Here’s another hobby man cave collecting goal for many of us: a 1938 Goudey Heads Up Advertising Poster, which was described as Goudey’s file copy!
This example was a part of Robert Edward Auctions July 2000 catalog. Here’s how they described it:
This candy store window poster announces Goudey’s classic 1938 Heads Up series. It features a giant card of Brooklyn pitcher Van Lingo Mungo. This poster originates directly from The Great Goudey Find of 1969 when the files of Goudey surfaced in the hobby. This is Goudey’s file copy of this poster. Goudey file copy materials were saved by being stapled into a large album for future reference. Very close examination reveals a pair of very small and clean staple holes in the upper right and left corners, and the faint hint of a vertical crease. The poster is otherwise in Near Mint condition. Of the very few (less than ten) examples of this poster known, it is likely that this is the finest. One of the rarest and most impressive of all card related advertising displays. 8 1/8″ x 12″
The only other copy I was able to track down was also sold by Robert Edward Auctions. It was mounted on cardboard and framed with three cards (DeMaree, Bartell, Lombardi); it sold for $4,930 in the spring of 2005.
Notice anything significant about this 1915 Boston Red Sox Postcard? Yup, that’s Babe Ruth in the middle of the back row!
Sotheby’s offered this piece in their March 1991 auction that featured items from The Copeland Collection.
It was described as a “real photo team postcard” made before the World Series of the American League Champion Boston Red Sox. Boston went on to win that World Series four games to one against Philadelphia. Sotheby’s, of course, highlighted Babe Ruth but also identified Speaker and Hooper on the near mint-conditioned postcard-backed item.
This is the sort of historical collectible that has exploded in price over the past 30 years. The estimate for the postcard was $3,000-4,000 back in 1991 but has skyrocketed in recent years. When the finest graded example (there are just 10 in PSA’s Pop Report), a PSA 6, was offered by Heritage Auctions in February 2024, it went for $564k, and lower-graded copies are now $80k-115k+.
UPDATE: Aug 2024. REA sold the following example for $114k on August 11, 2024.
In my post about Seven 1954 Bowman Unopened Five-Cent Wax Packs, I mentioned that they originated from the famous Paris, Tennesse, find, which I said I would detail in a future post. Well, here’s a look back at Mr. Mint’s Find II of unopened material.
First, a “find” is when old trading cards surface with significant value that few collectors know about. And usually, those finds have a great story related to them. Alan Rosen used those stories to grow his brand (before branding was a thing in the hobby) through advertising and word of mouth.
Alan Rosen – The Buying Machine – Advertisement
Mr. Mint’s Find II was his >$400k 1954 and 1955 unopened box find from 1987 in Paris, Tennessee. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I pulled the following screen capture from Mr. Mint’s old website, describing the Find II as having over 500 unopened boxes of 1954 and 1955 Topps and Bowman baseball cards. Plus, an additional 250+ boxes of 1954 and 1955 Bowman football unopened boxes, along with some 1955 Bowman baseball sets (I’ve read they were all missing Charles King’s card, who lived in Paris, TN).
Mr. Mint’s Major Finds via the Wayback Machine
In a November 20, 1987 advertisement, Rosen also wrote that he was called to the deal by three Paris, Tennessee collector/dealers who came across the find in the basement of a former candy wholesaler. Many boxes were ruined by bugs and thrown away, and about a third were water-damaged (some vintage packs on the market from this find show brown stains on the wrapper).
Alan Rosen’s The Find II Advertisement
You can see from the advertisement that he was selling:
1954 Bowman baseball 5-cent packs for $125 and boxes for $2500.
1955 Bowman baseball 5-cent packs for $150 and boxes for $3000.
1955 Topps baseball 5-cent packs for $200 and boxes for $3500.
1954 Bowman football 5-cent packs for $20 and boxes for $425
1954 Bowman football 1-cent packs for $10 and boxes for $1000.
Many of these products were bought and ripped to complete sets; indeed, many high-grade cards in today’s graded market came from this find. But the prices have skyrocketed for those who managed to hang on to the unopened products. Here are a few recent sales:
A 1954 Bowman baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $4200 in the fall of 2021
A 1955 Bowman Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 7 sold for $4680 in the Fall of 2021
A 1955 Bowman Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $7200 in the Fall of 2021
A 1955 Topps Baseball 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 5 sold for $36000 in the Spring of 2022, yes, $36k. REA wrote that it almost certainly originated from the 1987 Paris find.
An empty 1955 Topps baseball 5-cent box sold for $1620 in the Summer of 2020
A 1954 Bowman Football 5-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $1740 in the Summer of 2020
A 1954 Bowman Football 1-cent wax pack graded PSA 8 sold for $420 in the Summer of 2020
A 1954 Bowman Football 5-cent wax box sold for $46800 in July 2020
A 1954 Bowman Football 1-cent wax box sold for $32400 in May 2020
It’s almost impossible to put a current market value at what a find like this one would go for today; the market saturation would be so incredible that if I found it, I would probably try to keep it a secret.
You might think that most cards have already been “found,” but that isn’t true. We keep reading announcements about previously privately held collections, so keep your eyes open and happy collecting!
Some folks will say the 1952 Topps set was the company’s first baseball card release because the 51s were more of a “game,” ignoring the baseball cards that were part of the 1948 Topps Magic Photos set.
Whatever you believe, this article from the second edition of Topps Magazine is an excellent primer to Topps’ early baseball card days.
The 1913 T200 Fatima Team cards are popular and pricey, but even those prices get dwarfed by the premiums! REA offered this framed copy of the Cleveland Americans (Joe Jackson) at auction in July 2000.
REA wrote:
This large team photograph of the Cleveland Americans was issued as a special premium by Fatima Cigarettes. The Cleveland Americans are considered by many to be the most desirable in this series as this team includes Joe Jackson (standing second from left). T200 premiums, which are giant versions of the T200 Fatima team cards packaged with Fatima cigarettes, feature team photos on thick cardboard mounts and are ideal for display. These large premium team cards are among the rarest of all baseball tobacco issues, and were available only by mail in exchange for forty coupons which were included (one per pack) with Fatima cigarettes. This Cleveland Americans premium was the prize (both in terms of the team and condition) of a find of eight T200 Fatima premiums which surfaced and were sold at auction in June of 1998. Strong Nr/Mt condition with flawless contrast. Beautifully matted and framed. 11 3/4″ x 19 1/2″
More recently, REA sold and re-sold the following example for $18,800 in the spring of 2010 and $29,625 in the spring of 2012.
Also, it looks like someone got a pretty good deal when they picked up this mounted example in the fall of 2018 for “just” $6,000.
I ran across the original color artwork used for Whitey Ford’s 1953 Topps baseball card while flipping through Sotheby’s February 1992 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia Catalog. It represented a quick flip from its sale in Guernsey’s 1989 Topps Auction.
First, Sotheby’s included few details, just that it was a full-color original artwork and that the lot included an example card in near-mint to mint condition. They described the original artwork as being 3 1/2 by 5 in.
But like I said, Sotheby’s wasn’t the first auction house to offer this Topps original artwork. It was first made available to the hobby in Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989, along with the original full-color paintings of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Bob Feller, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campanella’s 1953 Topps baseball cards.
Guernseys included cropped color photos of all six art pieces in the front (page 17) of the catalog; here’s a scan of the Ford.
The specific auction lots were found later in the catalog. Ford shared page 72 with Jackie Robinson. Notice the expected $2,000-3000 price.
The Ford did a little better than that; it sold for $35,200. Interestingly, less than three years later, Sotheby’s expected the Ford to be sold for only $20,000-25,000.
To round things out, here’s the original news photograph from the early 1950s that inspired Ford’s 1953 (and 1954) Topps baseball card. Heritage sold this PSA/DNA Type 1 example for $1,920 in November 2017.
