Hunt Auctions Sells Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Bat for $198,000
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auction houses. Nothing stops them from offering collectors some of the greatest
items in sports. Their last auction, which closed February 26 in Exton, PA,
wasn’t even affected one bit it by the snowy weather that took place over the
two day stretch of the auction. Hunt provided the collectibles and collectors
provided the incredible enthusiasm for what was offered.
Building on the
momentum generated by its Louisville Slugger Museum Auction last November, Hunt
has devoted particular attention to professional model game used bats,
especially those straight from private collections, whose provenance and
relative “freshness” contribute to increasingly higher price tags.
One of the marquee items in the sale, a Babe Ruth professional model baseball
bat signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig from 1933-34 sold for a stunning $198,000
against a pre-sale estimate of $100,000-$150,000. Having originated directly
from a storied Rhode Island collection, there was no doubt of its
authenticity.
Another highlight in the sale, a Ty Cobb Detroit Tigers hat
c.1918-20, which drew ample attention as the first Cobb hat to come into the
market, sold for $82,500, and an accompanying Cobb glove from the same source
brought $37,400.
Although Hunt Auctions, Inc. has devoted increasing
attention to game used memorabilia, it still manages to cultivate one of the
most impressive offerings of autographed materials available anywhere. Anchored
by a superb grouping of autographed government postcards, bidding in Saturday’s
session began vigorously with a Babe Ruth autographed example fetching $3,960.
Every sports fan in the world knows this web address, but just in case
some one out there doesn’t, you can visit Hunt at www.huntauctions.com. With over
1,000 items in this last auction, visiting for the results is like visiting a
museum. A museum with stuff you can buy.
