It was another great find for the vintage card experts at Just Collect. After several weeks of telephone discussions with the seller, Just Collect flew to Florida and within a few short days, had evaluated, negotiated and purchased the entire collection from a gentleman who called himself a "high-end, exotic antique baseball card and memorabilia collector." The collection spans across many decades; from early tobacco cards of Cap Anson and Christy Mathewson to cabinets cards of Cy Young, and even early and rookie cards of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky (because apparently, every collection needs a card of "The Great One"). The seller spoke highly of Just Collect's vintage card specialist: "From the first phone conversation I was extremely impressed by his extensive knowledge of these rare and unusual items. He knew current auction prices as well as private sales."
One of the more impressive parts of the collection were the group of late 19th and early 20th Century tobacco and candy cards. Some of the standouts in this group come from baseball's greatest sets, such as the 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions, 1909-1911 American Tobacco Company T206, various American Carmel issues, 1909 E92 Dockman & Sons and 1911 M116 Sporting Life set. The E90-1 American Caramel set features Cy Young, which comes in two variations: Boston and Cleveland. We secured his Boston variation - and it's in pretty good condition. There are full borders around all sides, the picture still retains it's great red color, and there are no signs of paper loss on either the front or reverse! Another fantastic piece from this group is the E92 Dockman & Sons Honus Wagner card. Again, this card has two different variations within the set, with the 'throwing' variation being the most desirable - which is the one we are proud to offer to you in the next couple weeks. This example features Wagner, donning the Pittsburgh uniform, in the forefront of a pastel colored landscape in his throwing motion. The card has no visible paper loss on the front and retains better-than-average centering. Also in this group were two Christy Mathewson tobacco cards, one from the renowned T206 (Dark Cap - Hand in Glove) set and another from Sporting Life's 1911 M116 (Blue Background) set. Both cards display beautifully with rich colors, great centering, and crisp imaging. These two pieces would add tremendous value to anyone's collection.
Cap Anson, known for his hitting prowess, is one of the hobby's most sought after players to collect. He he was the first player to amass over 3,000 hits, and is regarded as the greatest player of the 1800's. One of his cards which we will be auctioning off, comes from the 1895 Mayo Cut Plug (N300) set, which doesn't hit the market often. This card is extremely tough to find in high grade, due to the era the card was produced in and also because it was made with black borders - which are known to chip very easily. Cap is depicted sporting his beloved Cubs jersey.
One of the better pieces of the collection has to be the W600 Sporting Life Cabinet card of Cy Young. This card was produced in 1902 and is the second oldest card of the Hall of Famer. This card comes in two different variations, "Cleveland" and "Boston", with the Boston variation being most prominent among collectors. We are proud to offer the Boston variation, via our eBay auctions, within the next few weeks. Unlike other cards produced in this era, this cabinet card was not sold with tobacco, and measures in much larger, at approximately 5" x 7.5". This card is considered one of the rare ones, as only seven examples have been made available to the public since 2007, and the value increasing with almost every sale. Young is one of the game's all-time greatest pitchers, reaching 500 wins while posting a sub-3.00 lifetime ERA! He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
You can't go wrong when buying Mickey Mantle cards. He's one of the greatest players of all-time, and his cards seem to increase in value year after year - which makes for a solid investment. We were fortunate enough to score several Mantle cards in this purchase - the earliest happens to be his 1952 (second year) Bowman card! This card is an absolute beauty, exhibiting a clean image of the Mick with almost perfect centering .
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that you've never seen this next piece. It comes from the extremely rare Helmar Silks set, which was produced in 1912. This silk, which is easily susceptible to damage, features the era's top pitcher Christy Mathewson, and measures approximately 7" x 8.5". The silk presents beautifully, showing it's amazing detail and color 100+ years later. It it truly remarkable the condition this piece is still in, given the time period and delicacy of the item.
Just Collect is always looking to buy vintage sports cards and memorabilia from the 1800s and early 1900s. We are fully staffed with a team of vintage card experts who can make you an offer within 24 hours! Contact us today if you are ready to sell your collection! Are you unable to bring your collection to us? Not a problem. Send us an email with pictures and a detailed list of your vintage cards (pre-1980) to see if we can travel to you! "I decided at my advanced age to sell my collection to Just Collect... I would recommend these people to anyone interested in dealing with a professional, fair-minded expert, as they were" - said the long time collector from Florida. Another successful deal on the books for Just Collect.
