The starting bid was $10.
But after getting a flurry of inquiries about whether the card was authentic or not, Gallego started to suspect she was holding something a little more valuable and immediately ended the auction.
Turns out her hunch was correct. She did have something more valuable. The card she found was made in 1869 and featured the "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the sport's first professional team. It's considered one of the first baseball cards ever produced and its actual value could be worth more than $100,000 when she puts it back on eBay (with a higher starting price, of course).
Of course, the news that she had found a rare piece of early baseball history came as a shock to the 72-year-old Fresno, Calif., resident who said she's never been to a baseball game. Her tale, from unwitting discovery to learning about the card's history, is wonderfully captured by our old pal Mike Osegueda of the Fresno Bee. Click here to read it.
From the Fresno Bee:
"When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich Baggie and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted," (collector Rick) Mirigian says.
"They've uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine or comprehend. And it comes out of Fresno," he says. "That card is history. It's like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso."
Gallego said she doesn't know exactly where the box of antiques came from since she and her husband are collectors and frequently buy lots from different estates around California. She does have a history of being lucky, though, having once won $250,000 on a slot machine.
(And with that, I'm off to see what I can find in my basement.)
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- groups:
- News and Politics, Sports, Current News UK
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- tags:
- News and Politics, Sports, Current News UK, History, 3 more + add
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- KefKef
- added this
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Makes me think grandma's around the country will be getting some surprise visits from grand kids eager to clean her attic for free. Me first.....
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- coolmolawn
- 10 months ago
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Nice find, lucky lady.
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wow she got lucky
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- Jeffnfun631
- 10 months ago
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Just imagine how much one would be if it were signed by all members of that great 1869 Red Stockings team
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Did she find the vintage bubblegum?
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- joshuaheller
- 10 months ago
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I hope she can get out of Fresno now, it really sucks dere.
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- VegaNerDiva
- 10 months ago
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AWWWW
the only thing i have ever found in my attic was mold... -
Why doesn't that kind of stuff ever happen to me? :(
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Hey she's from Fresno! just like me! Unearthed from Fresno 139 years ago- just like me.
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- DeathImmortal
- 10 months ago
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Who else thinks it's awesome that a 72-year-old lady is savvy enough to be listing stuff on e-bay?! Awesome!
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I am fine with her listing on E Bay, but really, she already hit a slot machine for 250K, c'mon.....
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who knew a really old baseball card would be worth that much?????
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- MavericktheMaverick
- 10 months ago
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Awesome! And don't you think it's also pretty cool that a lady in her 70's is eBay-savvy? I think that's pretty darn cool too. Good for her, I hope she gets as much as she can for it. It's too bad it's not just a year ago, with today's financial crunch going on there may be less people willing to fork out the bucks. Then again, as a long-term investment .... :)
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- mesencephalon
- 10 months ago
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Now I wish I used my eBay account more.
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How many baseball cards where used by kids on the bike to sound like motorcycle.
each one of us must have something that we don't realize how much it is worth and toss it.
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yes i tossed away love.
haw naw, i didnt.
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- molesteban
- 10 months ago
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I'm so happy for this woman! I don't think my grandma would know how to list something on eBay ...
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the expression on her face makes me smile
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- keeshii768
- 10 months ago
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