So, I was rummaging through some old boxes my dad left me, stuff that had been sitting in the attic for who knows how long. Mostly junk, old papers, receipts, that kind of thing. But then, tucked inside an old biscuit tin, I found this small stack of really old-looking baseball cards, held together with a brittle rubber band that basically disintegrated when I touched it.
Most were names I didn’t recognize, guys in baggy uniforms, serious faces. But one jumped out. Babe Ruth. Clear as day. The card looked ancient, yellowish, a bit soft at the corners. My heart kinda skipped a beat. I remembered hearing stories about how much old Ruth cards could be worth. I immediately thought, “1920s, Babe Ruth… this must be it!” Visions of paying off the mortgage danced in my head, you know?
First Steps and Confusion
I carefully put the card aside and jumped on the computer. Typed in “babe ruth 1920 baseball card value”. Man, the numbers I saw were all over the place. Huge figures, articles about record sales. But here’s the thing, the pictures online… they didn’t quite match what I had. There wasn’t just one 1920 Ruth card. It seemed like there were a bunch of different sets issued around that time.
- Some were black and white photos.
- Some were more like drawings or caricatures.
- Some had different backs, ads for bakeries or candy.
- Mine looked sort of like some pictures, but not exactly.
It got confusing fast. Was mine a W514? A strip card? Maybe something else entirely? The condition mine was in wasn’t great either, which I learned mattered. A lot. This wasn’t going to be as simple as finding treasure in the attic.
Getting it Checked
I decided I couldn’t just guess. I needed someone who actually knew this stuff. Finding someone reliable wasn’t easy. You hear stories about scams, people trying to rip you off. I asked around, did some searching for local collectors or shops. Found this older guy who ran a small collectibles store downtown, seemed legit, had been doing it for decades.
Took the card down there. Felt kinda silly, honestly, walking in with this one beat-up card, probably getting my hopes up over nothing. The shop owner, real serious guy, put on these little glasses, picked up the card very carefully with tweezers. He looked at it under a bright light, used a magnifying glass. Didn’t say much for a few minutes. The suspense was killing me.
The Reality Check
Finally, he put it down. He explained it wasn’t one of the major, super-valuable 1920 Ruth issues people dream about. He thought it was likely from a slightly later, less known set, maybe late 20s or even early 30s, or possibly a regional issue. Still old, still Babe Ruth, but not the lottery ticket I’d half-dreamed of. He showed me some reference books, pointed out the differences in print style, cardboard stock, the specific image.
Turns out, it wasn’t worthless, but it wasn’t life-changing money either. Maybe worth a couple of nice dinners out, not a new car. There was a bit of disappointment, sure. Who wouldn’t want to find a hidden gem?
But you know what? After the initial buzz wore off, I wasn’t even mad. It was kinda cool just holding something that old, something The Babe himself might have been associated with when it was new. It came from my dad’s stuff, probably my grandad’s before that. It’s a piece of family history, a connection to the past. And I learned a hell of a lot about baseball cards I never knew before. Sometimes the story behind the thing is more interesting than the price tag, I guess. Still got the card, sitting safely in a proper holder now, not a biscuit tin.
