What would a 1914 Baltimore Ruth sell for today?

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by hank_jp

When I saw this thread I had open it and read the comments.
Scott, you were referring to the auction of the Copeland Collection held at Sotheby's on March 23, 1991. It was certainly a day we will never forget.
Even though the main focus of the auction was the day prior when THE Wagner card was bought by Gretzky, in the most electrifying bidding war anyone in the room that day was privileged to see, you know that I only had my eyes on the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth.
You told part two of our involvement with that particular excellent condition blue version of that very card. Here is the beginning of the story.
In October 1988 Mr. Mint ran an auction in SCD and the same Ruth card was one of his featured items. In his description he wrote: "1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News Minor league Rookie card. I've checked with so many old timers on this one, nobody has ever seen it!" He then described the card and said he recently discovered the card in Baltimore in a collection from a gentleman that worked for the Baltimore News. Rosen ended with, "What is it worth? How many are there? The true Ruth collector will set the precedent on this one!"
I saw this card listed and I wanted it. I too had never heard about the Baltimore News Ruth but in my gut I knew it had to be the most valuable and prized baseball card in the hobby.
Mr. Mint's auctions always ended precisely at 10pm. On the evening of October 24th I called in to the auction line just before 10pm. I asked what the high bid was and was told it $4500. I promptly gave the next bid of $5000. I stayed on the line and asked about a few other items and as 10 pm approached confirmed that I was the high bid. I was told that I was. The auction ended and I asked for confirmation that I had the winning bid and was told that I did.
There is that moment of exhilaration of winning prized collectible accompanied by that inner voice that says, "Are you nuts spending $5000 on a card you never heard of before just because Mr. Mint said it was rare?" But overall I was thrilled.
The next day when I called Alan Rosen's company to find out about payment, I was told that the card sold for $5500. I said that wasn't possible because I was on the line with Rosen's rep when the auction ended and was told that my bid of $5000 was the winning bid. That is the day that I first heard the term, "Top all bids". It was explained to me that one of the bidders put in a number of "Top all" bids and one of them was for the Baltimore News Ruth.
That meant that whatever amount anyone bid on a particular lot, the "Top all" bidder would end up winning that lot. There was no amount one could bid that could ever win that lot.
That "Top all" bidder was James Copeland.

AMAZING story Hank. And knowing how Rosen operated what you write does not surprise me in the least. I think you'll find the following interesting.

I too called the auction just before (literally seconds) the 10 PM closing time and topped the then high bid for the BN Ruth, a card I agree at that time most collectors knew little about and that I regarded as the most unappreciated/undervalued card in the hobby. I thought I was told the bidding was at $5,000, which I then raised to $5,500, though it is possible I am misremembering. I then hung up and immediately redialed, only to learn the auction had closed. Like you I too went to bed believing I won the card. The next day I learned I did not, though the explanation was not the "top all bid" explanation. The explanation was the more mundane one that magically someone had called in a nanosecond after me and topped my bid.

This same thing happened to me on the other lot I bid on in that auction, a Mort Rogers scorecard of Cal McVey. My bid on that one was also topped. I knew at that point that as unlikely as it was that lightning would strike once, it did not strike twice and the auction was rigged, a suspicion reinforced the next day after calling around to find who won the McVey, learning who did along with also learning the person could not tell me the price he won it for. I then called another collector I knew who was close to Rosen, and he confirmed how Rosen operated -- which was to allow favored customers to submit a top all bid after the auction closed.

In addition to obviously reeking in dishonesty, closing the auction PRECISELY at 10 PM cost Rosen's consignors tremendous sums of money. It was no small feat to get through to the auction just before closing time.

Oct. 1988 was the height of Rosen's popularity. There was no internet in those days and the following day the auction would be the talk of the hobby. It seemed everybody would be calling everybody else to learn what prices went for and how people did.