The Oct. 4 Goodwin & Co. sale produced some startling numbers for a host of 19th-century and early tobacco cards, led by the famed T206 White Border Eddie Plank (PSA 3) that sold for $34,128 and a pristine PSA 9 specimen of the tough T206 Addie Joss Hands at Chest card that brought all of $15,919.
Some of the other card highlights included: an 1887 N173 Old Judge Cabinet Mike Kelly SGC 60 ($10,871) and an 1887 Old Judge Kelly SGC 80 ($4,054); 1886 N167 Old Judge Joe Gerhardt SGC 30 ($8,983); T205 Gold Borders of Tris Speaker PSA 8 ($10,109) and Cy Young PSA 7 ($9,882); 1909-11 T206 White Border Ty Cobbs, including the Portrait Red Background PSA 8 ($13,456), Portrait Green Background PSA 5 ($5,937); T206 John McGraw Finger in Air PSA 8 ($3,683); T206 Hugie Jennings Portrait PSA 8 ($4,904); and T206 Ray Demmitt St. Louis SGC 40 ($3,076).
An imposing Goudey lineup included 1933 treasures like Babe Ruth No. 149, SGC 80 ($6,531); Joe Cronin, PSA 9 ($10,774); Mel Ott, PSA 8 ($1,685); Hack Wilson, PSA 8 ($2,796); Lou Gehrig No. 160 ($3,574); Bill Terry, PSA 8 ($2,716); and Jimmie Foxx, PSA 7 ($1,854).
Other Depression era headliners: 1933 Tatoo Orbit Foxx, PSA 7 ($1,531); 1934 Goudey Foxx, PSA 6 ($1,554); a 1936 R322 Goudey set entirely PSA graded ($2,796); and a 1941 Goudey set, also entirely PSA graded ($10,630).
A Roberto Clemente 1969-72 H&B game-used bat sold for $7,604, headlining hundreds of lots of postwar treasures featuring Hall of Famers familiar to generations of baby boomers and beyond.
Clemente figures prominently in that equation with a 1955 Topps rookie card graded PSA 8 ($5,191), along with a striking run of Mickey Mantle Topps and Bowman, including a grouping of (22) PSA 8's, starting with 1953 Topps ($7,018) and including many of the specials and All-Star cards.
Highlights from the Mantle run include (all PSA 8 unless noted): 1953-55 Bowman ($4,154, $3,200 and $2,246, respectively); 1954 Red Heart (PSA 9, $3,000); 1956 Topps ($2,257); 1957 Topps ($3,461); 1958 Topps ($2,016); and 1959 Topps ($3,118).
There were similar groupings for Ernie Banks, 17 cards including his 1954 Topps rookie PSA 8 ($2,341) and 1963 Topps (PSA 9, $4,183); Clemente (15 cards); and Willie Mays - 1953 Topps ($7,056), 1954 Topps (PSA 9, $8,577), 1955 Bowman (PSA 9, $15,028) and 1957 Topps (PSA 9, $3,146).
For information or complete auction results, go to www.goodwinandco.com, or call (314) 849-9798.
