My Greatest Find- 1869 Cinn. Red Stockings Carte de Viste

[JCMach1]

I was rummaging through my parent's collection of old stuff and found this card in an album which came from some rummage my Great Grandmother had picked years ago.

I saw it was Cincinnati scanned the image on the computer and started researching. I knew if was valuable, but was thinking... maybe a few hundred dollars.

The guy from Robert Edward Auctions freaked out when he saw what is 'essentially' one of the earliest pieces of baseball memorabilia in mint condition.

We insured it, sent it off and when the auction finished, the final gavel was

$26,100

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2005/79.html

I didn't get a commission, but my parents were VERY happy!

[ccinamon]

1. How Cool!

My family has moved to many times to have any old memorablia lying around...would be fun to find something tho!

[grasswire]

2. wow wow wow

This is the kind of thing we dream of. Good on ya!

That's why I cringe when people talk about throwing away all the "junk" that mom and pop have stashed away.

This is a great find for baseball, too! You oughta tell that story to Keith Olbermann.

[JCMach1]

3. Needless to say I was shocked at the result of the auction

Like I said, I thought it might be worth a few hundred bucks... :)

Which brings up a couple of key things... if you have something that you think might actually be very valuable, first do your own research to see if it might be legit. Then, seek our the experts... Robert Edwards knew how valuable it was. I sent an email and they called me personally on the phone within 24hr.

I have also had antique dealers (at a mall setup) try to give me $20 for a 1920's toy that I sold on ebay for $350.

I have a number of other Reconstruction era carte de vistes and some nice glass plate photos in that album which my also be worth a bit, but unfortunately no more baseball. :(

[Vinca]

4. Congrats! What an amazing find. You just never know what's going to turn up.

I got the Kovel's newsletter the other day and some people who were being foreclosed on were in the basement packing and found a stack of old comic books. All of them were worth about $30 except one . . . I think it was a first appearance of Superman. The estimate for auction was $250,000! Apparently the bank is holding off the foreclosure pending sale of the comic book at the end of August. Wow - talk about luck! Can't wait to hear what it sells for.

[Paper Roses]

5. We all want to find a goodie but the story you tell is heartwarming.

I really don't ever expect to find something so valuable but the thrill is in the hunt.
I am very happy for the comic book owners. I hope this find eases the strains in their lives. Now for all of us with critical problems, I wish you happy hunting.

[Vinca]

6. Thanks, PR, good luck to you, too.

[pipoman]

7. Great story

As a 20 year photo collector, this one is special. I have and have had many fabulously collectible photos. One reason I like them is because their uniqueness and another is the difficulty for price guides to put arbitrary values on them...values are determined by willing seller and motivated buyer.