Vintage Boston baseball cards nab $1 million appraisal on 'Antiques Roadshow'
One woman hit a home run on PBS' "Antiques Roadshow" with her baseball card collection that was appraised for $1 million.
The owner, only identified by her first name for security reasons, was shocked when she heard the $1 million figure.
"It hasn't sunk in . . . I really couldn't believe that it could be worth that much," Gale told "Antiques Roadshow." "It was just sitting in here in a desk drawer and I ran across it one day and decided I'd like to have it, not realizing at all what it was worth."
The collection features vintage baseball cards of the 1871-72 Boston Red Stockings team. Gale said on the show she grew up outside of Boston and is a Red Sox fan, but didn't sell earlier because she wanted to keep it in the family.
"When you look at memorabilia and you value it, you look at the historical importance of the players, the team, of the era, of the event," expert appraiser Leila Dunbar said. "You also look at rarity, you look at condition, you look at provenance, and this has it all."
The collection also features handwritten notes from Red Stockings players to the owner's great great grandmother after they stayed in her boarding house.
"These group of cards have never been out, we've never seen an early set of notes like this signed by these great hall of famers," Dunbar said. "It's the roots of Boston baseball."
The cards were featured on "Antiques Roadshow's" season premiere on Monday. You can learn more about the rare baseball card collection at the videos below.
