Calling the find of seven Ty Cobb baseball cards that are more than a century old “spectacular” and “miraculous,” authenticator Joe Orlando said it was also worth more than $1 million.

A family that wishes to remain anonymous told card experts that they found the T206 series cards, which were printed from 1909 to 1911, in an old paper bag in the dilapidated house of a deceased great-grandfather, who lived in an unspecified location in the South.

The cards of the Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer have “Ty Cobb — King of the Smoking Tobacco World” printed in capital letters in green ink on the back.

“I am not sure if any other baseball card find is more remarkable than this new discovery,” said Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator in Newport Beach, in a statement. “This is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of our hobby.”


The first authenticator to view the cards said he was skeptical, but like Orlando was able to verify that the cards were legitimate. On a scale of 1-10, with the latter being mint condition, the cards were given ratings of 3.5 to 4.5, which is good for a century-old card.

“I doubted they were authentic because finding seven of these cards at one place at one time seemed almost impossible,” said Rick Snyder of MINT State Inc. in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

There are believed to be 15 other similar Cobb cards.

Information from Associated Press and Internet reports were used in this story.


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