Rare 1903 pre-war cards up for bid in new REA auction

Robert Edward Auction’s February Encore Auction features nearly 400 pre-war cards, including five cards from one of the most rare sets in existence.

The 1903-04 E107 Breisch-Williams series is the first major baseball set of the 20^th century and one of the most rare and expensive sets in existence. The REA auction features five Breisch-Williams cards, including Hall of Famers Joe McGinnity, who won more than 450 games in his career, and George Davis, who is known as “the best player you’ve never heard of.”

“This will be a very exciting auction for us, as we have some of the most hard-to-find pre-war cards, including St. Louis variations of T206 cards, some extremely rare E107 cards, and some noteworthy rookie cards across several sports,” REA President Brian Dwyer said. “We had a very successful January Encore Auction and we’re hoping to exceed those results in what is a loaded February Auction.”

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Davis started his career in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders and also played for the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox during his 20-year career. He played several different positions, compiling a lifetime batting average of .295 with 74 home runs and 1440 RBI. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1998.

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The E107 Davis card, graded Authentic by SGC, is the first ever offered by REA, with only five examples graded by PSA and SGC. Other cards from the set include Buck Freeman, Bill Dineen and Harry Davis.

REA’s February auction, which runs through Feb. 19, includes more than 2,500 lots, including nearly 400 T206 cards.

Other highlights include:

• 1953 Topps #82 Mickey Mantle SGC EX/NM 6.

• 1961 Fleer Basketball #8 Wilt Chamberlain Rookie PSA NM 7.

• 1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente Rookie PSA EX-MT 6.

• 1959 Topps #514 Bob Gibson Rookie SGC NM/MT+ 92.

• 1935 Edwards, Ringer & Bigg “Sports and Games in Many Lands” #25 Baseball with Babe Ruth (PSA NM-MT 8), the only baseball card in a set of 25 cards produced by the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain and Ireland in 1935.

• 1939 R334 Play Ball #26 Joe DiMaggio PSA EX 5.

• 1993 Upper Deck SP factory sealed unopened box (24 Packs), which may include a Derek Jeter rookie card.

• 2017 Panini Origins Football Jumbo Patch Autograph #104 Patrick Mahomes II Rookie Green #2/5 PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10.

• Signed 1968 Topps #177 Nolan Ryan Rookie BGS GEM MINT 10 Signature.