Babe Ruth 1914 Rookie Card Sells for $7.2 Million
In a Baltimore auction on Monday, a rare baseball card fetched a substantial sum of money. The 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card was successfully sold for $7.2 million, ranking among the highest-priced baseball cards in history.
Shawn Herne, the executive director at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum, expressed amazement at the significant value attached to a piece of cardboard. He remarked, “To think something, you know, a piece of cardboard this big is now moving into the genre that you would expect fine art to be in, $7.2 million, crazy.”
The card features a 19-year-old Babe Ruth donning a Baltimore Orioles uniform, and the back of the card displays the team’s schedule. A rarer blue version of the rookie card is showcased at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in downtown Baltimore.
Herne explained that the local newspaper printed both blue and red versions, sparking a collecting trend. Although the blue cards are scarcer than the red ones, only 10 cards of either color are known to exist.
Ruth, considered an American icon, has become a wise investment for collectors. Herne drew parallels with other legendary figures like Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, and John Wayne, stating that Ruth has transitioned from being a legend to almost a mythical, larger-than-life figure.
The $7.2 million price tag for the card ranks as the third-highest amount ever paid for a sports card. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card holds the top spot at $12.6 million, followed closely by a Honus Wagner card that sold for $7.25 million.
In a Baltimore auction on Monday, a rare baseball card fetched a substantial sum of money. The 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card was successfully sold for $7.2 million, ranking among the highest-priced baseball cards in history.
Shawn Herne, the executive director at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum, expressed amazement at the significant value attached to a piece of cardboard. He remarked, “To think something, you know, a piece of cardboard this big is now moving into the genre that you would expect fine art to be in, $7.2 million, crazy.”
The card features a 19-year-old Babe Ruth donning a Baltimore Orioles uniform, and the back of the card displays the team’s schedule. A rarer blue version of the rookie card is showcased at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in downtown Baltimore.
Herne explained that the local newspaper printed both blue and red versions, sparking a collecting trend. Although the blue cards are scarcer than the red ones, only 10 cards of either color are known to exist.
Ruth, considered an American icon, has become a wise investment for collectors. Herne drew parallels with other legendary figures like Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, and John Wayne, stating that Ruth has transitioned from being a legend to almost a mythical, larger-than-life figure.
The $7.2 million price tag for the card ranks as the third-highest amount ever paid for a sports card. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card holds the top spot at $12.6 million, followed closely by a Honus Wagner card that sold for $7.25 million.
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