Rare Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey Copyright and Proof Cards in REA Auction

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Pre-War Cards

The two Ruth cards are among the more unique items available in the auction

REA’s fall auction is open for bidding and two of the more unique items available are pre-war Babe Ruth cards from the 1933 Goudey set.

I expect these card will be outsold by others in the auction. However, in terms of being one-of-a-kind items, these are not cards you see everyday.

One card is Ruth’s #181 card from the set. It is notable because it has a stamped date of September 13, 1933 on it and a copyright marking, indicating that it was the very card used for Goudey’s filing of the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyright cards from the set, are rare, obviously. However, they do surface from time to time and this example of Ruth is obviously one of the more valuable ones that can be had. The card is graded as a PSA Authentic but that is in part because the copyright cards are believed to all be hand cut. Bidding on that item started at $5,000 and you can bet it will go for much higher than that.

A second rare Ruth card from the same set is also in the auction. This one is a blue and white proof card of the image found on his No. 53 and No. 149 (red and yellow background) cards. Like the copyright card, this is a one-of-a-kind card with it being the only known example (other proofs for other players, however, are known). This card also has a nice appearance but is only graded as SGC Authentic because it, too, is hand cut.

The auction contains some incredible items and these two will not likely finish at the top. However, 1/1 cards such as these are too rare not to notice and I’ll be interested to see where they finish up when the bidding is done.