What's the most valuable bit of sports memorabilia?

Question

With Barry Bonds about to break Hank Aaron's record, I've been thinking a lot about how much the ball will be worth.

In all of sports history, what physical artifact is worth the most money? Please include sources.

Also, regardless of price, which would you most like to own and why? For the record, I'd take the bat Babe Ruth used to "call his shot."

Thanks!

Answer 1

I wouldn't give you two cents for the Bonds ball. In September, a grand jury is going to indict him anyway and then it's ******* at best - probably the record gets deleted totally. Anyone who uses roids doesn't deserve that record. He would be just babysitting it for A Rod anyway.

I would go with the T206 Honus Wagner card has long been the most famous baseball card in existence. Known as the "Holy Grail" and the "Mona Lisa of baseball cards", an example of this card was the first baseball card to be sold for over a million dollars. Only 50 to 60 of these cards are believed to exist. One theory for the card's scarcity is that Wagner, a non-smoker, requested the production of this card be halted since it was being sold as a marketing vehicle for tobacco products. The problem with this theory is that Wagner appears on a tobacco piece produced by Recius in the late 1800s. Another theory postulates that Wagner was not offered any compensation for the use of his likeness. Consequently, he supposedly withdrew his permission to print any more copies. At the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, it is stated that while Wagner was a smoker, he did not want children to have to buy tobacco products to get his card. Therefore, he requested it to be pulled from production.

Of these handful of existing cards, the single most famous, a nm-mt PSA graded 8 (which also was the first card graded by PSA serially numbered 00000001) card which initially broke the US $1 million barrier, sold again on February 26, 2007 at auction for 2.35 million US dollars to an anonymous buyer in Orange County, California. This particular card is in the best condition compared to the rest of the existing cards, having been encased in a protective Lucite sheeting for decades. Considered the ultimate pinnacle of baseball card collecting, the card has changed hands four times in the last 10 years, doubling in value on three of those occasions while having such ownership as hockey great Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall and later Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart had purchased the card in the mid-1990s to give away as part of a marketing campaign for a line of baseball cards. The winner of the give away could not afford the taxes associated with it, and it ended up being sold at auction in the mid-1990s to a Chicago businessman and collector for $640,000. In mid-2000 it was sold again for $1,265,000 to a Las Vegas-based businessman who regularly had it placed on public display at baseball games and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library before selling the card for double his purchase price in February 2007. On August 3, 2007 an SGC 10 graded card offered by Mastro Auctions sold for $192,000 to Robert Klevens of Prestige Collectibles, LLC acting on behalf of a client from Japan.

I have half a million cards here - and a great collection of signed balls but I sure would love one of those! Pax - C

Answer 2

I think that one the most awesome things to have, as far as sports memorabilia, would be the Honus Wagner T206 Baseball Card. Some of the cards, considering the condition, have gone for over $2 million dollars! There are only 50 to 60 of these cards in the world! To me, that would be hitting the sports memorabilia jackpot!

Regardless of price, I'd have to say Babe Ruth's bat from his first Yankees game. To me, that bat signaled the beginning of an incredible era. That would be pretty awesome to have!

Answer 3

First of all, I hope that you are mildly impressed that I did not resort to Wikipedia. I remembered a few years ago that Honus Wagner baseball cards were valuable because they are rare and he was one of the 5 original inductees into the Hall of Fame. The first link below is to a story about how one of his cards sold on eBay in 1999 for $1.265 million.

I had a hunch it was either the Honus Wager card or the Mark McGwire's home run ball number 70 that would be the answer to your question. It sold for $3.005 million on January 12, 1999 and appears to currently hold the record for sports memorabilia. Check out the second link for more info.

It is too early to tell if any of the Barry Bonds homerun balls will surpass that. I personally hope not because I am one of those who believe he uses steroids.

Useless factoid: My dad offered me the use of his tickets to the very game in San Diego where Bonds hit No. 755, but I had other plans.

Answer 4

Forbes.com has got an interesting article on the value of the "old timers" baseball memorabilia versus the newer items. You can read that here - http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/25/sports-baseball-collecting-biz-cx_tvr_0725collectibles.html


As for what I'd most like to own...that would be my brother's old autographed Nolan Ryan rookie card. His dad sold it two days after my brother passed away, back in 1994, I would have loved to have that card myself, as it was one of my brother's most treasured possessions, but thanks to his influence, Nolan Ryan has always been my favorite baseball player of all time.

I suppose it's more sentimental value than anything, but if I had any way of tracking down that specific card, I'd pay *ANY* price in the world for it!

Answer 5

The $3 million that McGwire's 70th home run ball fetched that year is now estimated at less than a million. The ball that Bonds ultimately deposits for career homer No. 756 figures to go for about $500,000, according to auction house experts. That's far less than what they would have guessed a few years ago, not to mention $150,000 below what Aaron's 755th went for in the mid-'90s.

That doesn't mean money can't be made from bats and balls from the recent homer-happy era. But bids figure to come from aggressive investors willing to bet that the market will eventually rebound. To some, the late-'90s hype over home runs had the market overheating, leading to the $3 million sale of McGwire's historic ball.

A few years later, steroid hysteria sent the market on a downward spiral. The question now is whether it's spiraled too much, and whether the passage of time will bring a different perspective, placing the value of Bonds and McGwire's accomplishments somewhere in between the levels of nine years ago and today.

"Once the dust settles, Bonds still goes down as the dominant player of his era. Even without steroids he was going to hit 600 home runs," says Doug Allen of Mastro Auctions, the biggest sports auction house in the U.S. At this year's All-Star Game, Allen notes, the ball Bonds hit for his 749th career homer was auctioned off with an estimated value of $4,000 from which to start bids. It got no takers. That's negative overkill, according to Allen.

"I said I would have paid $4,000 or $5,000 in a second," he says.

In the world of sports memorabilia, old classics are the safe bet. Think of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio or Lou Gehrig bats and balls as Hamptons real estate or blue chip stocks. Their value will fluctuate every now and then, but will steadily climb over time.

"For those guys, the market is set, while for guys still playing, it's more volatile," says Chris Ivy of Heritage Auction Galleries. Indeed, there's always image risk involved with an active player, whether it's Barry Bonds fighting off steroid accusations or Kobe Bryant defending himself on a rape charge.

Most of the credit for old-timer strength goes to Ruth, an almost mythological figure who represents the dominance of baseball in America's sports history. While the NFL and NBA have largely caught up to the national pastime in terms of current popularity, no memorabilia item goes for anything close to the top baseball items. Only a few Heisman Trophies, according to Allen, come close to matching top baseball merchandise. ESPN may have dubbed Michael Jordan the greatest athlete of the 20th century, but he's got a long way to go before his game-worn uniforms catch up to Ruth's in value.

"Our industry is driven by baseball," says Allen. "A longer history, more games, all driven by Babe Ruth."

Another reason, ironically, is that the notion of a lucrative sports memorabilia market didn't really exist years ago, so players and collectors weren't saving artifacts. That makes them more rare and, in turn, more valuable. For example, Heritage recently sold a 1950s Mickey Mantle jersey for $141,000, a price it could get based on players having only two home and two road jerseys to use during a season back then.

Today's memorabilia-conscious era saw Roger Clemens change jerseys in the middle of a game in which he was going for his 300th win, creating more overall cash but diluting the value of each individual item.

Popular Ruth artifacts aren't limited to Yankees gear. Two years ago, Mastro sold the Babe's 1934 World Tour uniform, which he wore during an off-season barnstorming trip that year and occasionally dusted off for other various exhibition games, for $771,000. Altogether, the Bambino accounts for five of the 10 most expensive sports items ever sold. His fellow baseball legends--and fellow Yankees--Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio are also perennial blue chippers.

A 1939 Gehrig uniform went for $451,000 at Leland's auction house recently, up from $306,000 two years ago. A bat used by DiMaggio during his 56-game hitting streak in 1941 was sold for $345,000, while a personal diary he kept long after his playing days is being put on the block by Steiner Sports with bids starting at $1.5 million. And that's for a reportedly bland set of notes in which DiMaggio does little more than complain about signing autographs and the cost of food.

If I had one single atifact of my choosing I would choose to have either the bat or ball used when DiMaggios streak stopped in Cleveland. I am a big Cleveland fan and that is one streak I believe will truly never be broken.

My second choice would be Don Larsens baseball in the no-no he threw in the 1956 World Series, the only World Series no-no in history.

My last choice would be the baseball Cy Young used to throw his amazing 749th complete game. Just unreal!

Answer 6

to me personally the most valuable would be home plate from Cal Ripken's last game