A rare Babe Ruth rookie card sold at auction on Monday for $7.2 million.
It is the most expensive collector’s item around the “Bambino” sold and the third highest amount for a card. The other two are cards by Mickey Mantle (1952) and Honus Wagner (1909), which sold for $12.6 million and $7.25 million, respectively.
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The article about Ruth was printed by the Baltimore News in 1914. The athlete was working for the Orioles, a minor league team, at the time. Only 10 copies of the map exist and the object’s existence was only known to the general public in the 1980s.
BREAKING: Award for the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth in @REAOnline The auction costs $7.2 million.
The card was a FREE NEWSPAPER SUPPLEMENT originally saved by newsboy Archie Davis. The paper cost ONE CENT. pic.twitter.com/XJQPRNvMkR
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 4, 2023
In 1914, a 16-year-old Baltimore paperboy named Archibald Davis collected baseball cards of his favorite Orioles. He particularly appreciated that of a young man from the region. This card is the one that just made a small fortune.
Davis’ maps, 15 in all, were passed down through generations in his family over a period of 107 years. The family donated the cards to the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum in Baltimore in 1998. They were on display until 2021 and then sold privately.
“Overall the map was in pretty good condition. “The fact that it has been in the museum’s hands for over 20 years has helped keep it in the condition it is in,” said Brian Dwyer, president of Robert Edward Auctions, which handled the recent sale conveyed.