Rare baseball cards from Ohio sell well at auction
Century-old baseball cards discovered in an Ohio attic sold big at an auction but they aren't going to make anyone super-rich. That's because the cards and the money are being evenly divided among 20 cousins.
A sampling of the treasure trove that had been untouched for 100 years was sold Thursday night during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore, Md. The 37 baseball cards featuring the likes of Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner fetched a combined $566,132 in brisk online and live bidding. They were expected to bring about $500,000.
Family member Karla Hench, who helped uncover the cards, said they brought "fantastic prices." She said family members were thrilled by the results. "We're very excited that we can all share in this find," she said.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale, said two lots were sold to Internet bidders and the third went to a bidder present at the auction. The auction house declined to identify the winning bidders.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "The room was packed."
What made this find so special was that the 700 cards were nearly pristine, the finest examples anyone had ever seen from an extremely rare series given out with candy around 1910.
Century-old baseball cards discovered in an Ohio attic sold big at an auction but they aren't going to make anyone super-rich. That's because the cards and the money are being evenly divided among 20 cousins.
A sampling of the treasure trove that had been untouched for 100 years was sold Thursday night during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore, Md. The 37 baseball cards featuring the likes of Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner fetched a combined $566,132 in brisk online and live bidding. They were expected to bring about $500,000.
Family member Karla Hench, who helped uncover the cards, said they brought "fantastic prices." She said family members were thrilled by the results. "We're very excited that we can all share in this find," she said.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale, said two lots were sold to Internet bidders and the third went to a bidder present at the auction. The auction house declined to identify the winning bidders.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "The room was packed."
What made this find so special was that the 700 cards were nearly pristine, the finest examples anyone had ever seen from an extremely rare series given out with candy around 1910.
