Lucky 7 Find Ty Cobb, Cracker Jack Joe Jackson among headliners in Memory Lane Summer Auction

Visitors to this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention will be able to see one of the cards from the headline-making “Lucky 7 Find” as soon as they walk in the doors at this year’s National. Memory Lane Auctions will have the card, along with several other key items from its upcoming Summer catalog, on display inside the Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.

Expected to sell for a six-figure price, the PSA 2.5 example was one of seven ultra-rare “Cobb with Cobb back” tobacco cards found by a family cleaning up a deceased relative’s home last winter. Despite the jaw-dropping find, the population of T206 Cobb backs is less than two dozen.

The auction, which opens July 29, will include more than 700 high-end lots with several of the best on display at The National. Other prewar cards in the catalog include a 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson graded PSA 8, with a minimum bid of $25,000; one of only five 1915 Cracker Jack Walter Johnson cards rated PSA 9 (MB $10,000), Honus Wagner’s personal copy of his 1910 E286 Ju Ju Drums (PSA 6—the highest graded copy by any grading service); a PSA 8 T206 Walter Johnson ‘hands at chest’ Old Mill 25 back, the highest graded 1887 Gypsy Queen card, a PSA 7 Mike Dorgan, and a rare 1909 Topping & Co. Ty Cobb postcard (PSA 6—the highest graded example).

Collectors will also spot a bevy of high-grade rookie cards. Among them is a mint condition 1949 Bowman Jackie Robinson. Also available: 1949 Bowman Satchel Paige rookie (PSA 9); 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie (PSA 8); 1954 Topps Hank Aaron (PSA 8); 1958 Topps Roger Maris (PSA 9); 1968 Topps Johnny Bench (PSA 10), 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson (PSA 10), and a 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Championship Ticket autograph.

Memory Lane will also be breaking up two high-grade sets: a 1933 Sport Kings and a 1954 Topps Hockey, with all cards in each set rated PSA 8 or better.

Intrigue comes in the form of a 1952 Topps unopened wax pack, which carries a high grade ($5,000 minimum bid) and a 1960 Topps 4th Series cello pack with Mickey Mantle visible on top.

The memorabilia section is headlined by several rare autographed baseballs including a fresh-to-the-hobby Christy Mathewson single-signed Spalding National League ball with family provenance, a single-signed Jimmie Foxx ball with a PSA LOA, and a rare signed ball from Grover Cleveland Alexander, penned in 1928 and carrying a full PSA letter. The auction will also feature the only signed 1938 Goudey “Heads Up” Joe Di Maggio card on PSA’s population report and an autograph grade of 9.

Collectors of original photos will have several items to consider including a Type 1 1930s George Burke image of Lou Gehrig.

The auction will continue through Saturday, Aug. 12 with registration open on Memory Lane’s website or by calling them at 877-606-LANE (5263).

As usual, Memory Lane will be just inside the front door of The National Convention, at booth #1104.