One of man’s biggest pastime experiences is the hunt for buried treasure. Wealth and shiny objects just seem to draw out the interest in even the most innocent of people. Heck, even today, people are always on the hunt for that little something that could be locked away or forgotten. Something that could make them instantly rich.
For a family in Defiance, Ohio, that dream just became a reality.
This buried treasure story takes place in the attic of Karl Kissner. While sorting through items left by his grandfather, Carl Hench, Kissner came across a dirty cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse. Looking inside, he found hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine. What first caught his eye was that they were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing. The next thing were some of the names on the cards; names like Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.
Not thinking too much about it, he set them aside and continued on going through the rest of the stuff in the attic. Two weeks later, when he decided to do some research on the cards, he quickly found out that he was potentially sitting on a treasure-trove of sports history.
After sending some of the cards out for verification, Kissner soon found out that they were from a rare collection known as the E98 series. The series consists of 30 players, half of which are Hall of Famers, and is a very rare collection, especially in good condition.
In fact, the majority of the cards have been graded anywhere from a 9 to a 10; the best grades ever for the specific relics of cards had been around a 7.
Heritage Auctions plans to sell most of the Ohio cards over the next two or three years through private sales and auctions. In all, they could bring in a hefty $2 to $3 million.
Not bad for a day of cleaning in the attic.
James LeBeau is a sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports and you can follow him on Twitter @JleBeau76 or subscribe on Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo Credit: AP
