| When I spotted a torn 1933 Babe
Ruth card for sale for under a thousand dollars I knew I had to have it
[Goudey Gum Co., card #144]. I'm too much of a cheap-skate to pay full
retail. It was not terribly expensive given the upper left corner had
been torn and it had several creases along the top edge. But
otherwise, the color was excellent. Without the tear I figured the
quality was similar to a PSA 4 or 5...which would sell for about $5,000.
I spent a few bucks to have a professional paper restoration artist fix the
tear ... and decided to have it framed. I figured, being the gregarious
sort that the Babe was, he'd appreciate a couple of his contemporaries to
join him in a picture frame ...
and not just any old "commoner" ... I found two Detroit Tiger Hall of
Famers who were thrilled to step back in the spotlight with Babe: Mickey Cochrane and Charley Gehringer. |
