I’d been looking for a new daily driver watch when I ran across this 1948 Babe Ruth Exacta watch in an old auction catalog from July 1998. This was my first time seeing it, though they appear moderately common. They aren’t cheap, but I feel compelled to find a nice copy anyway!
The watch face shows a full-color pinstriped portrait of Ruth, bats slung over his shoulder against an emerald green baseball diamond.
In July 2014, Goldin sold the following 1948 Babe Ruth Exacta Watch with an original case, box, and registration card for $829.50.
You can see that the lot also included a period magazine advertisement for the watch, just $7.95.
An item you won’t see often, this one from Mastro’s December 2002 catalog, “a very scarce 6-1/2’’ x 7-3/4’’ final process uncut sheet that contains six 1935 Goudey cards on the front and a complete puzzle-back photo of Chuck Klein on the reverse.”
They wrote that the sheet was in VG condition with a tear near the upper left corner and a stain in the lower right.
The sheet features Dickey, Lazzeri, Ruffing, Vance, Traynor, and Ott.
The major auction houses have moved a few other R321 sheets over the years; Heritage sold this one with Foxx, Dean, and six other HoFers in November 2014 for $2868.
Heritage also sold a panel with Babe Ruth and nine other HoFers in November 2014 for $4063.
And REA sold this twelve-card sheet (with the Detroit Tigers team on the back) for $8,812 in the spring of 2008.
Mastro offered this Babe Ruth signed 1939 Baseball Centennial First Day Cover one in their December 2004 catalog, noting the smudging on the “ruth” part of the signature. The auto had an LOA from James Spence & Steve Grad.
The first-day cover is stamped from Cooperstown on June 12, 1939, bearing a 3-cent “Centennial of Baseball” stamp in the upper right corner. The Ex/Mt cover is addressed to a resident of Chicago.
Heritage sold this signed version for $16,800 in October 2018.
REA sold this signed example for $8,700 in their Summer 2023 auction.
Here’s an extremely scarce wrapper from an extremely scarce Canadian pre-war set: the 1924 Willard’s Chocolates V122 Sports Champions.
Ron Oser Entperises offered the 4” x 4” wrapper with a reserve of $100 in their March 1998 catalog. The lot’s description mentioned a 2” tear along one seam.
The V122 set has 56 cards, including three baseball players: Babe Ruth, Eddie Collins, and Ty Cobb. The baseball cards are super pricey; REA sold a PSA 5.5 Babe Ruth for $25,200 in September 2022.
In October 2009, Heritage Auctions sold this wrapper with four hockey cards from the set for $836.50.
They wrote, “Willards Chocolates was a Toronto based firm that produced a few sports theme sets in the mid-1920’s. In 1924 the company produced a 56-card set showcasing athletes from various sports including, baseball, boxing, track and field and hockey. This presentation offers all four hockey subjects: #’s 43 Watson, 45 Collett, 47 Smith and 52 Munro. All four present nicely but were once housed in an album and have paper/glue residue affecting the top portion of the back of each card, Collett has creases. Also offered is a very rare two-color wrapper adorned with a somewhat crude drawing of a runner while promoting “A Picture in Every Bar” of “Willard’s ‘Sports’ Nut Bar.” The rarity of the wrapper explained by the chance to exchange 100 wrappers for “imported chain” for Girls and a “watch chain” for boys. The wrapper has fold lines as issued, plus area of paper damage along the left and right edges, the result of being opened. Despite condition flaws, the wrapper presents at the VG/EX level.”
