worn during the Lakers’ early 70s glory days by the late center, was given to a Chamberlain friend immediately after the game that season. According to the auction house, the jersey resided inside Murphy’s Bleachers, a sports bar near Wrigley Field, until two years ago. Read the full stroy on Sports Collectors Daily here.
Auction Results, Grey Flannel Auctions, Sports Collectors Daily
