DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Found collection could fetch millions

DEFIANCE, Ohio -- Karl Kissner picked up a soot-covered cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse in his grandfather's attic. Taking a look inside, he saw hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine. They were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing.

But some of the names were familiar: Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.

Then he put the box on a dresser and went back to digging through the attic.

It wasn't until two weeks later that he learned that his family had come across what experts say is one of the biggest, most exciting finds in the history of sports card collecting, a discovery worth perhaps millions.

The cards are from an extremely rare series issued around 1910. Up to now, the few known to exist were in so-so condition at best, with faded images and worn edges. But the ones from the attic in the town of Defiance are nearly pristine, untouched for more than a century. The colors are vibrant, the borders crisp and white.

"It's like finding the Mona Lisa in the attic," Kissner said.

Sports card experts who authenticated the find say they may never again see something this impressive.

"Every future find will ultimately be compared to this," said Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator.

The best of the bunch -- 37 cards -- are expected to bring a total of $500,000 when they are sold at auction in August during the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore. There are about 700 cards in all that could be worth up to $3 million, experts say. They include such legends as Christy Mathewson and Connie Mack.

Kissner and his family say the cards belonged to their grandfather, Carl Hench, who died in the 1940s. Hench ran a meat market in Defiance, and the family suspects he got them as a promotional item from a candy company that distributed them with caramels. They think he gave some away and kept others.

"We guess he stuck them in the attic and forgot about them," Kissner said. "They remained there frozen in time."

After Hench and his wife died, two of his daughters lived in the house. Jean Hench kept the house until she died last October, leaving everything inside to her 20 nieces and nephews. Kissner, 51, is the youngest and was put in charge of the estate. His aunt was a pack rat, and the house was filled with three generations of stuff.

They found calendars from the meat market, turn-of-the-century dresses, a steamer trunk from Germany and a dresser with Grandma's clothes neatly folded in the drawers.

Months went by before they even got to the attic. On Feb. 29, Kissner's cousin Karla Hench pulled out the dirty green box with metal clips at the corners and lifted the lid.

Not knowing whether the cards were valuable, the two cousins put the box aside. But Kissner decided to do a little research. The cards were at his office in the restaurant he owns when he realized they might have something. He immediately took them across the street and put them in a bank vault.

Still not knowing whether the cards were real, they sent eight to expert Peter Calderon at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, which recently sold the baseball that rolled through the legs of Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series for $418,000.

Calderon said his first words were "Oh, my God."

"I was in complete awe," he said. "You just don't see them this nice."

The cards are from what is known as the E98 series. It is not clear who manufactured them or how many were produced, but the series consists of 30 players, half of them Hall of Famers.

The experts at Heritage Auctions checked out the family's background, the age of the home and the history of the meat market. They looked at the cards and how they were printed.

"Everything lines up," said Chris Ivy, the company's director of sports auctions.

They then sent all the cards to Professional Sports Authenticator, which had previously authenticated fewer than 700 E98s. The Ohio cards were the finest examples from the E98 series the company had ever seen.

The company grades cards on a 1-to-10 scale based of their condition. Up to now, the highest grade it had ever given a Ty Cobb card from the E98 series was a 7. Sixteen Cobbs found in the Ohio attic were graded a 9 -- almost perfect. A Honus Wagner was judged a 10, a first for the series.

Retired vintage sports card auctioneer Barry Sloate of New York City said: "This is probably the most interesting find I've heard of."

In a measure of what baseball cards can be worth, the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks paid a record $2.8 million for a rare 1909 Honus Wagner. Another version of the card brought $1.2 million in April. (Wagner's tobacco cards were pulled from circulation, either because the ballplayer didn't want to encourage smoking among children or because he wanted more money.)

Heritage Auctions plans to sell most of the cards over the next two of three years through auctions and private sales so that it doesn't flood the market. In all, they could bring $2 million or $3 million, Ivy said.

The Hench family is evenly dividing the cards and the money among the 20 cousins named in their aunt's will. All but a few have decided to sell their share.

"These cards need to be with those people who appreciate and enjoy them," Kissner said.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/19553...tch-millions#sf

i saw this and it's awesome. i'm surprised at the low overall value though of $3mil. i would expect them to be more honestly.

really hope that someone steps up and offers to buy the whole lot. hate when valuable sets like this get sold piecemeal (though yes, I would do the same if I 'found' such a collection as it nets the most $$ unless someone stepped up and offered fair value).

The bottom has fallen out of card collections....economy to a degree, and partly because young people never collected cards, and those young people I speak of are in or entering their 40's.

Demand sparks price. The bottom line is you just don't have as many collectors looking to add that crown jewel to their collection.


There will always be worth, but we are past the prime in baseball card collecting. There are more sellers than buyers.

Nicely put 'Peen. I was ten years old back when the baseball card boom of the late 1980's happened. - Such a cool time. Every kid was after the '86 Jose Canseco Donruss Rated Rookie, and the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie. - Now, most cards printed after 1985 aren't worth anything unless they have a signature, or piece of uniform attached.

Card manufacturers have taken steps to get people's interest back in the hobby. You can buy a box of cards that is guaranteed to have at least 2 autographs and or jersey swatches inside. - Most boxes cost about 100.00 and you never know which autographs/memorabilia pieces you'll get. Sometimes there are big hits inside of boxes. A guy at my local shop opened up an autographed Barry Sanders card the other day. Another guy received a Jerry Rice Auto card.
Recently, my interest in the hobby has re-surfaced. Once or twice a year, I'll stop by the card shop and buy about 100.00 worth of packs. - Usually about 5-8 packs total, guaranteed at least 2 autographs and 2 jersey pieces. I've opened some nice stuff, but nothing worth what I've paid. I've learned the smart thing to do is figure out which cards I want and then just buy those. However, this isn't as fun as opening packs to see if I get a major hit.

An interesting line of cards is called "National Treasures". 400.00 a pack. Some guys film the opening of packs and put them on youtube. Really nice cards, and sometimes you can get a hit that will go for over 1,000. But I don't think I could ever pay 400.00 lol. Here's a couple videos of guys opening these:

Cool video..

When I collected as a kid, they massed produced the cards, so the never cost anything down the road. The coveted McGuire Tops rookie was like $2 years later. I remember the Griffey Upper Deck being a prize at like $50.

With collecting going way down, I doubt they mass produce like they use to. I saw cards for sale at a store that were 2 years old and they didnt look like they were going to sell out the box anytime soon.

When Lebron came back, Basketball cards took a boom up. Especially with the jersey cards.

I buy a pack every once in a while just to see if I get any Browns players or any new players with big names. I take the Browns cards to training camp. I got Brady Quinn to sign a rookie card. I dont get signatures to sell them.

Did anyone else collect Starting lineups? Thats something a kept in the box (Not my 80s Browns because I didnt keep them for collector purposes). Those are things I would still buy to collect. Id love to have a Cribbs, Richardson, Thomas or a Weeden. They usually sold 5 a team. I have an old Jordan in a box. It was worth $35 in a Beckett right after a found it at Childrens Palace (another oldie but goodie). I cant believe Im almost 40

I have 16 or the starting lineup's all on display in my Browns room.

i was a kid during that boom and luckily i collected some football cards that do still have some value along with the baseball cards that really don't.

today's kids are more into collecting Pokemon and the vast assortment of trading cards that stemmed off of this game. My sons like the Marvel comic version (they don't even play the game, they just like having the cards)