Just Collect has proudly purchased $47,000 worth of vintage complete baseball sets! A trip to Ohio led to a beautiful collection that includes a 1952 Bowman baseball set with Mickey Mantle.
You might remember Don, the legendary Cleveland collector we told you about. Don shared amazing stories about being friends with Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer, Jim Brown. While Don provided us never-before-heard stories about the NFL great, and showed off his Browns memorabilia, he also had something else very special - a huge collection of vintage baseball cards! We can now proudly say Just Collect has purchased multiple complete baseball sets from Don for a total of $47,000!
1952 Bowman baseball cards are beautiful! Each card features a colorful reproduction of a player photograph along with a facsimile signature. Measuring 2-1/8" by 3-1/8” in size, each card takes you back to the days before players wore batting helmets. Imagine a young Mickey Mantle stepping up to the plate without anything on his head to project himself from a Bobby Shantz fastball. You'd never find Aaron Judge sans helmet with a Tarik Skubal on the bump, but that's what baseball was like in the 1950's and these cards take back to the early days of the game. Don had all 252 cards from the 1952 Bowman set in this collection! In the first three photos below, you'll find Mantle, Willie Mays, and other legends such as Bob Feller, Duke Snider, and Stan Musial. The top cards from this set have been graded by PSA and SGC. Don smartly stored the ungraded cards in a pages and then into a binder; one of the ways you can safely store your collection.
1956 Topps baseball cards follow in the fourth and fifth photos below. This release is one of our all-time favorites; each card is horizontal! All 340 cards in the set have a player portrait and an action shot, too. Similar to the Bowman cards, these 1956 Topps have a facsimile on the front. These vintage cards are slightly bigger than a standard card you see in packs today (2.5" by 3.5") as they come in at 2-5/8" by 3-3/4”. Mantle is featured in the 1956 set along with other baseball legends Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, and more!
The last three photos below are of the 1962 Topps baseball set. Remember the 1987 Topps set with wood borders you had as a kid? Your dad had a set just like that, but these came out in 1962! Topps released 598 cards in this set, making room for a who's who of baseball royalty. Mantle, Aaron, Mays, and Clemente are in the set, and so are Sandy Koufax, Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, and more legends!
A pair of rookies standout in the 1968 Topps cards you see in the final photo: Nolan Ryan and Johnny Bench! Topps released this 1968 set with the same number of cards as the 1962 set, and included all the stars you just read about - Mantle, Aaron, Mays, and more. Card #177 features future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan as a rookie, sharing his card with Jerry Koosman. Card #257 is a rookie Johnny Bench who shares a card with Ron Tompkins.
Photos of a few of the complete sets in the collection:
Our owner, Leighton Sheldon, travelled to Strongsville, OH., where he met up with Don to evaluate his collection in-person. We offer many ways to appraise your collection including travelling to you for high-end collections such as Don's. Just Collect has a store here in Summit, NJ that you're welcome to visit, too. We also set up at shows and conventions such as The National Sports Collectors Convention and The Philly Show. Can't travel? No problem! We have a fully-insured, two-day FedEx account that you can ship your collection with! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are happy to help you.
Don initially was referred to us by our good friend Earl who lives in Ohio. Leighton and Don first met when we were set up at the Strongsville OH show. At that time Leighton had looked over some of the binders and was definitely interested in buying the collection. Don told Leighton that he would reach out to him once he was ready to sell. A few months later Don reached out to Leighton and he was on his way to evaluate the entire collection at Don's residence. Earl was nice enough go to Don's house and help Leighton with organizing the binders. From there, Leighton worked on the collection for two days and made a fair offer to purchase the collection. Don needed a day to think it over but both agreed to a deal of $47,000! Don accepted our offer and Leighton then paid Don how he wanted to be paid! When you choose to sell your collection to Just Collect, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer.
Thank you for allowing us into your home, sharing your story, and choosing us to purchase your collection, Don! We hope you continue to build your Cleveland Browns collection! Check out the interview between with Leighton and Don in the link below:
Love this story? Check out other blogs featuring incredible collections such as:
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:
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 may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.
If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.
We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.
If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.
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.
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.
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!