A treasure hunt spanning nearly a century just hit the auction block. A signed Babe Ruth card from the legendary 1933 Goudey set surfaced from an old scrapbook and could fetch seven figures once bidding finally closes.
As noted by Cllct’s Will Stern, the card has a PSA 4.5 grade with a PSA/DNA 8 autograph rating. It’s the highest-graded authenticated signature on any Goudey card from Ruth’s playing days.
With current bidding at $793,000 through Goldin Auctions, this piece of cardboard truly is the pinnacle of what collectors dream about finding.
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The 1930s Scrapbook Discovery That Stunned the Hobby
Stern reported that this Ruth gem emerged from a scrapbook assembled during the Great Depression, hidden among hundreds of newspaper clippings and vintage photos. Can you imagine stumbling upon that?!
The discovery happened in 2019 when Mile High Card Company’s founder Brian Drent first examined the material. Four Ruth autos were discovered in that scrapbook. Drent told PSA that after handling countless elite pieces since 1996, this material ranked “in the upper echelon of what has come into the marketplace.”
While the actual scrapbook wasn’t worth much, its contents are now legendary. There were 14 authenticated items inside it, including the four signed Goudey cards, signed newspaper photos, and even a 1934 Butterfinger Premium.
PSA believes the Ruth signatures were obtained through the mail during the Bambino’s Hall of Fame career.
Signed Babe Ruth Card at Auction: Current Bidding and Projections
Goldin Auctions is handling the sale of this 1933 Goudey #181 Ruth card, with current bidding at $793,000 (including the buyer’s premium). All signs point toward this piece crossing the million-dollar threshold before the hammer falls, and for good reason.
It’s worth noting that a nearly identical card — with a slightly lower PSA 4 condition grade but the same PSA/DNA 8 auto grade — recently sold privately for $1.2 million, according to Goldin. So, that comp suggests the current high bid still has room to climb.
Mile High Card Company originally sold three of the four Ruth cards privately in 2019, and as we all know, the market has only gotten hotter for premium Ruth material since then.
Why This 1933 Goudey Ruth Signature Is Museum-Quality
The 1933 Goudey set fundamentally changed baseball card collecting by being the first major issue to include bubble gum with every pack. Goudey essentially laid the groundwork for Bowman and Topps to follow decades later.
The 240-card set featured vibrant, full-color illustrations on sturdy cardboard, which was a massive improvement from the thin, black-and-white tobacco cards of the previous era.
Ruth appears on four different cards in the 1933 set (#53, #144, #149, and #181), each with a different colored background. The #181 had an estimated production run of 350,000 copies compared to roughly 680,000 of the double-printed #144.
But obviously, this card is elevated to another level because of the signature. Authentic on-card Ruth autos from his playing days are extremely rare. While the Bambino signed plenty, finding them on actual playing-era cards is another story. Goldin’s auction listing claims this isn’t just the highest-graded signed Goudey Ruth. It’s also the highest-graded signed Ruth card of any from his playing days.
The Treasure Hunt Continues: What’s Still Out There?
This discovery proves incredible finds are still possible. That 1930s scrapbook sat undisturbed for 80-plus years before someone recognized what was inside. It makes you wonder what else is tucked away in attics, basements, and storage units.
Think about the original owner who assembled that scrapbook. It was probably a young baseball fan during Ruth’s final days as a player, carefully preserving clippings and mailing away for autographs. They had no idea that their childhood hobby would eventually result in a million-dollar treasure chest.
For collectors, this is yet another reminder that the hunt is pretty much never over. Similar treasures exist in forgotten collections passed down through families who don’t realize what they have. Every estate sale, every inherited box, every dusty scrapbook could be the next seven-figure discovery.
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