1920 Babe Ruth Jersey sells for $4,415,658 in the SCP Auction!!!

Dpeck100 · May 19, 2012 11:47PM

1920 Babe Ruth

Wow this is a stunning price for a piece of baseball memorabilia! They had predicted it might sell for as much as the Honus Wagner and I have to think the seller is beyond thrilled with this price.

It has been discussed in the past what one of the PSA 10 Mantle rookie's would pull and I have said 2 million plus. After seeing the sum that this item pulled I think that number is a lock.

Dboneesq · May 19, 2012 11:52PM

WOW! Thanks for sharing. WHAT A NUMBER! Imagine if they had the whole uniform? When I looked last it was already into the extended bidding time and was at ~$2,100,000.00 with the premium.

Dpeck100 · May 19, 2012 11:56PM

SCP has updated their site with the closed prices and I did a search by highest price paid. There are some stunning price tags on a number of items.

I obviously don't have any high baseball memorabilia but I just enjoy seeing these numbers for collectibles.

The board member who won the Clemente made a note in regards to people thinking he paid to much for an Ernie Banks PSA 10 at the $40,000 mark. Well someone paid a cool $102,000 more for theirs!

EOMINT · May 20, 2012 12:49AM

Yep, this stuff is on fire...as I said on the other threat, this is owning a piece of history, and there is only one...and to someone out there it was worth $4.5M pieces of fiat American currency to get! The US$ has depreciated 95%+ in the past century, so it kind of makes sense.

Van Gough's The Scream just fetched $113M...why? Because it is unique and it is a piece of history, and some billionaire had to have it.

A tale as old as time...

YogiBerraFan · May 20, 2012 12:54AM

I hope the jersey stays whole.

Dpeck100 · May 20, 2012 1:10AM

Yogi, I think at this price tag it will stay whole for sure. If it went for a dramatically lower number perhaps but the price tag per pack would have to be like $100,000 and even then you would have well over 45 examples just at the cost of the jersey. I would think the buyer is some insanely wealthy person who either loves baseball or is a big American history collector and had to have this item.

EOMINT, what is wild about the scream painting which I believe actually sold for $119 million is at some point if it ever comes back for sale it will go for a great deal more. I am not sure if you saw my comment in the other thread but I think you made a great decision to buy the Clemente. That card is never going down in value and overtime is going much higher. I think it is great that a collector of your stature is posting on the boards.

EOMINT · May 20, 2012 2:23AM

"a collector of my stature" lol...let me tell you something, I'm 38 years old now, but when I was a kid my dad used to schlep me to the East Coast National and I had barely any budget except what I made at my summer job! I remember looking at all these incredible high end cards at tables where the dealers knew I didnt have dough and wouldnt give me the time of day, too busy dealing with the folks who brought briefcases...

what has changed really? that kid is still inside me, i have no stature, i merely studied hard, got the best education i could, and then worked hard for a # of years in a lucrative industry.

means does not equal stature. stature comes from your passion for something and how you share that passion with others.

Futureman · May 20, 2012 2:30AM

<< 
Van Gough's The Scream just fetched $113M...why? Because it is unique and it is a piece of history, and some billionaire had to have it.
>>

"The Scream" by Van Gogh would be unique ...

EOMINT · May 20, 2012 2:41AM

Munch not Van Gough...see, I have no stature whatsoever!

Dpeck100 · May 20, 2012 3:02AM

Well call it whatever you may but when you have the means to buy a card for $432,000 that is AWESOME!

Anyone looking at cards in that price range has stature in my book. Congratulations on your success and keep sharing your finds.

Yankees001 · May 20, 2012 4:01AM

I know about the jersey. I was the under bidder.

I should have bid 1 more time.

Dave

PS - I am joking.

Toro · May 20, 2012 4:08AM

Well, at that price, we know it wasn't Upper Deck that bought it. I also doubt Topps would spend that much on it. I am glad to see memorabilia of such significant figures in American history being picked up by passionate collectors/investors. I figure someone in New York or woth ties to the Yankees picked up that jersey.

pmcollectour · May 20, 2012 7:18AM

What was bread selling for in Weimar, Germany ?

cubfan89 · May 20, 2012 7:50AM

As long as they don't cut it up, I'm happy

CollectorAtWork · May 20, 2012 4:41PM

Saw in a thread on another forum that the Leland's auction house was the one who purchased the jersey. Link

PeteZaria · May 21, 2012 5:16AM

Wow, was anyone else just listening to WFAN? Mike Francesa just had a guy on from SCP auctions and they got into a rather heated argument about the authentication of the jersey. Mike wanted to know how they knew that Babe Ruth wore the jersey. The guy from SCP hung up after only about 2 minutes!

PeteZaria · May 21, 2012 5:25AM

It was David Kohler - President of SCP that he was talking to, by the way.

EDIT: Here's the video.

Dboneesq · May 21, 2012 6:18AM

Pete ... thanks for the LINK. I just got out of a meeting ... put on WFAN when I got into the car ... and heard Francesa's last word or two and knew it had something to do with the authentication process. Considering the Ruth Jersey was just sold, I figured it had something to do with it. Was pissed that I missed the conversation.

IMO, Francesa is a stuck up AZZ. The guy from the auction house told him that he relies on one of the foremost authenticators in the world. Francesa just kept going on and on and almost forced the guy to hang up. Dave stated he was the auction house and he did not know the exact process used. Francesa should have thanked him for telling him who the authenticator was (Mears) and then contacted Mears for an in depth explanation.

vladguerrero · May 21, 2012 6:26AM

What a tool, felt like I was watching Bill O'Reilly, I've never watched Francesa and if I lived in NY I never would.

Albertdidit · May 21, 2012 7:58AM

Was listening before but didnt get to hear rest of show. Did they get mears on also?

PeteZaria · May 21, 2012 9:17AM

<< Was listening before but didnt get to hear rest of show. Did they get mears on also? >>

Yes. That interview went much smoother. Mike seemed at least somewhat satisfied with the authentication process.

Albertdidit · May 21, 2012 9:28AM

Knowing that Lelands bought it would seem to make you think this thing is real. Maybe if Mike knew a company like that bought it he would have been a little easier on the auction house.

halfcentman · May 21, 2012 10:16AM

<< 

<< Was listening before but didnt get to hear rest of show. Did they get mears on also? >>

Yes. That interview went much smoother. Mike seemed at least somewhat satisfied with the authentication process. >>

Having listened to MF (how appropriate) for 2/3 of my life, I can tell you that he is very anti-collectible anything - especially sports memorabilia.

-----

I will never forget when an adult said to me: "I CAN'T understand why someone would pay $100.00 for a penny."

My reply was "well, that's your loss, but if you change CAN'T to DON'T I will tell you."

RedHeart54 · May 21, 2012 10:20AM

Is $4.4 million the highest price paid for a piece of sports memorabilia to date?

addicted2ebay · May 21, 2012 2:00PM

If I just spent 4.4 Mil and watched that I would want Mears on the phone

jeffcbay · May 21, 2012 2:18PM

That Mike Francesa needs to take a game used Babe Ruth baseball bat that has been authenticated by "Mirez" to his dome. I'm glad that douchebag isn't on my open airwaves.

Maurice · May 21, 2012 2:29PM

It's a legitimate question. There's no way to prove Ruth wore that jersey.

Probstein123 · May 21, 2012 10:35PM

I wonder how the under bidder feels...happy or deep regret for not bidding higher ?

basketballcollector · May 21, 2012 10:41PM

I agree with Maurice. It really is a legitimate question. What happens if in the future it is determined that Ruth didn't actually wear it ? (like some of the Barry Halper stuff)

bigjed · May 21, 2012 11:50PM

Seeing that jersey fetch $4.4 million, does that make Donruss look stupid for cutting up the Ruth jersey they bought for $1 million. Beyond the simple yes, only an idiot would cut up a Ruth jersey, based on this sale it looks like they could have made a very nice return if they held and resold it versus cutting it up.

jeffcbay · May 22, 2012 12:22AM

<< It's a legitimate question. There's no way to prove Ruth wore that jersey. >>

Of course it's a legitimate question... it's also not too much to ask for a few minutes of uninterrupted airspace in order to answer that question. Asking the appropriate person that question in the first place might have been a smarter thing to do. Mike Francesa was obviously more concerned in making the show shocking and interesting rather than hearing the truth, which is why he would interrupt the guy every time he started to answer. He was even pronouncing the name Mears wrong on purpose, just to further make the company appear more questionable. He's a professional a-hole, plain and simple.

sagard · May 22, 2012 12:25AM

The SCP guy was a fool for not knowing the ins and outs of what Mears was looking for.

PeteZaria · May 22, 2012 12:40AM

<< Knowing that Lelands bought it would seem to make you think this thing is real. Maybe if Mike knew a company like that bought it he would have been a little easier on the auction house. >>

He did know that Lelands bought it. He mentioned it in this clip (from before the Mears call).
link

jeffcbay · May 22, 2012 12:48AM

<< The SCP guy was a fool for not knowing the ins and outs of what Mears was looking for. >>

Listen to the interview, he starts to answer but he can't get a word in edgewise, so he defers to the people from Mears.

Beck6 · May 22, 2012 1:07AM

If you own something like the Babe Ruth Jersey are you allowed to make money off the name Babe Ruth? For example could I charge $20 for people to get a picture wearing the jersey without giving any money to the Babe Ruth estate. Could you reproduce the jersey and sell it?

I assume when a painting like "The Scream" you would get the royalties from t-shirts and mugs and posters and such.

dmurphy3mvp · May 22, 2012 1:20AM

<< I will never forget when an adult said to me: "I CAN'T understand why someone would pay $100.00 for a penny."

My reply was "well, that's your loss, but if you change CAN'T to DON'T I will tell you." >>

Halfcentman, this quote is priceless. If you don't mind, I'm going to steal this and use it myself. I'll undoubtedly be able to use this several times each year.

Albertdidit · May 22, 2012 6:49AM

<< 

<< Knowing that Lelands bought it would seem to make you think this thing is real. Maybe if Mike knew a company like that bought it he would have been a little easier on the auction house. >>

He did know that Lelands bought it. He mentioned it in this clip (from before the Mears call).
link >>

Wow....he really didnt give the guy a break at all or a chance to explain anything

Tabe · May 22, 2012 7:48AM

<< If you own something like the Babe Ruth Jersey are you allowed to make money off the name Babe Ruth? For example could I charge $20 for people to get a picture wearing the jersey without giving any money to the Babe Ruth estate. Could you reproduce the jersey and sell it? . >>

Kinda depends on the trademarks and the like. If the Yankees still have trademarks on the "New York" in the jersey, then no, you couldn't sell pictures or reproduce it. If it's determined the jersey is generic enough or that the trademarks have expired and so on, then yeah, you could do whatever with it. However, you likely couldn't call it a Yankees jersey anywhere since that is trademarked.

Tabe

PeteZaria · May 22, 2012 11:34AM

<< Is $4.4 million the highest price paid for a piece of sports memorabilia to date? >>

Yes. Here is the top 30. link

MantleMarisFordBerra · May 22, 2012 11:49PM

<< 

<< Is $4.4 million the highest price paid for a piece of sports memorabilia to date? >>

Yes. Here is the top 30. link >>

Wow, 7 of the top 15 are Babe Ruth items. Guess we know who the King is.

1920 Babe Ruth Jersey sells for $4,415,658 in the SCP Auction!!!

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