fanofnyrangers
12-02-2004, 05:36 AM
http://www.nbc5.com/irresistible/3963061/detail.html
Sportscard Official: Joe Jackson Card 'Best In Existence'
POSTED: 3:53 pm CST December 1, 2004
UPDATED: 4:08 pm CST December 1, 2004
WILLOWBROOK, Ill. -- A complete set of 1914 Cracker Jack baseball cards featuring "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Ty Cobb that a woman had in a shoe box in her home has sold for $800,000, a suburban Chicago auction house announced this week.
The cards did not have the usual caramel stains found on many Cracker Jack cards and were in pristine condition, said Doug Allen, president of MastroNet Inc., the auction house in Willowbrook. The previous record for a complete set of baseball cards was $360,000, Allen said.
"It's not everyday we sell a set of cards for $800,000," Allen said. "There's never been a complete set like that without caramel stains. Condition and rarity are what make high-grade cards, and this particular collection was fortunate to have both."
The New York woman -- who along with the buyer asked to remain anonymous -- found the 144-card set with 2,500 other baseball cards in a shoe box in her home. The cards originally belonged to her uncle, who died during World War II, and the woman's father kept them until his death last year, Allen said.
Along with the Jackson and Cobb cards, the set also includes a rare Christy Mathewson that looks "like it was printed yesterday," Allen said.
Sportscard Guaranty, which evaluated the cards for authenticity and quality, called the set "monumental."
"It's hard to find words that would do this set justice," said Sportscard president Dave Forman in a statement on the company's Web site. "The Joe Jackson card ... is the finest prewar card our firm has ever graded. In my opinion, it is the best prewar card in existence period."
Sportscard Official: Joe Jackson Card 'Best In Existence'
POSTED: 3:53 pm CST December 1, 2004
UPDATED: 4:08 pm CST December 1, 2004
WILLOWBROOK, Ill. -- A complete set of 1914 Cracker Jack baseball cards featuring "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Ty Cobb that a woman had in a shoe box in her home has sold for $800,000, a suburban Chicago auction house announced this week.
The cards did not have the usual caramel stains found on many Cracker Jack cards and were in pristine condition, said Doug Allen, president of MastroNet Inc., the auction house in Willowbrook. The previous record for a complete set of baseball cards was $360,000, Allen said.
"It's not everyday we sell a set of cards for $800,000," Allen said. "There's never been a complete set like that without caramel stains. Condition and rarity are what make high-grade cards, and this particular collection was fortunate to have both."
The New York woman -- who along with the buyer asked to remain anonymous -- found the 144-card set with 2,500 other baseball cards in a shoe box in her home. The cards originally belonged to her uncle, who died during World War II, and the woman's father kept them until his death last year, Allen said.
Along with the Jackson and Cobb cards, the set also includes a rare Christy Mathewson that looks "like it was printed yesterday," Allen said.
Sportscard Guaranty, which evaluated the cards for authenticity and quality, called the set "monumental."
"It's hard to find words that would do this set justice," said Sportscard president Dave Forman in a statement on the company's Web site. "The Joe Jackson card ... is the finest prewar card our firm has ever graded. In my opinion, it is the best prewar card in existence period."