In a tale reminiscent of a hidden treasure hunt, a nondescript wooden cigar box, long forgotten in the dust-laden recesses of a Northeast Ohio attic, turned into a piñata bursting with vintage baseball card delights. The unexpected bounty, featuring none other than the legendary Babe Ruth, batted in a striking $120,000 during an online auction orchestrated by Stark County’s Kiko Auctions. But, like any good mystery, the tale doesn’t end at an attic—oh no, it unravels a saga of family discovery and the timeless allure of America’s favorite pastime.
The sellers, two siblings preferring to keep their identities under wraps, had embarked on the arduous task of sifting through their deceased parents’ belongings when they stumbled upon the timeworn cigar box. Their instincts tingled at the sight of what lay inside, whispering that perhaps these cards held more than just sepia-toned memories—they held value. And Sherlock Holmes would nod approvingly, for indeed, their hunch bore sweet fruit.
Our sleuths over at the Canton Repository crunched the numbers like so many peanuts at the ballpark, revealing the auction commenced on the 28th of May and crescendoed to a close on the 2nd of June. The centerpiece of this digital bazaar was a vast spread of 623 lots, the lion’s share being baseball cards, with a hearty 200 from the illustrious 1933 Goudey Big League Gum set—a considerable heavyweight in card-collecting circles.
For the uninitiated, the 1933 Goudey set revolutionized the card niche by embedding a humble stick of gum in each pack, a sweet innovation that catapulted its popularity. This set brims with Hall of Famers and is the quintessential crown jewel sought after by collectors who fancy themselves aficionados of USA’s storied baseball past.
When the virtual gavel rapped, heralding the auction’s conclusion, the till rang up to a neat $120,699. Of course, internet premiums and sales taxes nudged the total to dizzying heights of over $140,000, all for love of the game—or rather, its memorabilia.
One eagle-eyed bidder, identifiable only through their shadowy online alias, claimed a sizeable loot from this rich vein of nostalgia. The crowning glory? A 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card, with a red backdrop as rich as the sensation it generated, cashing in a cool $8,000. In a more substantial picture, five cards featuring the mighty Babe topped $35,250 before the inevitable surcharges.
While the pedigree of these artifacts varied, none bore the official stamp of professional grading, thereby injecting a tantalizing element of risk—the kind that makes pulses race and hearts soar in the world of vintage card speculation.
So, it seems that from a forgotten attic nestled within the Buckeye State, these relics of baseball’s storied past leapt into the virtual auction limelight, rekindling the spark that is America’s pastime. In the process, they enthralled collectors across the digital globe—proving once again that a dash of nostalgia, when well placed, can still evoke history’s echoes and hit the proverbial home run. With this find, these once-overlooked relics have immortalized themselves as much more than ink on cardboard; they are a testament to the timeless magic of baseball and the unending pursuit of connecting with a slice of cherished history.
