In a recent episode of Antiques Roadshow, one woman got the surprise of her life when an old baseball card she brought in was valued at an amazing $8,000, which is over ₹6.6 lakh. The card featured none other than Babe Ruth, one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
A Hidden Treasure from the Past
The woman shared that the card once belonged to her late great-great uncle, who was a Polish immigrant and a farmer living in Southeast Missouri, USA. He was a huge baseball fan and even traveled once to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play, a big event for someone who rarely left the state.
Years later, after he passed away in the late 1980s, her parents were cleaning up his old farmhouse. Her father climbed into the attic to make sure nothing valuable was left behind. That’s when he found an old paper bag tucked between the rafters.
Inside the bag were several old exhibition baseball cards, including a rare 1928 Babe Ruth card. This simple attic find would later turn out to be a collector’s dream.
What Makes This Card So Special?
Expert appraiser Leila Dunbar explained during the show that the card was created by the Exhibition Supply Company and was originally sold in penny arcades. Back in the day, you could get one for just one cent through a vending machine.
These cards were not like the common tobacco or bubblegum cards that people usually collected. Exhibition cards were larger in size, often as big as a postcard, and didn’t promote or sell any product.
Unlike regular cards that came with chewing gum or tobacco, these cards were made to be collected purely for the love of the sport. They were printed in much smaller numbers, which is why they are so rare today.
Rare Condition, High Value
Though the card had a bit of wear around the edges, Dunbar believed it could still be graded a 5 out of 10, which is actually the highest known grade for that specific Babe Ruth exhibition card.
Earlier, collectors were not very interested in exhibition cards and focused more on tobacco or gum cards. But in the last few years, interest in these rare exhibition cards has grown, pushing their market value up.
Because of this new demand, Dunbar estimated that the woman’s Babe Ruth card could be sold at auction for anywhere between $6,000 and $8,000.
The woman was clearly touched and said, “Good old Stanley would really love that,” referring to her great-great uncle who originally owned the card.
Antiques Roadshow Surprises
Antiques Roadshow is known for revealing the hidden value of old items. In another episode, a woman found her father’s old baseball cards in a cigar box, and one rookie card alone turned out to be worth $150,000 (₹1.2 crore). In another case, a man brought in an old magic prop and was shocked to find out it was linked to history and valued at $80,000 (₹66 lakh).
This heartwarming story reminds us that even the most unexpected objects—like an old baseball card hidden in an attic—can turn out to be worth a small fortune. With growing interest in vintage collectibles, items that were once ignored are now highly valued by collectors. So next time you clean out your attic or storeroom, keep an eye out. You might just be sitting on a hidden treasure from the past!