Posted on 07/10/2012 10:51:44 AM PDT by Colofornian
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Karl Kissner picked up a soot- covered cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse in his grandfather's attic. Taking a look inside, he saw baseball cards bundled with twine. They were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing.
But some of the names were familiar: Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.
Then he put the box on a dresser and went back to digging through the attic.
It wasn't until two weeks later that he learned that his family had come across what experts say is one of the biggest, most exciting finds in the history of sports card collecting, a discovery probably worth millions.
The cards are from an extremely rare series issued around 1910. The few known to exist are in so-so condition at best, with faded images and worn edges. But the ones from the attic in the Ohio town of Defiance are nearly pristine, untouched for more than a century. The colors are vibrant, the borders crisp and white.
"It's like finding the Mona Lisa in the attic" Kissner said.
Sports card experts who authenticated the find say they may never see something this impressive again.
"Every future find will ultimately be compared to this," said Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator.
The best of the bunch – 37 cards – are expected to bring a total of $500,000 when they are sold at auction in August during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore. There are about 700 cards in all that could be worth up to $3 million, experts say. They include such legends as Christy Mathewson and Connie Mack.
Kissner and his family say the cards belonged to their grandfather, Carl Hench, who died in the 1940s...
(Excerpt) Read more at ksl.com ...
OR take them to Les Gold at American Jewelry & Loan in Detroit where his son and daughter can argue over how their father should run his business.
A friend of mine wouldn’t speak to his mother for years after he found out she burned his baseball cards. I didn’t have many baseball cards, but I sold my large comic book collection for a penny apiece when I was in high school for gas money.
As for those pawn shop shows, they’re scripted fakes, like all “reality” shows.
Why yes, I know Carl. My grand daddy gave him a base ball card collection to store but grand daddy died before he could get it back.
Most of my baseball cards found their way into the spokes of my bicycle......
My guess is, many of us have a similar story about a parent burning or tossing baseball cards and/or comic books.. Mine is comic books, 1st Superman comic, etc.. mother tossed them. lost a lot of money that day, and this is precisely why the ones that survived are worth so much money.
I have several unopened Topps complete season boxes and have thought about selling those many times, then I think if I break open the box and get the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card, I could make out like a banshee.
I also bought into the Javey Lopez rookie card sensation and lost a couple of shirts.
I do it know for the kids and hope that they will enjoy the cards and remember what life and baseball was like back then.
But, if I've got a valuable antique that would be of interest to an auction, that is definitely where I go. The economics are different and I get more of the cash.
Side note aside, this baseball card discovery sounds spectacular. Honus Wagner in mint condition? Seriously?
A couple of years ago one of my son's bought a 1920's bungalow type house. When he torn down the sofit in the kitchen a bag of silver coins landed on his head. That was before silver hit its high now, but in silver value alone he had over 2000 dollars. He put all new windows in the house with that money...his neighbor said the people that had that house before him was always finding money....bet the original owners lost money during the depression and hated banks...millions of american's felt the same way. There was just one bedroom up stairs with wood floor...you could see where a piece of flooring had been cut out and money put in and then the piece of flooring replaced.
That bag of coins came out of what was the upstairs floor..he found a lot of places that once held money, but that was what the owners before him probably found, they were all empty.....
Live rats and things that go bump in the night.
I just wanted to point out that the Honus Wagner baseball card recently found in somebody's attic is not from the same baseball card series as the extremely rare Honus Wagner baseball card that collectors sometimes refer to as the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards. That extremely rare Wagner card is from the T-206 baseball card series. The Wagner card that was found in the attic is from a different baseball card series. Of course, this doesn't mean that it's not worth a lot of money, but just that it's not the same card.
Got a crazy Aunt in mine.
Mine just took it upon himself to get rid of baby clothes, toys, books from our childhood.
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