Flash Market Report — What Old Baseball Cards Sold Big this Week? (7/15/2018)

Ever wonder what your old baseball cards are worth today?

Ha! Trick question.

Of course you wonder what your old baseball cards are worth today — you lived through the hobby boom and bust, didn’t you??

Well, I can’t tell you exactly what your old cards are worth, but I can let you in on some of the more mouthwatering vintage sales of the past week.

So let’s hit it … here are five amazing eBay lots that changed hands during the week ending July 15, 2018.

(Note that these listings contain affiliate links, which means if you click over to eBay and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.)

1965 Topps Baseball Steve Carlton Rookie Card (PSA 9)

In the early 1980s, before the hobby completely exploded, the 1965 Topps Steve Carlton rookie was one of the marquee cards of the 1960s.

Back then, Carlton was battling with Nolan Ryan for all-time strikeout supremacy, and most of us thought Carlton would ultimately win that war.

Lefty was also busy helping his Philadelphia Phillies win the 1980 World Series and the 1983 National League pennant, all of which pushed his rookie card towards three figures.

Of course, in the subsequent decade or so, Ryan became NOLAN FREAKING RYAN and blew past everyone in terms of mound mythology. His cards followed suit.

And collectors figured out that cards like the 1967 Topps Tom Seaver rookie had extra scarcity owing to their high-number status — and that Tom Terrific was one of a handful of the absolute best pitchers of all time.

Somewhere in there, too, we had Pete Rose‘s run at Ty Cobb and the explosion of his rookie card.

All that served to sort of push Carlton’s rookie card toward the back of the legend line.

Truth is, though, Carlton was an all-time great, and his rookie card still commands big bucks when it pops up in big-time condition, even 30+ years later.

As a prime example, this PSA 9 copy changed hands at $1216 on the strength of 34 bids.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Rookie Card

Any time a 1952 Topps rookie card comes on the market, it causes a stir, even though it’s not really a rookie card.

And when I say any time,  I mean, like, any time.

Even when the card is beat the hell up, like this one.

This card has been well-loved, or well-hated, or both, over its 66-year life.

Heck, the wear and tear around Mantle’s face looks suspiciously like someone scratched a full, hefty lumberjack beard onto him.

It’s quite amazing.

And so are the 35 bids that generated a $4251 sale price.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1982 Donruss Unopened Wax Box Case (20 Boxes)

You already know that 1982 Donruss baseball cards were no great artistic masterpieces.

And you probably also know that they aren’t scarce in any real sense.

But the 1982 cards are leaps and bounds better than the 1981 Donruss set from a quality standpoint, and they’re sushi-rare compared to the stuff pushed out just five or so years later.

Add in the presence of the Cal Ripken, Jr., rookie card and plenty of Hall of Famer cards, and you have a nice, solid issue that’s been around more than 35 years now.

A real part of hobby history.

Generally, you can’t put a price on history, but when it comes in the form of an unopened case of 20 wax boxes of 1982 Donruss … well, the price is $1899.

Approximately.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

Lifetime Collection of 12,000 Cards (including Mickey Mantle!)

If you’ve read any of my Flash Market reports before, you know I’m a sucker for big ol’ honkin’ lots of baseball cards that just fall all over each other and make your imagination race.

The visuals are stunning and the mysteries are tantalizing … you just never know what you’re going to find in the depths of a stack of baseball cards.

This lot is pretty much like that, except the images show much of the wares spread out before you, and the seller lets you in on the basics of the content.

So you know you’re getting … a 1954 Topps Ernie Banks rookie card, some Mickey Mantle stuff, wax packs, sets, albums, and graded material.

Or you would have gotten these if you’d been the winner at $4200 (39 bids).

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

1955 Bowman Baseball Complete Set

Television was big-time sh** in 1955, probably even more so than today (thanks to the internet and greedy cable companies and such).

So it was certainly worth a last-ditch effort by Bowman to save their flagging baseball card line by writing TVs into their 1955 design card.

The result was a fairly cheesy effort that featured a woodgrain TV cabinet surrounding each player, the first mainstream issue with chipping, peeling borders.

Some collectors undoubtedly loved the set, but it wasn’t enough to save Bowman’s skin — this was their last hurrah before Topps bought them out.

So, again we’re looking at history here, and condition-sensitive history, at that.

This complete set didn’t offer much on the condition front, checking in with plenty of missing chunks, chips and peels, and fuzzy regions.

But, hey, it brings together the whole darn final Bowman set, and for that, it rewarded its seller to the tune of $1400.

See the original eBay listing here (affiliate link).

(Check out our other posts about card values here.)