A collection of over 1,400 tobacco cards featuring Hall of Fame baseball players from 1909-1911 will be sold by an auction house in Maine early next year.
The cards, called “T206” cards, were kept by the grandchildren of a Brooklyn man who began smoking at age 19, and kept every card he got in a box. Ten of the cards will be sold individually and in small lots starting in January.
These “T206” cards are smaller than regular baseball cards and depict color lithographs on the front and tobacco ads on the back. These particular cards show famous baseball players such as Cy Young and Ty Cobb. At the time the cards were produced, the Yankees were called Highlanders, the Dodgers were the Superbas and the Braves were the Doves.
While this collection is an amazing find, it isn’t the first; collections such as this come up every couple of years. However, this one is special due to the amazing condition. It is expected that some singe cards could be sold for 5 figures. The highest amount paid for a baseball card was a 1909 Honus Wagner that was sold for $2.8 million.
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Courtesy of CBS News