Hobby history: The Copeland Collection (as auctioned by Sotheby's, 1991)

[trdcrdkid]

Most people here are probably aware that the (in)famous T206 Wagner that Bill Mastro trimmed was bought at auction in 1991 by Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall for $451,000, an astonishing price at the time, though a fraction of what it would later sell for. What's less widely known is the scope of the collection that the Wagner card was part of, how it was collected, and how it was sold. It's an interesting story, and I'm going to tell it briefly before posting some of the catalog from that historic auction.

That famous auction was conducted by Sotheby's in New York City on March 22 and 23, 1991, and was formally known as "The Copeland Collection of Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia". The "Copeland" of the title was James Copeland, who had become rich through a chain of sporting goods stores (Copeland Sports) that he had founded in 1971 with his brother Tom. In the mid-1980s, Jim Copeland suddenly became interested in collecting vintage baseball cards in order to have something to share with his son, and he went all in. With the help of dealer Greg Bussineau and the advice of Bill Mastro, Copeland began buying up all the high-end vintage cards he could find, and he paid whatever he needed to pay to get them. This included the Wagner, which Copeland bought from Mastro in 1988 for $110,000, but Copeland also bought the highest-end examples he could find of basically every other sports card issued before 1981, plus lots of memorabilia, including scorecards and press pins. Money was literally no object; Copeland would simply write a check for whatever it took to get a seller to part with an item. He spent several million dollars on his collection in just a few years. Although the hobby had been booming through the 1980s, the kind of money that Copeland was throwing around was new, and it fueled the spike in card prices in the late 80s.

By 1990, only about five years after he had started collecting, Copeland lost interest and decided to sell his collection. He claimed it was because his son had grown up and was no longer interested in the cards, but I suspect that Copeland had also spent too much on the collection and was overextended financially. (Copeland Sports would eventually go bankrupt in 2006 and was bought by The Sports Authority, which itself went bankrupt a decade later.) He went to Bill Mastro, who in turn went to Sotheby's, since there were then no sports-oriented auction houses capable of handling such a major sale. With Mastro acting as intermediary and advisor, Sotheby's divided the collection into 873 lots and put together a glossy 300-page catalogue, of a type that had never been seen before in the hobby (though it looks almost skimpy compared to many of today's catalogues).

Copeland's collection was quite simply jaw-dropping by any standard. He had pretty much every postwar card set, including test sets and regionals, and complete or near-complete sets of all but the rarest prewar sets, nearly all in near-mint or better condition, including tons of amazing 19th-century material. He had all but a handful of World Series program from 1905 on, a complete run of World Series press pins from 1911 on, and on and on. The amazing thing is that he collected all this in just five years before deciding to sell it. Another amazing thing about the collection from a modern perspective is that the cards were all raw. Remember that the Wagner was the first card ever graded by PSA, after Copeland had sold it; there were some grading services around before then, but Copeland apparently didn't feel a need to use them.

Below I've posted the front cover of the catalogue from this auction, followed by the introduction, the schedule of when the various lots would be auctioned, and the section including all the T cards, with the Wagner in the middle of it. I'm sure some of these cards are, or have been, in the collections of members of this board. (I didn't include the blankets, silks, leathers, and tobacco pins, which are also complete or near-complete sets in amazing condition.) I'll post some other sections of the catalogue later when I have time, if people are interesting.

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[ruth-gehrig]

Thank you for posting this! I've never had the chance to see the auction catalog but most of us have probably heard of the "Copeland Collection" at some point. Is it not ironic that the Wagner lot lists the card dimensions which appear short compared to the other T206 measurements that they listed?

[KCRfan1]

Thanks for posting! I loved the read, and this is a big part of our hobby's history.

[Jason]

Great stuff David. Thank you for sharing as always.

[Leon]

Thanks for posting this, David. Nice read.

[1952boyntoncollector]

[QUOTE=trdcrdkid;1704814 for $451,000, [/QUOTE]

nice catalogue

[birdman42]

Hmm. The illustrated card for Lot 208 Coupons shows a Factory 8 overprint.

Bill

[steve B]

How does someone have a collection like that and not finish the T201s? Just lack of interest?

[MVSNYC]

I have a copy of this catalogue in my collection. Amazing.

[Bobsbats]

Collecting cards for close to 35 years, I've never seen the Old Judge Anson in uniform in person. Every show at Willow Grove in the early 80's you'd see the Wagner 206, Darby Chocolates etc.....but never the Old Judge Anson in uniform. How many are there known to exist?

[barrysloate]

A complete set of T208 Firesides. You don't see that every day.

[barrysloate]

Collecting cards for close to 35 years, I've never seen the Old Judge Anson in uniform in person. Every show at Willow Grove in the early 80's you'd see the Wagner 206, Darby Chocolates etc.....but never the Old Judge Anson in uniform. How many are there known to exist?

There are three Ansons in private hands, and a fourth one in the Burdick collection. There could be another, but those are the only four I know.

[ullmandds]

I remember this...the collection...the sale. Now that I peruse the catalog you can see the maturation of the hobby in the descriptions. "very few known" has been replaced with a #!

Weren't many of these cards suspect...like trimmed?? Seeing complete t213-3 set in mt condition just doesnt seem fathomable????

[bigfanNY]

My Dad and I attended the Auction and were in the room when the Wagner sold. Bought three sets all from the 1930's and were outbid on six or seven other lots we had interest in. I remember John Ramierez outbidding us on a a set of Schulter and Johnson's and did not bother us in the least because we knew it was g going to a great home. Best part was when we went day before to look at the collection displayed. So many finest known examples pity before the digital camera / cell phone age. Worst part was guy who came to purchase a one of a kind Diamond star sheet with the pre announced intent of cutting it up and selling singles. He shoots his load early bidding on a complete set by mistake he wins the lot and then tells auctioneer his mistake and they very nicely let it go and reaction the lot. He has competition but wins lot and sheet was lost.
J

[ls7plus]

Didn't Copeland also have the 1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News which came barreling out of the gate at a "lofty" $6,000 in 1989?

Terrific post, by the way--many thanks for taking the time to share!

Larry

[Baseball Rarities]

Didn't Copeland also have the 1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News which came barreling out of the gate at a "lofty" $6,000 in 1989?

Copeland's BN Ruth sold for $18,700 against an estimate of $10K - $15K.

[trdcrdkid]

Didn't Copeland also have the 1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News which came barreling out of the gate at a "lofty" $6,000 in 1989?


Yes, Copeland had a 1914 Baltimore News Ruth, along with three other cards from that set.

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[Baseball Rarities]

How does someone have a collection like that and not finish the T201s? Just lack of interest?

He probably did not know the set was incomplete until it was catalogued by Sotheby's.

[Baseball Rarities]

He shoots his load early bidding on a complete set by mistake he wins the lot and then tells auctioneer his mistake and they very nicely let it go and reaction the lot. He has competition but wins lot and sheet was lost.

What do you mean that the "sheet was lost?"

[trdcrdkid]

What do you mean that the "sheet was lost?"

I think he means that the guy won the sheet and went through with his stated plan to cut it up into individual cards.

Here is that sheet in the catalogue, along with the Schuetter-Johnson set that Jonathan also mentioned.

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[BeanTown]

Historic auction and it's the only auction catalog I've ever purchased. Here is a fold out postcard I own, which came from that auction.

[hangman62]

great research , and interesting reading

thanks

[Exhibitman]

Interesting how being a scumbag and a visionary often is hand in hand. Mastro, I mean. I don't know about Copeland. Odds are he bought a ton of stuff without a real love of it, got bored, and moved on.

[Griffins]

I believe the Diamond Stars sheet has been offered since the Copeland sale, intact.

[MW1]

Lot #201 from auction. Purchased directly from the auction winner who walked into a major convention and got it graded by the first company he encountered. Likely the finest known example.

http://www.bmwcards.net/09uzitcobb65.jpg

[brianp-beme]

I believe the Diamond Stars sheet has been offered since the Copeland sale, intact.

I am also pretty sure the Diamond Stars 'Extension' sheet shown earlier is still intact. Perhaps there were other Diamond Stars uncut sheets in the auction?

Brian

[brianp-beme]

2100+ posts and I finally double posted something...my single posting streak is over!

Brian

[bigfanNY]

A month or two after the Copeland sale the Diamond Star sheet was cut up and the individual cards offered in full page ad in the SCD. But I had heard at least one other World series extension sheet exists. I still have some of my dads SCD archive and will try and find ad.

[Baseball Rarities]

A month or two after the Copeland sale the Diamond Star sheet was cut up and the individual cards offered in full page ad in the SCD. But I had heard at least one other World series extension sheet exists. I still have some of my dads SCD archive and will try and find ad.

There is only one of those Diamond Star sheets and it is still intact as of 2016 and I am sure that it still is. I purchased it with my old business partner right after the Sotheby's auction (where it did not meet reserve).

If my memory serves me correctly, I think that someone else (Alan Hagar?) wanted to buy the sheet with intentions to cut it up and ran an ad offering the cards on an individual basis right after the auction closed. Luckily, he did not purchase the sheet at auction or immediately afterwards and it was, therefore, never cut up.

The sheet was most recently sold in 2016 by SCP.

https://catalog.scpauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=26595

[brianp-beme]

Glad to hear that it is still most likely intact. I wish the producers of the Diamond Stars would have used these cards for #97 through 108, instead of the repeat designs, which I have always thought brought the set down a notch in popularity among set collectors.

They really went full blown art deco backgrounds on the unpublished cards...and I really love their look.

Brian

[Leon]

2100+ posts and I finally double posted something...my single posting streak is over!

Brian

The streak is alive. Your double post was deleted a year later :)>

I think I see a Matty I used to own from that collection.

[griffon512]

Thanks David

[topcat61]

I actually own a copy of this catalog as well as the Halper collection catalog and they're both a huge part of Hobby history in their ownright.

[cannonballsun]

Great stuff, amazing stuff

[topcat61]

There is only one of those Diamond Star sheets and it is still intact as of 2016 and I am sure that it still is. I purchased it with my old business partner right after the Sotheby's auction (where it did not meet reserve).

If my memory serves me correctly, I think that someone else (Alan Hagar?) wanted to buy the sheet with intentions to cut it up and ran an ad offering the cards on an individual basis right after the auction closed. Luckily, he did not purchase the sheet at auction or immediately afterwards and it was, therefore, never cut up.

The sheet was most recently sold in 2016 by SCP.

https://catalog.scpauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=26595

I think cutting up something like this should be frowned upon. I'm actually horrified that someone would want to do this! What's wrong with a company making copies of these cards and writing a nice bio on the back instead?

[brianp-beme]

I think cutting up something like this should be frowned upon. I'm actually horrified that someone would want to do this! What's wrong with a company making copies of these cards and writing a nice bio on the back instead?

If I remember correctly Larry Fritsch offered reprints of these Diamond Stars cards in his catalogs. I'm not sure if they had bio write ups on the back.

Brian

[brianp-beme]

Just checked the Fritsch website...they still offer the 12 Diamond Stars 'Extension' cards as a set of individual cards or as a complete sheet. The listing does not indicate whether there is anything on backside.

Brian

[griffon512]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected. Great work by David who is extremely generous with his resources and knowledge, which are both vast. He was instrumental in helping me track down a 19th Century piece from this auction that's now in my personal collection.

[bigfanNY]

I am also very glad that the thread was resurrected. The news that the sheet is still intact is very good news indeed. And I am very happy to be wrong. I had assumed since he ran an ad offering the cards for sale that he acquired the sheet.
J

[todeen]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected. Great work by David who is extremely generous with his resources and knowledge, which are both vast. He was instrumental in helping me track down a 19th Century piece from this auction that's now in my personal collection.

+1 (all new information to me)

[hank_jp]

I was working in and around Manhattan at the time of the Copeland Auction and made certain to attend the auction. It was a real treat to examine the lots before bidding began, see the scope of the collection and pay particular attention to those items I collected and yearned for.
The most electric moment was when the Honus Wagner card was being auctioned off. There were a few different bidders at the outset and each time a new milestone was crossed you could here the oohs and aahs. Finally it was down to one bidder in the back of the room and an anonymous bidder in the front. Heads were whipping back and forth to see if another bid would be placed. When it reached $400,000 by the bidder in the room many thought that might be it but then, all heads turning to the front, we heard a $410,000 bid from the person on the phone ... and that was it! With the 10% commission that came to $451,000 and we all later learned the winners were Gretsky & McNail.
For me, several other highlights stood out. When a 1952 Topps mint Mantle went for $49,500 (with BP), it was a shocker. Then a 520 card T206 set in nm/mt sold for $99,000 (with BP). A nmt Magie went for $29,700, even more than a nm/mt Plank at $26,400 - go figure!
I was sitting next to Richard Gelman, son of Woody, Topps' art director and owner of Card Collector's Co. and he had his eye on a collection of 604 different Old Judge cards including a representation for every HOF player (83 of them) all in approximately excellent condition. He thought it was too high at the winning price of $77,000 and did not bid (the estimate was $150-200K).
But the card I focused on most was the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth in ex- ex/mt that sold for $18,700.
Two and a half years earlier that was was featured in an Alan Rosen, Mr. Mint Auction, lot number 3, so you know it was important. I never heard of that card before that action closing October 24, 1988 at 10pm. Rookie cards were going crazy those days and in my mind, the penultimate rookie (actually his first minor league card) just had to be this card of Babe Ruth. There were no price guides, no prior auctions of this card that I was aware of, so I was bidding blind.
Just before the 10pm deadline I called the auction and had one of Rosen's bid takers on the phone. I was told the next bid was $5000 and with great trepidation I placed the bid. I was still on the phone at 10pm, closing time, and asked if I was the high bid. I was told that I was. Wow! What a moment.
The next day I called back to get the details about payment and was told that I was outbid at $5500 ... by James Copeland, who placed a top all bid on the card (and likely many others). There was no way I was going to win that card no matter how much I bid. I tried tracking down other examples and spoke to a number of people in the hobby to no avail.
By the way, I was not the high bidder at $18700.