Auctions
Newly discovered 1922 Babe Ruth card headlines REA Spring Auction
It is not unusual for a rare, well-conditioned Babe Ruth card to hit the auction block.
It is rare, however, for a new, never discovered Ruth gem to surface at auction.
REA is such a rare gem in its Spring Catalog Auction.
One of the most intriguing items in the 3,200-item auction is a newly discovered 1922 Olsen Games Co. Babe Ruth card. Graded PSA EX+ 5.5, the card is documented for the first time in the REA auction and was previously only a hypothetical item advertised on the instruction booklet of a popular baseball card game.
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The card is from the Olsen Games Co. of Chicago, which produced a card game consisting of 30 red and 30 blue cards, which pictured an illustrated game scene depicting the players to use in simulating a game. On the back page of each instruction booklet is an advertisement showing kids how they can obtain cards that appear identical in design to the 1922 E120 American Caramel Series of 240. A recent find of 26 cards in the Midwest show, however, show that the collection was not a group of E120 cards but rather the long-speculated cards referenced in the Olsen Game instructions.
The newly-discovered collection features 13 different players, highlighted by Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby, and Eddie Roush. Graded EX+ 5.5 by PSA, the Ruth example is the highest graded of the two Ruth cards known to exist.
Other highlights on the auction, which runs through April 19, include:
“Our Spring Catalog Auction is always one of our most anticipated events, and this one checks every box for collectors,” REA President Brian Dwyer said. “We have rare and newly discovered material, elusive classics, and high-grade vintage and modern cards that could easily become centerpieces in almost any collection. We expect to see a number of records broken in this packed event.”
Top sets in the auction include a 1952 Topps PSA-graded complete set that includes a PSA 4 Mickey Mantle; and a 1969-1970 Topps Basketball PSA-graded complete set.
Significant unopened material include: a 1960 Topps unopened cello box with 16 Fourth Series (Mickey Mantle) packs; rare unopened wax boxes of 1967 Topps and 1970 Topps Fifth/Sixth/Seventh Series; and a 1971 Topps Football First Series unopened cello box.
Other notable items include:
