Local Danvers Man Finds Rare Baseball Cards Worth Potentially $500K
In an unexpected twist of fate, a Danvers resident has unearthed a valuable stash of baseball cards, including a highly sought-after rookie card of Red Sox legend Babe Ruth. The discovery began when Jeff Gross, a passionate memorabilia collector from Newburyport, was assisting at a family garage sale in Danvers. During this event, he encountered a man on a bicycle who mentioned a box of vintage cards inherited from his father, who had planned to sell them for retirement.
Intrigued, Gross encouraged the man to evaluate his collection. As the man began sorting through hundreds of cards dating back to the 1910s, he reached out to Gross again. Among the cards, Gross noticed a set labeled "Morehouse Baking," a promotional series from 1916 that featured notable players, including Ruth, Jim Thorpe, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. The Morehouse Baking Company had distributed these cards as part of a marketing initiative, allowing children to redeem them for prizes.
The collection boasts 119 cards, but it’s Ruth’s rookie cards that are catching the most attention. According to Robert Edward Auctions, one of these cards, poised as the auction’s centerpiece, could see bids start at $150,000, with expectations to exceed $500,000 of final selling price.
Experts note that this is the largest known cache of Morehouse cards, and REA President Brian Dwyer highlights the excitement within the collector community regarding this "significant find." The auction kicks off on December 8, and while the Danvers man remains anonymous, he expressed astonishment at the potential worth of what had long been neglected in his home.
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Photo credit www.boston.com
