Featured Five: Sport Kings Ruth Leads June Auction
Ruth headlines a diverse assortment of rarities in REA’s June Auction.
The REA June Auction has all the usual suspects that fuel pre-war collectors’ engines. In addition to the Sport Kings Ruth, expected to lead the way in terms of bidding, the event also features a nice assortment of Cobbs and Wagners, and perhaps the most accessible playing days “Shoeless” Joe Jackson card.
1933 Goudey Sport Kings Babe Ruth
The 1933 Sport Kings Ruth is also far rarer than Ruth’s 1933 Goudey counterparts, especially in high grade. Being the No. 2 card in the set, the Sport Kings Ruth tended to gravitate to the top of the stack, exposing it to much more wear than other cards, and thus making high-grade examples far more difficult to find than most Sport Kings and most other 1930s Ruth cards. This striking example has vibrant colors, excellent registration, and strong corners. The green text on the reverse is crisp, bold, and clean. It is very rare to find such a striking example of this classic! This is an exceptional example of this legendary Babe Ruth card that would be at home in even the most advanced world-class collection.
1911 M110 Sporting Life Cabinet Honus Wagner
Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner is one of the key cards from the extremely rare M110 Sporting Life cabinet set issued in 1911. Each card in the M110 set features beautiful full-color pastel artwork on the front and advertising for Sporting Life on the reverse. M110s are similar in design to, but far rarer than, the contemporary T3 Turkey Red cabinets. This is one of the rarest and most beautiful of all Honus Wagner cards. The offered card is bright and crisp with a superb image of Wagner batting. The back has a boldly printed advertisement for Sporting Life. Downgraded due to a tiny tear along the lower-right edge and a few unobtrusive wrinkles and creases. This is an extremely attractive example of one of the most striking and rarest of all Honus Wagner cards. Dimensions: 5-5/8 x 7-1/2 inches.
1922 E121 American Caramel Ty Cobb
This very attractive E121 American Caramel of Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Ty Cobb is one of the key cards from one of the classic caramel sets of the early 1920s. Cobb is ideally depicted in uniform holding the bat that made him so famous. The offered card exhibits superb image clarity and moderate corner wear, with a clean reverse with bold black text. A few small creases contribute to the assigned grade of PSA VG 3. This is a strong mid-grade example of Ty Cobb, produced by American Caramel during an era in which very few card sets were issued.
1914 Polo Grounds Game Joe Jackson
This classic Joe Jackson card was issued in 1914 as part of the Polo Grounds game card set, which featured 30 different players, including Cobb, Mathewson, and Wagner. The set is known today as the Polo Grounds game set, but is actually called All-Star Card Baseball, as indicated on the box it was distributed in and the instructions sheet. Jackson’s card is probably the most desirable in the set, given the lack of other opportunities for collectors to own a “Shoeless” Joe. It is bright and clean, both front and back, with tremendous clarity and light wear to the edges. This is a fantastic card that would be a significant addition to a Joe Jackson or high-quality vintage-card collection.
1910 E90-2 American Caramel Honus Wagner
This very scarce set was regionally issued in the Pittsburgh area and features only members of the Pirates, the National League champions of the previous year. This is one of Honus Wagner’s most striking cards and features a portrait image reminiscent of the pose on his famous T206 card. The offered card features a brilliant blue background and a crisp image of Wagner. Graded POOR 1 by PSA largely due to scattered creasing and slightly rounded corners. Despite these flaws, this remains a striking example of this card, which is universally recognized as among the most classic and popular of all 1910-era Honus Wagner cards.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
1910 E103 Williams Caramel Ty Cobb
There’s much more to browse. If you have some time on your hands, head over to the REA Auction Site and see if anything is begging to be added to your collection.
Bidding in the June Auction closes Sunday, June 22nd.
Interested in learning how much your cards are worth in the current market? Email pictures to REA for a no-obligation review!