Baseball

Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb Dominate Summer 2021 Auctions

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It is no secret that baseball card and sports card prices surged during 2020 and into 2021. It is also no secret that many sports cards prices headed south for much of 2021. One aspect of the card market that has held up relatively well is in the high-end vintage cards. Honus Wagner’s famed T206 card may be routinely among the highest prices, but collectors and investors also have to fight over the legends of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.

What has been seen so far in the summer of 2021 is that high-end vintage cards of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth are still commanding high prices. Some collectors or collectible investors may have wanted to see continuously higher prices. The reality is that Cobb and Ruth sales have remained quite strong. Many have set records or have been above some industry expectations as well.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class. Make no mistake here. Our role is not to call bottoms and tops in asset prices. Wall Street analysts cannot get their calls right on public stock prices about 90% of the time. Making predictions about the alternative asset class of collectibles would be a guessing game with many variables.

There is a freshness to auctions after extended bidding periods end, and it leaves the doors open to buyers even after the sales have finalized. The Heritage Auctions disclaimer says, “Owners willingness to entertain and respond to offers has not yet been verified.” July 24, 2021 was the close of Heritage Auctions Summer Sports Card Catalog Auction and they had multiple Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth card sales. Some cards were above the estimates and as noted some came in shy. Either way, the high-end grades saw some serious prices that were generally not disappointing versus prices paid a year or two earlier.

Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth were also represented quite favorably in the famous Newman Auction that was seen at Memory Lane, Inc. As members of the original 5 inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame, many collectors will use Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb as barometers for vintage baseball card price trends. On the flip side, Ruth and Cobb prices may have nothing at all to do with the modern era hot rookies being chased up and down daily and weekly based on how they are playing.

It has been intended that the buyer’s premium has been included in each final price listed here. That said, particularly with the newest auction results, those figures may change thereafter. The Memory Lane auction from June 2021 had the largest standout prices, but the Heritage Auctions from July 2021 was more recent.

Readers will note that there is an emphasis on the 1933 Goudey set, and this comes with some very strong data and reason behind it. There are also many reasons that vintage Babe Ruth will be in high demand for decades.

The 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149 PSA NM-MT 8 had a description at Heritage noting that the bold red background was compared to the T206 Cobb and the 1914-15 Cracker Jacks type cards. This card was estimated to sell at $750,000 and up but instead sold for $540,000.00.

Here were some of the other Babe Ruth sales in Heritage’s July auction, and some notes and abbreviations from the description and title have been included if relevant:

  • 1921 E121 American Caramel – Series of 80 Babe Ruth PSA EX 5 sold on July 22 for $81,000.00
  • 1933 Sport Kings Baseball Babe Ruth #2 PSA NM 7 sold on July 22 for $49,200.00
  • 1921-23 E220 National Caramel Babe Ruth PSA Good 2 sold on July 22 for $23,400.00
  • 1924 V122 Willard’s Chocolate Babe Ruth #5 SGC 84 NM 7 – Pop One, One Higher sold on July 22 for $21,000.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 SGC VG+ 3.5 sold on July 22 for $21,000.00
  • 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth #32 BVG VG 3 sold on July 22 for $13,200.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 PSA VG 3 sold on July 22 for $9,900.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 SGC 40 VG 3 sold on July 22 for $9,000.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 BVG Fair 1.5 sold on July 24 for $7,800.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 PSA Good 2 sold on July 22 for $7,500.00
  • 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Babe Ruth #2 PSA VG 3 sold on July 24 for $7,500.00
  • 1948-49 Leaf Babe Ruth #3 PSA EX-MT 6 sold on July 22 for $6,000.00
  • 1948-49 Leaf Babe Ruth #3 SGC EX 5 sold on July 22 for $5,400.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 BVG Fair 1.5 sold on July 24 for $5,160.00
  • 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #149 SGC Authentic sold on July 22 for $4,080.00
  • 1948-49 Leaf Babe Ruth #3 SGC VG 3 sold on July 22 for $3,720.00

At the Heritage Auction a Ty Cobb T206 OLD MILL variety in NM-MT 8, posed with bat off shoulder, was estimated to sell for $100,000.00 and instead sold for $138,000.00 after the buyer’s premium. Only one higher graded example of this card is known to exist. Here are the rest of the Ty Cobb sales from the Heritage Auction:

  • 1909-11 T206 Piedmont 350 Ty Cobb (Portrait Green) PSA NM 7 – Pop One, One Higher for Brand/Series! sold on July 22 for $105,000.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Ty Cobb 350-460/42 (Bat Off Shoulder) PSA NM 7 sold on July 22 for $43,200.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Uzit Ty Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder) PSA Good 2 sold on July 22 for $33,600.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal 350-460/42OP Ty Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder) PSA EX-MT 6 – Pop Two, Two Higher! sold on July 22 for $28,800.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal 150/25 Ty Cobb (Portrait-Green) SGC EX 5 sold on July 22 for $27,000.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Sovereign 360 Ty Cobb (Portrait-Red) PSA EX 5 – Only One Higher for Brand sold on July 22 for $19,200.00
  • 1909 E101 Anonymous Caramel “Set of 50” Ty Cobb PSA VG-EX 4 sold on July 22 for $16,200.00
  • 1911 E94 Close Candy Ty Cobb (Blue) PSA VG 3 (MK) sold on July 22 for $13,333.20
  • 1907 Wolverine News Ty Cobb (Portrait) SGC Poor 1 sold on July 22 for $13,200.00
  • 1911-16 T216 Peoples “Kotton Tobacco” Ty Cobb (Standing-Detroit Americans) PSA Fair 1.5 (MK) sold on July 22 for $13,200.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal 350/30 Ty Cobb (Portrait-Red) PSA VG-EX+ 4.5 sold on July 22 for $12,600.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Sovereign 350 Ty Cobb (Bat On Shoulder) SGC VG/EX 4 sold on July 22 for $11,400.00
  • 1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel Ty Cobb PSA Fair 1.5 sold on July 22 for $5,040.00
  • 1910 E93 Standard Caramel Ty Cobb PSA Good+ 2.5 sold on July 22 for $4,920.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Ty Cobb (Portrait – Red) BVG Good 2 sold on July 24 for $4,080.00
  • 1914 T213 Coupon (Type 2) Ty Cobb (Portrait) BVG Fair 1.5 sold on July 22 for $3,480.00
  • 1933 Sport Kings Ty Cobb #1 PSA VG 3 sold on July 22 for $2,220.00

The famous Newman Auction that occurred at Memory Lane Inc. in June of 2021 had several Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb sales. If one card stood out here, and it was widely reported on at the time, it was the “POP 1” PSA Mint 9 Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey #53. Needless to say, this card is the strongest example of condition for that particular card on the planet. The “Yellow Goudey Ruth” sold for $4,212,000 after 76 bids.

If a $4.2 million sale wasn’t enough, there are two more sales which should have stood out. A 1916 Babe Ruth Sporting News Rookie Card #151 graded PSA 6 (EX/MT), listed as “1 of 4 with only 2 graded higher,” sold for $1,452,000 after 51 bids. And a Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey #181 Green Background graded PSA 9 (Mint), with only 1 graded higher, sold for $1,272,000 after 45 bids.

Babe Ruth Goudey

Other Ruth sales were seen below from the Newman collection and the Memory Lane auction:

  • 1933 Sport Kings #2 Babe Ruth PSA 8 NM-MT sold for $182,863 after 29 bids.
  • 1933 Goudey #149 Babe Ruth PSA 7 NM sold for $171,484 after 37 bids.
  • 1933 Goudey #144 Babe Ruth PSA 7 NM sold for $161,582 after 41 bids.
  • 1932 U.S. Caramel #32 Babe Ruth (PSA Near Mint 7) sold for $75,252 after 32 bids.
  • Extremely Rare 1922 Lou Gertenrich “Babe” Ruth Photo Montage (SGC VG 3) – Possibly the only Known “Ruth Photo Montage” Lou Gertenrich Example Extant! sold for $49,620.00 after 31 bids.
  • “Scarce for the Grade” 1921 Oxford Confectionary E253 Babe Ruth (SGC EX 5); “1 of 2; Only 2 SGC Examples Graded Higher! sold for $38,879.00 after 27 bids.
  • 1922 E120 American Caramel Babe Ruth PSA 5 EX sold for $31,986.00 after 22 bids.
  • 1933 Blue Bird Babe Ruth “Front View” (PSA NM/MT+ 8.5) – “1 of 2 PSA 8.5 Examples”; HIGHEST GRADED Example on the Combined PSA & SGC “Pop” Charts! sold for $17,118.00 after 12 bids.
  • 1931 W517 #20 Babe Ruth “Portrait” Blue Tint (SGC NM/MT 8) – “1 of 2” SGC Subjects; HIGHEST GRADED SGC Example! sold for $8,274 after 17 bids.
  • Babe Ruth 1926 Spalding America Champions – “Nov. 1926 Copyright” (PSA NM/MT 8) – “1 of 1”; Only One “1926″ sold for $6,510.00 after 24 bids.
  • 1935 Goudey Brandt, Maranville, McManus, Ruth PSA 6 EX-MT sold for $5,009.00 after 16 bids.
  • 1929 R316 Kashin Publications Babe Ruth PSA 5 EX sold for $3,063 after 17 bids.

Ty Cobb also put up some high sales prices. 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb – Green Portrait and Piedmont back (Factory 25) graded SGC 7.5 (NM+). This was listed as just “1 of 3” Piedmont SGC examples and was listed as the highest graded SGC example for all ad backs. The Green T206 Ty Cobb card sold for $92,145.60 after 24 bids.

Here are the sale prices for Ty Cobb from the famous Newman and Memory Lane auction from June 2021:

  • 1911 T3 Turkey Red #9 Ty Cobb PSA 5.5 EX sold for $79,015.00 after 32 bids.
  • 1908-09 E102 Ty Cobb PSA 6 EX-MT – “1 of 2”; Highest Graded Example! sold for $46,198.00 after 23 bids.
  • “Unique for the Grade” 1921 American Caramel E121 Ty Cobb – “Mgr” on Front (PSA NM/MT 8) sold for $40,346.00 after 35 bids.
  • 1914 Cracker Jack #30 Ty Cobb (SGC VG/EX 4) sold for $36,128.00 after 19 bids.
  • 1907 Ty Cobb Dietsche Rookie Postcard – Scarce “Fielding Pose” (SGC VG 3) – “1 of 2”; Only 2 SGC Examples Graded Higher! sold for $32,770.00 after 17 bids.
  • 1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel Ty Cobb PSA 7 NM – Highest Graded Example! sold for $31,268.00 after 14 bids.
  • 1910 E98 Set of 30 Ty Cobb Red PSA 9 MINT sold for $30,887.00 after 7 bids.
  • “Ty” Cobb 1911 (M110) Sporting Life Cabinet (SGC VG/EX 4) – “1 of 3 SGC Examples”; Only 1 Graded Higher on the Combined SGC & PSA “Pop” Charts! sold for $26,316.00 after 17 bids.
  • 1932 U.S. Caramel #14 Ty Cobb PSA 8 NM-MT sold for $25,685.00 after 22 bids.
  • 1921 Exhibits – Ty Cobb (PSA NM 7) – The SOLE & HIGHEST GRADED PSA Example! sold for $20,934.00 after 31 bids.
  • 1911 M116 Sporting Life Ty Cobb “Blue Background” Variation PSA 6 EX-MT sold for $17,543.00 after 17 bids.
  • Ty Cobb 1907 Dietsche Rookie Postcard – Batting Pose (PSA VG/EX 4) sold for $15,168.00 after 18 bids.
  • 1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folder C. O’Leary/T. Cobb Desperate Slide For Third PSA 7 NM sold for $14,682.00 after 22 bids.
  • 1921 W551 5-Card Un-Cut Strip Card Panel w/Ruth, Cobb & Speaker (PSA EX/MT 6) – The SOLE & HIGHEST GRADED Example! sold for $14,147.00 after 12 bids.
  • 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb Bat on Shoulder Piedmont 150/25 SGC 5 EX sold for $13,181 after 13 bids.
  • 1911 T205 Gold Border Ty Cobb – Piedmont Cigarettes (PSA 4.5 VG-EX+) sold for $11,816.00 after 26 bids.
  • 1933 Sport Kings #1 Ty Cobb SGC 7 NM sold for $10,270.00
  • 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb Portrait – Red – Sweet Caporal 350/30 Reverse PSA 3.5 VG+ sold for $9,650.00 after 18 bids.
  • 1909-13 M101-2 Sporting News Supplements Ty Cobb PSA 1 PR sold for $6,510.00 after 31 bids.
  • 1911 M116 Sporting Life Ty Cobb “Pastel” Background PSA 5 EX sold for $6,260.00 after 16 bids.

DID YOU KNOW? Some Ruth Cards Can Still Sell Under $1,000???

Collectors and investors who buy high-end collectibles should know that there are no guarantees in the collectibles market. There are no official analyst price targets as are issued for stocks, and at the highest prices they are exponentially higher than a typical stock investment. For that matter, some card prices are higher than most home prices.

Categories: Baseball, Sports

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