Contact Us

A forgotten cigar box, more than 30 years in an attic, and a discovery worth thousands of dollars! A young couple recently walked into our Just Collect store with a look of relief on their faces. They had spent time visiting hobby shops throughout Central and Northern New Jersey, hoping to find someone who could properly evaluate an incredible collection of vintage non-sports cards. A collection of over 700 cards, nearly thrown away, was brought to the right place. 

Every shop they visited told them something similar: "You have an amazing collection, but vintage cards aren't our specialty."

Fortunately, one shop recommended they give Just Collect a try. And they were absolutely right — this is exactly the type of collection we love to work with!

THE DISCOVERY: A CIGAR BOX HIDDEN IN AN ATTIC FOR 30+ YEARS

Written by: Monte Jennings

The story behind this collection is just as fascinating as the cards themselves.

The collection belonged to the best friend of the young woman’s mother, whose husband had passed away a couple of years earlier. As she prepared to move out of state, she began cleaning out her home with the help of her longtime friend. While going through the attic, they stumbled upon a large, old cigar box filled with hundreds of vintage non-sports cards that had been tucked away for more than three decades. The owner initially thought nothing of them and suggested throwing them away, assuming they had little to no value. But her friend had a different idea.

"You should let me take care of this. You never know!"

Thankfully, she did!

She brought the cards to her daughter, whose husband took on the task of researching the collection online to get an idea of its potential value. He also suggested visiting local hobby shops to find someone who might be interested in purchasing the cards. After several unsuccessful stops, their search eventually led them to Just Collect.

OVER 700 VINTAGE NON-SPORTS CARDS!

When we began examining the collection, we immediately knew they had brought us something special.

Inside that old cigar box were more than 700 vintage non-sports cards, including incredible prewar issues and other classic sets, highlighted by:

• Sea Raiders
• Horrors of War
• Civil War News
• The FBI Heroes of the Law
• Fight the Red Menace
• G-Men & Heroes of the Law
• Government Agents & Public Enemies
• Sky Birds
• Lone Ranger
• Dick Tracy
• And many more!

1933 WORLD WIDE GUM SEA RAIDERS

Today, we are going to introduce you to the 1933 GOUDEY and 1933 WORLD WIDE GUM Sea Raiders cards in the collection! This collection is so massive, we are going to show you each of the sets above in a separate blog. You can learn about a new set each week, and appreciate these classics on their own! 

These Sea Raiders (R124) cards were produced by Goudey Gum Co. and its affiliate, World Wide Gum. If you're a sports card collector, you're probably familiar with 1933 Goudey baseball cards and the 1933 World Wide Gum baseball cards. These Sea Raiders cards are similar to the sports releases! Each card measures 2-3/8" x 2-7/8". The Goudey cards are numbered 1-24 and the World Wide Gum cards are numbered 1-48.

Sea Raiders features renderings of famous pirates! You can also find the famous pirate ships and themes such as card #13, "Walking the Plank."  Card backs come in an English-only version as well as a version with both English and French text. 

In the first photo below, you can see two copies of card #1, Capt. Teach. Captain Edward Teach is more known as - BLACKBEARD! 

Blackbeard’s career was short but legendary. In 1717, he captured a French ship and renamed it the Queen Anne’s Revenge, outfitting it with about 40 cannons. In May 1718, he blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina, for nearly a week, taking hostages and demanding a ransom: a chest of medicine. 

He built his fearsome image on purpose. Blackbeard was said to tuck slow-burning fuses under his hat and into his thick black beard before battle, surrounding his face with smoke. You can see this image on his cards below!

APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

From Almost Worthless to Worth Thousands!

Our team carefully went through the entire collection, providing a  and a competitive purchase offer. Once we completed our evaluation, we contacted the young couple to explain the collection's estimated retail value and the amount Just Collect was prepared to pay. The young woman immediately called her mother with the exciting news. Her mother then contacted her friend, the rightful owner of the collection, to present our offer.

We waited patiently for their decision. A few minutes later, the phone rang.

She accepted our offer — we had a deal!

We wrote a check for several thousand dollars directly to the collection's owner, and the young couple left our store with big smiles on their faces.

Just think about that for a moment.

A collection that was moments away from being thrown in the garbage turned into a check worth thousands of dollars! All because someone took the time to say, "You never know."

Another Incredible Collection Saved!

Stories like this are one of the reasons we love what we do at Just Collect. We're thrilled these cards survived more than 30 years in an attic, and even more excited that our collecting community will now have the opportunity to own some of these amazing vintage non-sports treasures. Most importantly, we're happy we could help this family turn something they thought had no value into a meaningful financial surprise.

Written By: Monte Jennings

WHAT'S HIDING IN YOUR ATTIC?

Before you throw away those old cards, let Just Collect take a look!

We're always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards, including prewar issues through the 1970s. Whether it's an old cigar box, a shoebox filled with cards, or an entire collection that's been sitting untouched for decades, you never know what treasures might be hiding inside. Just Collect offers FREE appraisals and competitive cash offers.

Your forgotten collection could be our next incredible discovery!

STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF THE COLLECTION!

Check back here on the Just Collect blog soon as we unveil the rest of the 700+ cards! Each set deserves the respect and love, and we can't wait to bring the whole collection to you!

INCREDIBLE COLLECTIONS PURCHASED

Check out blogs featuring incredible collections Just Collect proudly purchased such as:

• The Oregon Farm Collection with a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle discovered in an old barn!
• Two 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie cards - a pair of rookies from the Great One!
• 1990's Precious Metal Gem basketball cards include some of the rarest, most sought-after cards in modern history.
• The Aaron Judge Collection with high-end one of one cards and multiple rookie autos.
• Topps Venezuela Collection including a scarce Willie Mays card.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Our FREE newsletter is the best way to keep up on collections we've purchased, shows we'll be at to buy and sell collections, podcasts, cards we have for sale, and so much more! You can sign up for our newsletter by clicking below:

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 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 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 or using our website, too.

• Come to convention

We keep a LIST of 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.

• Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; 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 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.

CONTACT US ANY TIME

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
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Post right here on the blog