Baseball

1880s Vintage Baseball Card Collectors Have Something New and Big To Chase

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Many vintage baseball card collectors still think of the T206 baseball cards issued by the American Tobacco Company as “The Monster.” That set was issued from 1909 to 1911 with some 524 cards, but the true “Monster” set was issued about 20 years earlier by Old Judge. This true monster of a vintage set was dubbed the N172 Old Judge set by Jefferson Burdick and it was issued from 1887 to 1890. And as rare as these cards are, 1880s vintage baseball card collectors have something new and big to chase.

There are now 45 graded examples of this N172 set coming to auction by Heritage Auctions in the Fall Sports Collectibles Catalog Auction (November 18-20, 2021). Some of these cards appear to be very affordable considering that they are more than 130 years old and considering the sepia photos that were used at the time. There are some absolute prizes being auctioned here as well.

On top of an N172 Old Judge card of Harry Wright and some Hall of Famers, there is a stellar offering of one of the best graded examples of a 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions Cap Anson that stands out even more than the N172 Old Judge cards. There is also a nearly complete sub-set of N172 Browns Champions from 1886.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. The same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds is being used to buy high-end collectibles. That is definitely the case when baseball cards cost $10,000 or even over $1,000. And collectors also know that they have to fight with investors frequently to own the same exact asset.

Heritage has broken these auctions lots for the N172 cards into multiple groups. The 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions Cap Anson may be the prize of the cards from the 1880s here, but the N172s have star and Hall of Fame players broken out individually and some others broken down into groups.

The 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions Cap Anson is being listed first as it is expected to be the highest priced lot of the 1880s cards. It is graded an amazing SGC 7 Near-Mint condition) has only 1 graded higher by SGC. Anson dominated in the 1880s first as a player and then as a player/manager, and he ended with an impressive .344 lifetime batting average. Despite having won two batting crowns, Anson’s biggest feat was that his 3,012 career hits put him as the first batter to actually break above the 3,000-hit mark. And as a manager, Anson led the team to take six pennants.

This 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions Cap Anson comes with an estimate of $15,000.00+ but the current bid is already up to $13,000.00 (or $15,600.00 with buyers premium) and it still has 7 days until the auction ends. The 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions was a multi-sport set and the total population of all graded cards from the top two graders is just 1,612 from SGC and a population of just 1,338 graded by PSA as of this time. Here is how few Cap Anson cards from the set are graded (Image below by Heritage Auctions):

  • SGC’s Cap Anson total population is just 75 graded examples, with the highest SGC 7.5 example being just one 1 and the SGC 7 graded as 4 examples.
  • PSA’s Cap Anson total population is just 77 graded examples, with the highest PSA 8 grade having 3 examples and with its PSA 7 grade having just 4 examples.

N162 Goodwin Champions Cap Anson

One of the N172 Old Judge groups is the prized Browns Champions (1886) that some vintage collectors have argued should be their own set entirely. This lot is going to be offered out as an entire set and is missing only one card. As for the 1886 Browns Champions, Heritage Auctions said:

The N172 Old Judge series features a rare subset of thirteen cards honoring the 1886 World Champion St. Louis Browns. The Browns celebrated their fifth anniversary in 1886 in St. Louis by going 93-46, finishing first in the American Association (their second consecutive pennant) and winning the World Series in six games against the Chicago White Stockings. Offered is a 12-card nearly completed team set, each graded by SGC. Includes: Bushong (SGC Good+ 2.5), Caruthers (SGC Good+ 2.5), Comiskey (SGC Poor 1), Foutz (SGC Authentic), Hudson (SGC Fair 1.5), Kemler (SGC VG/EX 4), Latham (SGC Good 2), Nicholl (SGC Poor 1), O’Neil (SGC VG 3), Robinson (SGC Good 2), Von Der Ahe (SGC Poor 1), Welch (SGC VG 3). Missing Gleason for completion.

N172 Old Judge Browns Champions

Image above by Heritage Auctions.

There are two lots of multiple players that have been featured with a description, list of player names and the estimates:

  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Chicago NL Portraits SGC-Collection (4): Mark Baldwin #15-1 Portrait, Bust Length/Chicago NL (SGC Authentic), Tom Daly #114-1 Portrait, Looking Right/Chicago NL (SGC Good 2), Dell Darling #117-1 Portrait, Looking Right/Chicago NL (SGC Poor 1), and Emil Geiss #182-6 Portrait, Looking Right/Chicago NL (SGC Poor 1). The estimate for the lot of four is $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge SGC Authentic Collection (6): Pose #’s 48-1 Al Buckenberger/Portrait, 132-1 Mike Dorgan/Horizontal, 159-2 Wallace Fessenden, 244-1 Arthur Irwin/Portrait (Philadelphia), 277-1 Tom Lofton/hat in hand (Cleveland), and 506-4 Samuel Wise/Portrait (Boston). The estimate for the lot of six cards is $900.00+.

These are 23 individual N172 Old Judge cards being offered in this auction. Images and descriptions have been left out, but the cards for sale are as follows:

  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge John Barnes (#20-2) SGC Good+ 2.5 with an estimate of $500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Dan Brouthers (#43-2) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $800.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge John Burdock (#53-1) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $1,500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge George Burnham (#55-1) SGC VG/EX 4 with an estimate of $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Roger Conner (#88-2) SGC Poor 1 with an estimate of $1,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Ned Hanlon (#212-1, Detroit) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Bill Holbert (Dotted Tie) SGC VG+ 3.5 with an estimate of $2,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Dummy Hoy (#238-3) SGC Authentic with an estimate of $2,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Connie Mack (#285-1) Rookie PSA VG 3 with an estimate of $5,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge “Kid” Madden (#288-1) SGC Poor 1 with an estimate of $500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Tommy McCarthy (#301-1-Philadelphia) SGC VG 3 with an estimate of $800.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Tommy McCarthy (#301-3, Philadelphia) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Jim Mutrie (#336-2) SGC VG/EX 4 with an estimate of $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge New York Mascot “Willie Breslin” (#294-1) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Kid Nichols (#342-1) SGC Authentic with an estimate of $4,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Jim O’Rourke (#358-2) SGC Poor 1 with an estimate of $500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Old Hoss Radbourn (#377-4) SGC Authentic with an estimate of $1,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Amos Rusie (#395-3) SGC Good 2 with an estimate of $2,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Gus Schmelz #403-2 SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Billy Sunday (#446-5 Chicago) SGC Poor 1 with an estimate of $1,500.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge John Ward (#478-2) SGC Good 2 with an estimate of $600.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Mickey Welch (sic Welsh) (#486-3) SGC Poor 1 with an estimate of $1,000.00+.
  • 1887-90 N172 Old Judge Harry Wright (#510-3, Portrait Left) SGC Fair 1.5 with an estimate of $4,000.00+.

Vintage baseball card collectors should know just how difficult it can be to come anywhere close to assembling an N172 complete set. Our own expectation is that it would actually be impossible to assemble the set. After all, even after 130+ years the hobby keeps finding new examples that were unknown and unfound after all these years.

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