The U.S. just celebrated its 250th anniversary over the weekend, which got me wondering, how old is the oldest sports card? With the World Cup also on my mind, I was surprised to learn it’s not a soccer card. Instead, it’s a baseball card - and it’s from 1860. It’s a Brooklyn Atlantics team card (technically known as a “carte de visite,” or “visiting card”), and there are reportedly two known copies that exist - although my research seems to indicate a third copy.

One was auctioned in July 2015 by Heritage Auctions, having been in the same Massachusetts-based family’s possession for more than 150 years, and it ended up selling for $179,250. A second one, previously owned by Bill Panick (after finding it among his mother’s belongings following her passing) sold at Heritage Auctions in April of 2019. Those are the two that tend to be mentioned as the copies that exist.

That said, per this ESPN article about the 2015 auction, a potential third one seems to be owned by 19th-century baseball memorabilia collector Corey Shanus, who acquired it in a trade about 25 years ago.

In this issue you'll find:

Auction highlights
News in the hobby
Randy Gradishar’s rookie card and player profile
Pop count vs. pricing for 1950s baseball HOF rookie cards
ICYMI
Recent Vintage Card Voyage video

Let’s get into it.

Auction Highlights

In order of closing date:

Hunt Auctions (ending on July 8)

Heritage Summer Sports Card Catalog (ending on July 10)

Goldin 2026 June Elite Auction (ending on July 11)

The Collector Connection (ending on July 12)

Collector Investor Auctions (ending on July 12)

Other active auctions:

Clean Sweep Players Auction (ends on July 15)

Sirius Sports Cards Auction (ends on July 16)

News Briefs

⚾ The Most Iconic Baseball Card From Every Era in Trading Card History

💰 Mantle Mania: Record Prices for Mickey Mantle Cards and Magazine

🏀 $3 Goodwill Find of 1970s Wilt Chamberlain Warmup Jacket Now Set to Fetch 6-Figures (not about cards, I know, but I thought it still warranted inclusion)

💰 Roberto Clemente and Satchel Paige Cards Reach New Record Prices

⚾ No. 2 Ranked 1971 Milk Duds Baseball Set Chews Way Into Heritage Sale

⚾ The Best 1950s Baseball Card Sets Not by Topps or Bowman

🏃🏿‍♂️‍➡️ Jesse Owens’ Final Amateur Appearance Captured on Popular Churchman Card

⚾ The 5 Most Beautiful Baseball Card Designs of the 1950s

Vintage HOF Rookie Card: Randy Gradishar

One of the primary members of the “Orange Crush Defense,” the longtime Denver Broncos star was called “the best linebacker I ever coached at Ohio State” by legendary Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes.

Randy Gradishar - LB

HOF Induction in 2024

Standout Stats:

7-time Pro Bowler
5-time All-Pro (two first-team and three second-team selections)
1978 Defensive Player of the Year
Four defensive touchdowns, including three INT returns
Career AV (Approximate Value) - 106

Grade	PSA Pop Count	SGC Pop Count	BVG Pop Count
10	20	1	0
9	105	1	1
8	201	13	5
7	75	13	0

As you can see, there’s a fair amount of variance with this card, with the average price landing at $63.55.

Hobby Thoughts: Pop Count vs. Pricing for 1950s Baseball HOF Rookie Cards

The research continues, this time with the 1950s baseball HOF rookie cards, with the same caveats I noted previously (not all players are created equal, not all sets are created equal, the subjectiveness of eye appeal, etc.).

I again looked at collector grade (for this decade, that being a PSA 5) and PSA 6, to see if there were cards where it might make more sense to buy a PSA 6 (if you’re looking for more bang for your buck), because, say, while the pop count is a lot smaller, the price difference between the two grades might not be that big, relatively speaking. Of course, the further back we go, the higher the prices.

Using the current Card Ladder values for both the PSA 5 and PSA 6 rookie cards for the 22 HOF rookie cards in the 1950s, I determined both the price differential (the PSA 6 price divided by the PSA 5 price) and the pop count differential (the PSA 5 pop count divided by the PSA 6 pop count, on the assumption pop counts get smaller as grades increase). Then, I determined the disparity (the price difference divided by the pop count difference), to see where potential value might exist (since, presumably, the lower the disparity number, the higher the potential value).

Much like the 1960s groupings, the disparities are relatively close to each other. Seeing the Aaron and Mantle RCs near the top, or Jim Bunning’s RC at the bottom, was not what I expected, but that’s why I do the research, to see where everything lands.

The Aaron RC pop count dropped by 27% between grades, while the price only went up 20%, so a PSA 6 Aaron may not be a bad pick-up if you don’t mind the low five-figure price tag. The Mantle RC’s pop count, meanwhile, dropped by 34% between grades, and that relatively wide gap in pop count (the biggest among all the RCs in this group) is what made the price going up 50% not as jarring. At least not as jarring as the jump of $42,260 to $63,260 for the card.

The Bunning, meanwhile, was one of the 11 cards in the group that actually had the pop count increase as the grade went up (with the Bunning RC pop count increasing a whopping 56%), so that along with the price increasing by 34% landed it as the presumed “worst” deal. Of course, the PSA 5 landed at $202 (the fourth cheapest in the group) and the PSA 6 landed at $270 (third cheapest in the group), so it comes down to what you consider a deal - the price you pay for it or the likelihood that it’s priced lower than it potentially “should” be.

What do you think about when it comes to a good deal?

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