LOL

We'll likely never know then. The family did get some serious money from the inheritance though, but spreading it among 20 or so different cousins, no one got really rich from it. Still a great story though, but definitely changed they way people look at and collect E98 cards today.

110 year old cards should look like they've been handled, bumps, bruises, and a little dirty. The beauty of a century+ card is the journey from 1910 to your collection. Amazing that any of them survived at all.

!
 

True that!

It is a great story and a great find. Even for non collectors it had to be exhilarating to have found them.

And just to keep in tradition with our discussion...so was it 20 relatives that split up the Heritage proceeds or just half or less than half of that figure? Still, not a ton of money but it is found money with no tax implication, correct? Step up in basis?

Yup, sounds like a fish story.

Imagine being the sap who had the highest graded E98 set (in-tact from its original collector) and could have sold it for a nice penny before the Black Swamp find was made and flooded the market... :(

Those have always been awesome to look at, Scott. Thanks for posting them.
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Still the nicest E98 set imo Scott.

That is such an amazing set.

I had a near set of e98 BSF, including the Tinker and Jennings 1-of-1s. But, I started selling shortly after seeing what I believe were new ones leaking into the market in 2019 via PWCC. I started a thread about it at the time:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=267827

Now if they could 1500 purple ones we could all be happy!

you're doing fine scott, nice set!

BSF is great for the hobby. high grade caramels (or prewars in general) were always exclusive to the deeper pockets or those lucky enough to get a "find". now you can pick up a NRMT hof example for $600-$700, and possibly a cobb/wagner for 4 figures...count me in!

I think the BSF cards were all (or mostly) red so at least Scott's amazing set has something that distinguishes it (and hopefully means it hasn't lost too much of its value).

Well, all the stories I had heard and seen talked about 20 or so cousins that would share in the inheritance. Now if they were all sharing equally, or maybe some had bigger shares coming than others, I don't know for sure. I'm assuming/guessing the aunt died intestate, and so the Ohio laws in regard to inheritance took over and ended up having so many family members share in the inheritance. If that is the case, there probably were some relatives that had bigger shares than others. For example, if one cousin had passed away, but they had two children, the two children would share what would have been their parent's single share of the inheritance and split it. With that many people involved, can only imagine some of the conversations and discussions on what to do with all those cards. That might also be a reason why the whole story about the actual size of the BSF never came out, to allow for privacy and/or protect interests of other family members. Just guessing, but I can see with that many people involved, and the estate having to go through Probate Court, it could make for some really interesting results, that is for sure.

My original point was that no one or two people were getting the entire $3M or so estimate that was apparently given to them initially about what the cards could be worth. But you are correct about the tax implications though. Because the cards were inherited, they did get a tax basis step-up in value when the aunt passed away. So, the heirs likely ended up having to pay little, if any, income tax on the sale of the cards. But you're also right, whatever they got was found money for the heirs that they likely never expected.

Thanks all for the kind words on my E98 set.

Since they were acquired in the mid 1970s by my father and I, its not like I'm out any "real" money from the BSF find. Its more the opportunity cost of potentially selling before the BSF find flooded the market.

As was stated, most of the BSF cards were red and not all players were part of the find so I know my set still holds some decent value. Plus, they are still very enjoyable to look at so I can't complain too much!

E98 Valuation
 

After skimming through the post, and watching the "Strange Inheritance" I have two conclusions:

1.) The "Black Swamp Find" E98's are in no way counterfeit.

2.) Though their values have dropped, in no way are they a bad investment. I cite the massive populations of T206 cards, and high prices the higher grades fetch. In fact over the long haul(maybe a couple decades or so) these will prove to be a very solid/steady investment.

The way Heritage "slow played" these out was probably for the best, but of course was to maximize sales totals. I feel bad for two parties:

1.) Those that paid the exorbitant prices in the first couple Heritage auctions. But those buyers (the 100K+ people) have money to burn. I highly doubt these e98's will ever reach those inflated heights again.

2.) Those that had the lower graded cards that appeared to be the best, only to have those values plummet. But, as mentioned previously in this thread, that's the chance you take in collecting.

This is still one if the greatest images to ever show up on Net 54.

I was actually just admiring that photo. What a beautiful set !

I posted the first Black Swamp Find thread 14 years ago. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long ago.
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=152726

During my hobby hiatus, I missed the remaining glut of these hitting the market in non-pedigreed slabs.

I live in the Black Swamp and am about 30 minutes from this find. I remember when it happened. It was the only time I recall sports cards on the front page of the local newspaper.

Thanks Jeff,

Much appreciated. I still have the set as part of my collection and still get a lot of enjoyment from owning it so I can't complain too much about the lost opportunity to have sold them before the Black Swamp find.

atleast yours are green...and gorgeous!!!!!

The BSF is still mind-boggling, and I definitely would like to own a few representative examples yet am unsure exactly how their pricing has held up today.

I understand that upon flooding the E98 market these cards changed the collecting landscape (for better and worse), but not sure I want to dip my toe into them.

They are so beautiful…

I think, at this point, their pricing has pretty much stabilized. It's still cards though so it's anyone's guess. You can probably do some pretty easy searches and see how they have done.
If you pick the most centered ones of the find, they still bring a premium. There are so many other cards I need I haven't picked one up yet (for this collection.)

REA had a few Tenney's from the BSF
This one ended at $1080.00

https://res.cloudinary.com/robertedw...g/138335-1.jpg

Below is a graphic representation of a Black Swamp Find Tenney vs. a Tenney that possibly was discovered in a black swamp.

https://res.cloudinary.com/robertedw...g/138335-1.jpg[/QUOTE]Attachment 659973

Brian