kinda o/t: a 'find' in my in-law's basement....I only wish they were baseball

[Kzoo]

So, I was over at my in-law's with my wife and kids for a belated Christmas celebration last weekend and stumbled (almost literally) across 'a find'. My in-laws have an immaculate house, inside and out, and you could eat off the tile floors in their unfinished basement. My young son and I were relegated to sleeping down there on a couple extra beds due to an overflowing extended family situation upstairs. While setting up our beds, I was walking past a few remaining boxes full of random household stuff and old bowling trophies from my wife's deceased great uncle Jim's estate. On the top of one of the boxes was this old cigar box. I don't know about you, but I can't walk past a closed, old cigar box at an antique show, garage sale, or estate auction without opening it up to see what's inside. My dreams are for a full load of old baseball cards, of course, but usually all I find are greasy nuts and bolts or old buttons and spools of thread.

To my amazement, this time my dream almost came true....

Inside were these 214 Horrors of War cards from 1938. All the high numbers are there in pretty decent condition. Cards 1-48 are pretty rough, though. The rest are VG on average. My mother-in-law's response to what I found was 'we were just going to get rid of all that stuff'.....and 'we didn't know what kinda game those cards were?' They know I'm really into old baseball cards, but I guess just didn't see the connection.

These photos were taken before I sorted through them. The cards hadn't been thumbed through in many decades as there were remnants of a couple old shriveled up rubber bands at the bottom of the box.

Thought you guys would enjoy this............Matt

[Exhibitman]

Nice! The NS guys can tell u how good a find it is but it sure is a fun find. I don't care if it is a box of vg 1960s any find like that is a kick

[jcmtiger]

You have some money there buddy. Are any of the Hitler cards in the group?

Some of these cards are worth more than some of your baseball cards.

Joe

[ullmandds]

that's cool...congrats!!!!!

[freakhappy]

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing this cool "find"....and hope you can get something decent out of them.

[bbcard1]

One thing I just can't pass on is the old wooden cigar boxes...I often pick them up for $1 or $2...love the labels.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by jcmtiger

Are any of the Hitler cards in the group?

Joe............Yes, all three Hitler cards are in the high number run....#277 is VG, #283 is EX, and #286 is GD............Matt

[teetwoohsix]

Very nice Matt, that is excellent !!! Congrats, that was fun reading about your find. I too (probably all of us) dream of having a find such as this. I can imagine the suprise you had opening it and seeing cards !!!!

Thanks for sharing that story. Awesome.

Sincerely, Clayton

[Rickyy]

Yeah..congrats!

Ricky Y

[rainier2004]

Wow Matt, nice score.

[jcmtiger]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

Joe............Yes, all three Hitler cards are in the high number run....#277 is VG, #283 is EX, and #286 is GD............Matt

If the cards are in nice condition, I would get them graded before selling, especially the Hitler cards. I had a couple of hundred of these cards years ago before grading. There was and still is high demand for the cards.

Joe

[Republicaninmass]

very, very nice score! Thanks for sharing

[conor912]

I love that set. I strictly only collect baseball, but if I was to put together a NS set, that would be it. The artwork is gorgeous. Great find!

[buymycards]

This is from the NonSports Update price guide. Of course, these prices are for NM cards. This looks like an really great find.

Card #'s

1 $100
2-24 $20
25-48 $15
49-192 $12
193-240 $40
241-264 $35
265-276 $45
277-287 $75

#277 $500, #283 $1000, #288 $200, #240 $500, $286, $700

Good luck. (Don't tell your in laws)

[conor912]

Originally Posted by buymycards

Good luck. (Don't tell your in laws)

Yeah, I'd tolerate a little extra mother in law nagging for a score like that

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by buymycards

Good luck. (Don't tell your in laws)

Funny. The cards aren't technically all mine, yet. I think my Father-in-law may be somewhat attached to them as his uncle Jim was like a father to him....and my Mother-in-law kind of changed her tune after hearing they have some value. Time will tell. They're good people and they can make the decision. I think I was as happy to find them as I would be in owning them. Honestly, the monetary value doesn't really matter to me. I really just wanted to get them home, inventory them and get them in some holders. I wouldn't have plans to get them graded, as I prefer them 'raw' in this condition. Minus the Hitler cards, I figured the majority of the rest of them are valued in the $5-8 range each on average after seeing some auction results for complete sets in similar grade via REA and Legendary. Just my opinion.

Matt

[conor912]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

....and my Mother-in-law kind of changed her tune after hearing they have some value.

Matt

Booooo mother-in-laws!!!!

[jcmtiger]

$5 - $8 seems low, unless they are in poor condition

Joe