How Much Does A Babe Ruth Card Cost In 2022
Babe Ruth is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in baseball to grace the diamond. With hitting prowess for days, Ruth actually started his career as a 2 way player on the Boston Red Sox and really never looked back. And perhaps it is this bit of history that really gets the price of any of his collectibles so high. Specifically, when you speak of Babe Ruths baseball cards, they stand to make a considerable amount of dough if bought at the right time.
Babe Ruth is one of the most iconic players in baseball. His #3 jersey and Louisville Slugger are a matter of folklore in the game and so is his induction to Cooperstown. Part of the first 5 inducted into Baseballs Hall of Fame, the man has clearly built up a solid career to back himself up with.
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And perhaps his rarest card ever on the market should give us a fair idea of the ceiling for any Babe Ruth fan making it to the market. And while no news has come about in 2022 as of yet, a 2021 sale is still fresh in the minds of fans.
Babe Ruths 1914 Card Valued At Over $6 Million Sells For Record Price
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Babe Ruths 1914 Baltimore News pre-rookie card, valued at more than $6 million, was recently sold in the most expensive purchase in trading card history. The card was acquired for an undisclosed price by an anonymous buyer, and collectors will have the opportunity to buy shares of it at $3 apiece, Collectable announced Wednesday.
The previous highest price was $5.2 million for a 1952 Mickey Mantle card and a 2003 LeBron James rookie card. Ruths Baltimore News card will remain on display in the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore, Md., where it has been showcased for 23 years.
Todays announcement represents not only a record price for a sports card, but also a historic and seismic moment for the sports collectibles industry, Ezra Levine, Collectable CEO, said in a release, adding that any collector, regardless of income, will have the opportunity to own a piece of the card.
The 1914 Baltimore News issue is one of the rarest collectibles, with fewer than 10 known in existence. This was the first acquisition of the card since 2013.
What makes this card coveted?
Craig Custance, senior managing editor: When you think of iconic Ruth cards, there are probably better-looking examples. His rookie card, the 1915 Sporting News that shows him pitching for the Red Sox, comes to mind. Or maybe the four Ruths in the 1933 Goudey set. Those are gorgeous cards.
Will it hold its value?
Which card might break the record next?
Strip Card Babe Ruth #4 #20
This strip card is a bit of an anomaly compared to the strip cards that came before it, in that the size was much larger although there are mini versions of each card in the set.
The Babe has two cards in the set and there are variations in tint .
PSA has graded 58 copies of #4 and 54 versions of #20, thus the cards are fairly uncommon in nature.
Even still, the card in VG condition can be found for under $2000, which seems like a good investment considering that there are only around 100 PSA graded copies in existence.
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Most Expensive Babe Ruth Baseball Cards Sold On Ebay In Summer 2019
Posted by Adam Hughes | Baseball Cards, Players | 0 |
Is there anything more mesmerizing in this hobby than a spread of Babe Ruth baseball cards?
I mean, sure, Ruth doesnt have a singular big-ticket card to measure up to T206 Honus Wagner or 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, but the Bambino is the greatest player ever.
The mystique of his cardboard is palpable, even across the interwebs and that means massive prices are usually attached.
To wit, check out these ten most expensive Babe Ruth baseball cards to change hands on eBay during summer of 2019.
E121 American Caramel Series Of 120 Babe Ruth
Originally advertised by American Caramel as a “Series of 80”, there have been over 120 different player cards recorded to date , five of which star Babe Ruth. That group includes two complete head scratchers that have The Bambino holding a bird and standing next to a carton of Camel cigarettes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a handsome set highlighted by extremely sharp photo images, but a bird and a box of smokes? Imagine Mike Trout posing for Topps grasping a pigeon with his leg up on a box of Marlboro Reds. It just doesn’t compute and just one of those things you have to chalk up to “different era”.
Anyways, back to the cards themselves. Aside from the two Babe vs Bird examples the are three other 2″ x 3 1/4″ pieces that show a full length shot of Ruth in a throwing motion , a portrait image of Ruth holding a ball in his right hand, a montage card with two overlapping images . All five cards have a thin black line border around the front image with his name, position, and team printed below. On back is the “National Caramel Company – Lancaster, Penna” along with a very basic of set description. If you’re a fan of the obscure, then this is definitely the Ruth card for you!
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Babe Ruth Card Sells For $42m As Newman Collection Tops $215m In Memory Lane Auction
Memory Lane Inc.
Memory Lane officials predicted the Thomas Newman Collection would sell for more than $20 million. The company was spot-an as one of the most extensive sports card and memorabilia collections in the country sold for $21.5 million.
The extraordinary sports collection of Dr. Thomas Newman sold for more than $21.5 million in an auction at Memory Lane Inc. that ended Sunday morning.
Newman, a Tampa, Fla. neurologist who passed away from complications of COVID in January, owned one of the most extensive and impressive collections in the country. Newman, who was 73 when he died, assembled his vast collection over four decades as a sports card and memorabilia collector. Memory Lane officials predicted the collection would top $20 million.
According to Memory Lane, more than 50 of Newmans historic cards set records during the auction, including some one-of-a-kind cards and memorabilia dating back to the 1880s.
Dr. Thomas Newman
Highlighting the auction was a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 card graded PSA 9, which sold for more than $4.2 million, a record for that card. Newman purchased the card for $20,000 in the mid-1990s.
1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card.
Memory Lane Inc.
A more common 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey card sold for $1,272,000, also a record for that card.
Other highlights of the Newman auction included:
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle.
More: Mint-condition 52 Mantle on display at All-Star Game
Lou Gehrig
Memory Lane Inc.
Babe Ruth Baseball Cards: The Ultimate Collectors Guide
Babe Ruth baseball cards are arguably the most sought after cards in the entire hobby.
It’s easy to understand why:
He is the game’s most iconic player and the face of America’s past time.
“The Bambino” started his 22 year Major League career in 1914 as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
But it was from 1920 to 1935 as an outfielder for the New York Yankees where he built his legend into what it is today.
The kind of hitting numbers that the “Sultan of Swat” put up would be nearly unheard of today.
His popularity was off the charts during his playing career and many different companies of all kinds issued cards with him on it. There are dozens and dozens of different Babe Ruth cards out there to collect.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important and rare Ruth cards in the hobby.
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Star Player Candy #21
Estimated Value: A PSA 5 copy sold for $25,000 in 2016
This is one of the most interesting but least understood Ruth cards on this list. It isnt known who manufactured these cards but theyve long since become known as the 1929 Star Player Candy set. Adding to the mystique, only two players from the set are known to the hobby, Ruths card #21 and Lou Gehrigs card #32. That would imply there are many other cards to the set but at this time its not known for sure. There were also Star Player Candy cards from 1928 whose reverse sides were blank but as you can see, the 1929 cards featured nice, short bios of the players. Ruths bio is especially interesting as it mentions his single-season home run record that would take decades before it fell to Hank Aaron.
Uncle Jacks Candy King Of Swat #24
Estimated Value: A PSA 2 graded copy sold for $32,980 in 2016
Most of the 1933 Uncle Jacks Candy cards were distributed regionally in the Springfield, MA area and came in one of four color tints: blue, green, red or purple. The 30 card set shows Ruth in the same pose as his 1933 Butter Cream pose, albeit the full pose instead of the cropped version. Conditions of these cards are usually not great, with none of the seven PSA-graded copies having been assessed higher than PSA 2.5+ condition. His status as the King of Swat is depicted at the bottom right corner of the card which adds a very nice tough to this rare card.
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Shonen Club Babe Ruth Postcard
One of the oddities of all Babe Ruth cards, the 1929 Shonen Club Ruth is one of his most underappreciated cards and a favorite of vintage collectors. Released during Ruths playing career, the card is technically a postcard and was provided in a childrens magazine called Shonen Club in Japan.
Released as a 40 card set, the Babe Ruth card is the only baseball card in the set, as the remainder of the cards features landscapes, animals, and other photographs.
For some great background on the origin of the card, I highly recommend the Baseball Cards in Japan blog, which provides some clarity as to the confusion of the origin of the card.
The front of the card features Japanese writing and has been translated by the folks at Old Cardboard:
This is the moment Babe Ruth, known throughout the world as the Homerun King, swings with all his might and hits the ball. The ball flew far past the outfield and it appears to be a home run. The catcher and umpire freeze in awe as they watch and as Babe looks pleased. The spectators in the stands are also breathless as they watch.
Old Cardboard claims that the Shonen Club Ruth is scarce but not exceedingly rare. Its also hard to get a read from PSA as to circulation as they have mixed up the year and title of the card over the years.
While the card isnt incredibly easy to find, copies do sometimes come up for sale and can often be found for under $1000 in good condition.
Frederick Foto Service #46
Estimated Value: An SGC 1.5 graded copy sold for $34,931 in 2014 and an SGC 2 graded copy sold for $40,000 in 2015
Not much is known about how these small photo cards of the Bambino were distributed by the Frederick Foto studio out of Sacramento, CA. However, its thought that the photo they used of Ruth cant be found anywhere else, a nice tidbit that adds to the mystique of this rare card. The set features many minor leaguers from the Pacific Coast league but also some Major League players as well. Its one of the earliest cards to denote Ruth as a member of the Yankees even though hes still shown in a Red Sox uniform.
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The Valuable Babe Ruth Rookie Card
The 1916 M101-4 Ruth rookie card was one of more than 80 vintage cards uncovered in a piano bought at a 1992 estate sale. The buyer purchased the piano for just $25.
For decades, the Ruth rookie was an afterthought among cards of that era in the collectors market. The famous Honus Wagner card considered the holy grail of early 20th-century baseball cards.
The Ruth card was surprisingly valuable when it was put up for auction in 1929. Estimates pegged a value for the card between $40,000 and $45,000. The bidding went beyond expectations, though, with the card selling for more than double the estimates. The winning bid for the card ended up being $108,378.
That is a massive amount of money for a baseball card, but its not the most expensive rookie card ever. That honor lies with a 1948 Stan Musial Bowman rookie card, which went for $$360,000 in a 2017 auction. Among non-rookie cards, there are cards that have sold for seven figures.
Babe Ruth One Of The Best Ever
Ruth is one of the most prolific hitters in MLB history. For decades, he held the career home-run record with 714, until Hank Aaron broke his record in 1974. In addition to his 714 homers, Ruth had 2,214 RBI to go along with a .342 average.
Those stats are impressive by themselves, but even more so considering Ruth was a two-way player for part of his career, at least. He pitched in 163 games over 10 seasons, including 147 starts. Ruth compiled a 94-46 record on the mound. He posted a 2.28 ERA with 488 strikeouts.
In an era when starting pitchers went deeper into games, Ruth threw 107 complete games and 17 shutouts. He was the American League MVP in 1923 and won seven World Series titles with the Red Sox and Yankees.
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R328 Us Caramel #32 Babe Ruth
The key to U.S. Caramel’s 1932 32-card multi-sport set this boldly colored beauty displays a colorized black and white bust of the Babe set against a vibrant red background. On the back is a short bio and set description in between borders that measure 2 1/2″ x 3″. Two factors make this card especially difficult to collect, first being the sets limited distribution around the Boston area, while the second is the fact that it is the final card of the set. Meaning it was usually stored at the bottom of the stack and made vulnerable to all types of harsh friction and even harsher elements. Mid to high-grade examples have held steady in value over the years, while high-graded examples continue to increase in value. Since 2006, three examples of this card have sold in NM/MT condition, with the realized prices having almost doubled in that time. A PSA 10 Gem Mint example has still yet to be found, while only 2 examples have reached the PSA 9 threshold, and have never sold at public auction.
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Hitting It Out Of The Park: Baseball Card Legacy Could Smash Records
LOS ANGELES – When Florida physician Thomas Newman died of COVID-19, he left his family a huge legacy – a collection of sports cards worth some $20 million, including a Babe Ruth card that could set a new world record.
It was love, not money, that drove Newman when he started his collection some 40 years ago, traveling the United States to trade at conventions and storing his cards in a safe at his Tampa home.
“He loved his paper babies,” said his widow Nancy Newman. “He got such joy out of it.”
Newman, who died in January at age 73, kept the collection of more than 1,000 vintage and modern baseball, football and hockey trading cards mostly private outside his immediate family and friends.
It will be shared with the world at an online auction at California-based Memory Lane from June 21-July 10.
“It is cool for his legacy that he put 40 years into collecting and he is getting the recognition that was probably overdue,” said his son Stewart Newman.
The jewel in the crown is a 1933 Babe Ruth card that auctioneers believe could break the $5.2 million world record price that was set in January for any single sports card.
It is the only Mint 9 condition Babe Ruth card of its kind that is known to exist and comes to auction at a time when prices for sports trading cards have exploded. The condition of cards is ranked on a 1-10 scale, so a 9 is near perfect.
Newman, who worked as a neurologist, began collecting as a boy but his mom threw out his cards when he left for college.
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