Vintage Baseball Cards Drive Auction A Pennsylvania auction company is offering a treasure trove of vintage baseball cards, with the bulk dating from the 19th and early 20th century.
News-Antique.com - Jul 11,2009 - (East Stroudsburg, PA)--Baseball’s rich history comes to life in the memorabilia that illustrates the early days of the professional game. This week, collectors and fans will have a chance to own some of that history when 19thCenturyOnly brings its summer auction to a close.
200 lots with 1,000 rare and vintage baseball cards are being offered including one of the finest 1911 Mecca Double Folders complete sets in existence. Despite a nagging recession, quality vintage cards have proven to be a strong performer in the current market because of the continued high demand and relative scarcity.
True to its name, the 19thCenturyOnly auction offers some beautiful cards from the 1800s including a newly discovered circa 1877 Bill Hawes CDV. The popular Mayo and Old Judge sets are well represented as well as three high grade rarities from the 1887 Allen & Ginter set: a PSA 7 Tim Keefe, PSA 8 Joe Mulvey and PSA 7 James Fogerty. A pair of Hall of Famers can be found with the inclusion of the 1887 Buchner Gold Coin cards of Old Hoss Radbourn and Buck Ewing, both very respectable in presentation.
Early 20th century listings are a virtual baseball treasure trove. The gorgeous Mecca issue, consisting of 50 cards, with two players per card, carries no less than 20 Hall of Famers and the set offered by 19thCenturyOnly is made up of a very consistent PSA 5 and 6 grade. It’s currently rated as the ninth best set on the PSA Set Registry.
“E” card collectors will have plenty to digest including a rare 1910 Nadja Caramels Eddie Plank, and two Honus Wagner rarities: an E105 Mello Mint Gum and E90-2 American Caramel. There is an E92 Croft’s Candy Christy Mathewson (PSA 4) and an Admiral Schlei that is graded the highest of any Croft’s Cocoa card to date.
The auction is loaded with tobacco cards including a near complete T206 set break; exciting news for collectors who’ve been celebrating the 100th anniversary of this hobby icon by collecting the 500+ card set. There is also a rare T206 Irvin Wilhelm variation, a 1919 T213 Coupon Ty Cobb portrait and a 1911 T212 Buck Weaver
Post-War cards being offered include a 1933 Goudey #149 Babe Ruth (PSA 4), a near set of 41 different 1938 Goudey Heads Up including 11 Hall of Famers. For fans of the 1950s, a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie card and a 1952 Berk Ross Joe DiMaggio can be found amid the online catalog.
Boxing collectors, too, will find something of interest as several T226 1910 Red Sun cards are up for grabs.
The successful outgrowth of an online community, 19thCenturyOnly has been offering vintage sports cards memorabilia to collectors at auction since 2003. Bidding in the current auction ends Wednesday, July 15. at 9 PM EST with a 15-minute rule. Registration is available online at www.19thCenturyOnly.com.
