Hake’s Auction #244, featuring over 1,500 lots of historical and pop culture memorabilia, is closing soon on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 29-30, 2025. Collectors still have plenty of time to get their bids in on incredible, rare collectibles, including one that will have baseball fans swinging for the fences.

A 1929 Babe Ruth signed card R316 Kashin Publication card PSA 2 with PSA/DNA 7 autograph is one of the biggest prospects in the auction. The 3-1/2” x 4-1/2” card presents a beautiful image of Ruth in his Yankees uniform in a full figure batting pose that is boldly signed near the bottom. The card is also signed on the back by Major League Baseball players Paul Gregory and Elias Funk.

Finding prewar signed baseball cards is very difficult. There was a time when it was considered taboo to have a baseball card signed, resulting in a very small number of cards signed by baseball greats like Babe Ruth. In fact, there are only two other graded signed examples of this card, according to the PSA/DNA population report. The example at Hake’s is the highest graded of the three.

“While it can be a lifelong dream for many vintage collectors to own either a playing days baseball card depicting ‘The Bambino’ or an authenticated Ruth autograph on a baseball-related item, there are only a select few opportunities each year which offer the best of both worlds, an authenticated and signed example of a playing days Babe Ruth card,” per Hake’s description.

Part I of the auction, featuring historical and political items, ends on Tuesday, July 29, followed by the pop culture memorabilia on Wednesday, July 30.