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When cleaning out her parent's house, Amy found what she described as a "box of old junk." One person's trash is another person's treasure! Inside a box was over 1,000 vintage baseball and football cards including dozens of Hall of Famers. In the box that was once thought to have been discarded was a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card. We're proud to have purchased this vintage collection from Amy and her family. We are excited to show you the contents, and also provide a tip on cards that may be in poor condition - hint: these can still be very valuable.

"My mom threw out my baseball cards." We've all been there, right? If only we had those garbage bags of sports cards from our childhood back in our hands. This collection was nearly given the same fate but thankfully Amy found us here at Just Collect. Amy was pleasantly surprised to learn that while these sports cards were in low-grade condition, there was still substantial value. Take a look at these fresh-to-the-hobby vintage cards thought to be simply a "box of old junk." 

THE BOX OF OLD JUNK COLLECTION

Amy had been cleaning out her parent's house and sitting in the back of the garage was a box of baseball and football cards from the 1950's. Just a box of old junk she thought. To Amy, each card was old, used, and very worn. She did, however, recognize some of the names she read like Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. Rather than disposing of the box, her curiosity kicked in and two friends helped her research the cards. After entering a Google search of "how to sell my baseball cards", Amy stopped on our site, JustCollect.com, where we offer a free appraisal right on our website. We have an easy-to-use form with a spot to upload photos of your collection, and once I received the photos Amy provided, I couldn't believe it - this was certainly no box of junk.

Over 1,000 vintage cards from the 1950's were in the box and one of the cards quickly stood out: a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card. 

Bowman included a young Mantle in their release with a beautiful painted rendition of the would-be New York Yankees legend. Just 19 years old, Mantle hit 6 home runs and knocked in 20 over the final 27 games of the season that year. Mantle was on the postseason roster and helped the Yankees to the World Series championship, his first of seven, in his rookie season. Bowman put The Mick on card #253 a year before Topps included Mantle on a baseball card. Mantle is posing right-handed in the photo you see on the card, maybe staring down a pitch he's ready to take deep for a home run, one of his 536 career round trippers.

The Mantle card is from the 1951 Bowman baseball set. Bowman released a set of 324 cards that measured 2-1/16" x 3-1/8", each looking like a beautiful painting of the players. Along with Mantle, there were many players in the set that ended up being enshrined into the baseball Hall of Fame. Did your eagle eyes spot that Willie Mays rookie card next to Mick in the picture above? Look just above Mays and you'll see Ted Williams! 

More stars and Hall of Famers in the collection come from the 1952 Bowman baseball set. Very similar to the 1951 set, the '52 release is the same size and features an art reproduction of a photograph for each player. A facsimile autograph was placed on the front of each card in this 252-card set. You can see cards from this collection includes Mickey Mantle (top center) and Stan Musial next to Mick. Other Hall of Famers you can spot in this photo are Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, Duke Snider, and Phil Rizzuto just to name a few!

Here is a stack of 1953 Bowman "color" baseball cards. Unlike the 1951 and 1952 sets, Bowman used gorgeous color photos for there set this year. The cards were a little bigger in size, coming in at 2-1/2" x 3-3/4." The set size is smaller with just 160 total cards but that gives you a better chance at finding a Hall of Fame player. Starting in the second row, in the middle, you can Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle represented again. You can see Mantle up-close in the following photo; look at how those colors pop as Mick is swinging for the fences. In the third row how about Ed Mathews and Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Whitey Ford, and Yogi Berra! Five straight cards of baseball legends. My favorite card from this set is one of the coolest cards ever produced and quite popular in the hobby. Top row, center, is the Pee Wee Reese card. This photo was taken during Spring Training and you can see Reese hopping over a base runner to "turn two" for a double play. This card really started the "action shot" trend you see on most cards today.

Amy's dad also collected Topps baseball cards. On the left you can see cards from the  1953 Topps baseball set with perhaps the greatest all around baseball player to take the field, Willie Mays. Taking a page from Bowman, these 2-5/8" x 3-3/4" cards look like a painting. In total there were 274 cards released in 1953 Topps and we're excited to see the Willie Mays included in this collection.

To the right are a handful of 1952 Topps baseball cards and 1954 Topps baseball cards. While the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and 1954 Topps Hank Aaron cards were not in this collection, Amy's dad had a 1952 Larry Doby and a 1954 Ernie Banks rookie card you can see on the bottom row.

The black and white cards you see here date all the way back to 1947. Produced by a company from Chicago, IL. named Exhibit Supply Company, these baseball cards were distributed by the company for 20 years. From 1947 to 1966, "Exhibits" were released in packs of 5 cards for 10 cents. The cards measure 3-3/8” by 5-3/8” and feature portraits of the players. Pee Wee Reese is here in the middle, Stan Musial is in the top row all the way to the right, and Gil Hodges down on the bottom row all the way to the right. Our sister company, will occasionally have sealed packs of these Exhibit cards that you can purchase spots in to take home a pack-fresh card from this set. 

Look at this stack of cards from the 1951 Bowman football set! We're thrilled to see Amy's dad loved pigskin cards this season. Much like the baseball release, you can see each player has a painting-like color photo. Each card is 2-1/16" x 3-1/8" and there are 144 cards to the set. While there wasn't a complete set here, many stars are present. Two cards you'll quickly notice bookend the second row - TWO rookie cards of Tom Landry. Before he became one of the greats NFL coaches of all-time, Landry was an All-Pro punter. Wonder if his Giants were running a fake punt for the photo in his rookie card; Landry appears to be throwing the ball.

THE STORY

After reaching out to Amy, I arranged to meet at a Starbucks in Hoboken, NJ. Amy was very surprised to hear that while her cards were not in the best of conditions, they were still valuable. Condition is very important when determining the value of your cards. On a scale of 1 to 10, a grade of 10 could be worth thousands of dollars more than a grade of 1. However, cards of players such as Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, etc. and important cards in the hobby can still hold substantial value even in low-grade condition. 

While chatting with Amy, I learned that this ENTIRE collection including the 1951 Bowman rookie cards of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were thought to have been discarded already. After telling her sister about a box of cards, Amy had learned her dad wanted to give the collection to his grandson, Amy's nephew, but thought the collection had been thrown away. Thankfully this was NOT the case and here we were, drinking coffee and learning about the history of this great collection. This is the best part about my passion (it's never a job if you love it!): I get to hold cards of legendary players that are decades old, each having a unique story to tell, and I get to meet wonderful people like you and Amy as I do it. So much has changed since a set like 1951 Bowman was released. I Love Lucy was the new show on CBS, Perry Como and Nat King Cole were ruling radio airwaves, gas was 21 cents per gallon (if only...), and we were still 20 years away (March 30, 1971) from the first Starbucks opening. We laughed together, told a few jokes, and noticed that a few of the patrons were wondering why I was telling stories about baseball cards from the 1950's. If you ever see me in a coffee shop and want to talk cards, I'm all ears!

After I carefully reviewed the collection and made a fair offer for the collection, Amy chose not to sell at that time; she wanted to think about the evaluation for a bit. Whether you need to speak with other family members about a collection that was inherited or you just need time to think about our offer, we're here for you if you have any questions and/or if you're ready to sell.

Not long after our initial meeting, Amy reached back out to me and was ready to sell the collection. We agreed to meet back at the Starbucks in Hoboken, NJ. As Amy was heading over from Manhattan, I ventured to the Starbucks so I could get us a table and some drinks. As I opened the door, the door decided not to cooperate with me. A few tugs later I learned that the shop was closed due to construction! The next coffee shop I walked into was packed - not a table in sight. I am happy to see my beloved town flourish, but I needed to find Amy a spot to sit. Luckily, I found a table OUTSIDE of the next coffee shop! We enjoyed coffee and the lovely, outdoor scenery, where I was able to proudly purchase the Box of Old Junk collection.

I paid Amy via company check. When you sell your collection to Just Collect, I can pay you in cash, check, money order, wire transfer, or maybe a lifetime supply of Starbucks coffee!

With the collection in my hands, I began to walk home here in Hoboken, NJ., and as I got to 11th and Washington, I passed a sign that states some of the first baseball games ever played took place here. The site of Elysian Fields held a game on June 19th, 1846! As fate would have it, I had a handful of iconic baseball cards right in this very spot. It wasn't exactly like the Field of Dreams movie but there was something majestic about having just purchased some iconic baseball cards just up the street from where baseball was getting its start over 175 years ago!

Here is a video of the Hoboken Collection with Amy and myself:

We have purchased several collections that included a Mickey Mantle Bowman rookie card like the Ankle Brace Collection (with TWO Mantle rookies) and the Sooner State Collection. If you have a Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, we are always interested in purchasing those as well like we did with the Black Box Collection and Grandpa's Shoebox Collection from Canada.

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want to be appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:

We offer many ways to evaluate your cards other than using our website, too.

• Come to a convention

We keep a LIST of the card shows we'll be attending.  Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

• Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out. We recently took a trip to California to purchase a collection that included three Jackie Robinson 1948 Leaf rookie cards that you can read about here.

• Meet in New York City

We have another location in New York you can meet us at; read all the information here.

• SHIP your collection 

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back with shipping fees paid by us!  We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!  

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time! 

• JustCollect.com
• (732) 828-2261
• info@justcollect.com
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