Key Rarities – $55,580 for Sporting Life Cabinet Cobb – Fuel Mile High’s October Auction

Mile High Card Co.’s recently concluded October 2011 auction seemed to prove the old adage that if you combine exceptional rarity with great condition, tremendous results will surely follow, as several key rarities performed to exceptional levels.

Supporting this claim were several instances highlighted by the following records: a 1907 W600 Sporting Life Cabinet of Ty Cobb graded PSA 3 VG found a new home to the tune of $55,580, as well an astounding and significant 1888 N403 Yum Yum Tobacco card of Cap Anson created quite a buzz with a final sales number of $40,163. Also commanding much interest by market watchers and enthusiasts alike was a 1909-11 T206 Bill O’Hara St. Louis that was the highest graded known copy having been assessed a PSA 7 NM grade which sold for $44,325.

Mile High Card Co. President Brian Drent commented, “As a firm we are exceptionally pleased with the passionate response that we saw all across the board and especially on the higher end of the collectibles market, and we will continue to strive to meet our clients’ collecting goals by offering material from all scopes of the hobby.”

In addition to the aforementioned highlights, as is the case with many MHCC auctions, baseball cardboard took a front-page view with the following items performing to outstanding levels: A stellar example of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s 1914 Cracker Jack card graded NM by SGC sold for $46,575, a terrific example of the scarce 1914 Cracker Jack card of Christy Mathewson in a PSA 2 sold for an impressive $18,252. Also performing well was a 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb bat off shoulder with a rare Uzit advertising reverse graded FAIR 1.5 by SGC which found a new home at the tune of $14,402, as well a stunning 1933 Goudey final production uncut sheet of 24 cards including No. 53 Babe Ruth as well as four additional HOF’ers was hammered at $35,703. Also performing well past recent market condition was a 1941 Play Ball No. 71 Joe DiMaggio PSA 8 which sold for an impressive $10,936.

It wasn’t just key rarities and high profile cards that performed to exceptional levels in the most recent MHCC sale as the following cards sold for: 1908-9 Rose Postcard Tim Jordan PSA 7 NM ($4,303), 1909 T204 Ramley Art Devlin SGC 88 NM/MT ($4,484), a 1933 DeLong No. 1 Mart McManus ($2,499), a 1936 Diamond Stars No. 105 Ernie Lombardi ($2,642), 1941 Play Ball No. 22 Indian Bob Johnson PSA MINT 9 ($5,117), 1951 Bowman No. 1 Whitey Ford graded NM/MT SGC 88 ($8,225), 1952 Topps 5 cent wax pack ($10,594), a 1956 Topps No. 135 Mickey Mantle $12,029) and a scarce 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams PSA 6 ($7,477), 1952 Topps #142 Bob Perkowski PSA MINT 9 sold for $5,117.00, 1952 Topps No. 360 George Crow PSA 8.5 NM/MT+ ($5,207), 1954 Dan Dee Mickey Mantle PSA 7 NM ($2,991), 1954 Topps No. 138 Bob Borkowski PSA 10 ($6,811), a 1958 No. 65 Von McDaniel YL PSA 8 NM/MT($2,427), 1958 Topps No. 92 Clint Courtney Yellow Name PSA 9 ($2,938), and a scarce 1958 Topps No. 377 Braves Numerical Checklist PSA 8 NM/MT ($2,981).

The MHCC sale also had several high-grade complete sets perform to extraordinary levels highlighted by the following results: A completely graded 1956 Topps Master set ranked No. 10 on the PSA Set Registry ($40,163), 1958 Topps Completely PSA Graded set ($33,040), high-grade 1954 Dan Dee Complete set ($11,308), set of 1951 Topps Team cards that was the No. 8 All Time Finest Set on the PSA Set registry ($5,362), the No. 1 All Time Finest 1954-56 Spic And Span complete set ($8,638).

Several 1960s cards performed to excellent levels highlighted by the following: a 1960 Topps No. 350 Mickey Mantle ($5,483), 1964 Topps No. 536 Mets Rookies PSA 10 ($1,953) and a 1964 Topps No. 2 AL ERA Leaders in a PSA MINT 9 ($2,445), as well a rather astonishing price of $2,887 was paid for a 1968 Topps No. 4 AL RBI Leaders in a PSA 10.

Although Mile High is widely considered the preeminent card house within the hobby memorabilia made quite a splash in the recently concluded MHCC sale as well, highlighting this arena were the following sales: A stunning 1909 Pittsburgh Pirate World Champion panoramic sold for a strong $23,086, while an exceedingly scarce 1913 T200 Fatima Premium of the Pittsburgh Pirates sold for $20,614. A spectacular signed Jimmy Foxx Burke photograph to Lefty Grove performed well selling for $3,367, as well a 1962 Mickey Mantle Batter’s Assistant Training Set in the original box sold for an impressive $3,911. A 1985 Chicago Bears Game Used Road Jersey of Walter Payton sold for $16,513, and a 1980s Dallas Cowboys Game Used Tony Dorsett jersey found a new home at $6,628.

Baseball was not the only area of cardboard that fared well with stupendous prices achieved in Football, Basketball and Hockey as well with the following highlights jumping to the forefront: A 1957 Topps No. 119 Bart Starr SGC MINT 9 sold for an impressive $11,212, while a 1957 Topps No. 13 Johnny Unitas PSA 8.5 NM/MT+ fetched an awesome $7,139, Basketball was a key part of this auction which hailed an impressive $33,640 paid for a 1961/62 Fleer Basketball unopened box, as well a 1960 Kahn’s Jerry West PSA 8 NM/MT performed excellent at $8,712. A 1960 Kahn’s Oscar Robertson also performed well selling for $8,435, as well hockey was another strong area of interest with the following cards performing well: a 1951 Parkhurst No. 4 Maurice Richard SGC MINT 9 ($8,225), 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee No. 18 Wayne Gretzky SGC MINT 9 ($5,608), and a 1966-67 Topps No. 35 Bobby Orr SGC NM/MT 8 ($6,994), as well a 1968 Topps No. 2 Bobby Orr PSA 9 MINT ($5,899), while a 1970 O-Pee-Chee Bobby Orr ($6,236).