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97-Year-Old Dies Leaving His Family To Find A Baseball Card Collection Worth Millions

by Larry Leo

June 11, 202023 Comments

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After James Micioni passed away at 97 years old this March, he left quite the surprise for his relatives. After going through his possessions, they discovered one of the most incredible private collections of baseball memorabilia the world has ever seen...

quote:
Micioni, who was known around his hometown of Boonton as “Uncle Jimmy,” had a collection of more than 1,000 vintage baseball cards and collectibles that is expected to fetch up to several million dollars at auction.

Perhaps the most desirable card in Micioni’s collection is a signed Babe Ruth card from 1933, which is likely to sell for more than $100,000.

Uncle Jimmy had six of them, all hand-signed by the “Great Bambino” himself.

Other rare finds among the collection include a signed Lou Gehrig card from the same 1933 Goudey set, as well as a Jimmie Foxx card from the same set, also signed.

Experts say the discovery of Micioni’s collection is one of the most incredible finds in the history of the hobby. ...

The entire collection has been authenticated and graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), the largest trading card, autograph and memorabilia authentication and grading service in the world.

(Barstool Sports)

Filed Under: MLB

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Originally published on TigerDroppings.com

23 Comments

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moester75•46 months

Wow man but what if the family had accidentally discarded that memorabilia and lost out? I can’t believe that gentleman never bragged to his progeny about having those cards and showed them off.

TFH•46 months

When I was a kid I had an MJ rookie card. Had.

PeteRose•46 months

My entire 90s baseball collection is not even worth 1/10 the value of the letter “B” in Babe Ruth’s signature.

Skinny•46 months

Unreal. I havent collected since the mid 90s. I just went through all my cards this quarantine probably for the first time since the early 2000s. Found i have several Derek Jeter rookie cards. Crazy that i kept those at that time not knowing who he would become. Hope the industry comes around one more time.

AustinKnight•46 months

Curious to know how the dude lived to 97 and the family had zero clue he had all this memorabilia. Like no conversations had about any of it. I call BS there is no way it doesn’t come up just talking about sports at some point.

the LSUSaint•46 months

What does it matter? Hes dead and the cards are real. Who cares if they had conversation or not?

Who_Dat_Tiger•46 months

Cards are from a 1933 set. It’s crazy to think how long ago that was that it’s possible the 97 year olds dad had those cards signed for him and his whole life he just had those cards stashed away from when he was a kid and forgot they existed.

Blizzard of Chizz•46 months

Sounds like he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and enjoy his hobby for a lifetime without greedy arse relatives badgering him for decades about who he’s gonna leave a Babe Ruth to. Plus relatives talk, so word getting out that Uncle Jimmy has an attic of super rare baseball cards puts his entire collection at risk.

BabyTac•46 months

Cards are only worth as much as someone will give you for them, not what a magazine says.

SomeLSUguy•46 months

This is an absolute fact... the market set the value of a card. I worked in this industry - really made me dislike it to be honest. You know how much we used to pay for an Earl Campbell signature - $20 a signature - then $15 when it got so sloppy you could barely tell it was his signature. But we would get him in a room, he would sign 500 pieces and make a smooth $8000. We sold everything he signed for $150 all day, everyday... JJ Watt - $100/$450... What people do not realize is sentimental has no value in sports memorabilia, yet that is what makes people pay stupid amounts of money for stuff like this.

AU4real35•46 months

Money says this guy was probably an old school gangster, mob boss.

Montezuma•46 months

Hopefully they save at least one as an heirloom.

YMCA•46 months

Very cool. When my grandfather passed away we found letters from the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Boston Braves and the NY Giants(baseball) wanting him to come play. He ended up fighting in the Korean War and got injured. Due to those injuries, he was unable to play once the war ended. Either way it was a cool find. I’d load the pictures, but I don’t have a clue how to do it.

Vestigial Morgan•46 months

I would have thought a signed Babe Ruth card would be 7 figures...easy

Kjun Tiger•46 months

How long until someone claims Ruth was "raysis", and the only way to right the wrong is for the family to give the money to BLM?

ColeLSU•46 months

As long as it takes someone to give them the idea..... thanks Kjun

BobABooey•46 months

Some collectors/dealers will say a signed card is worth less than a clean one, at least for more modern cards. That excludes the ones that are issued with a signature by the card company.

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NASA_ISS_Tiger•46 months

Now sadly the family will fight over the card like dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. They always do.

ColeLSU•46 months

Cool news story.... But than the other crap news going on.

Mahootney•46 months

That's incredible. Most people spend their whole lives trying to even see a Babe Ruth card, much less see a signed one......... and this guy had SIX! He was around 8-9 years old in 1933. So, I guess it made sense for him to have them. I'm glad he was able to save them for so many years. It'd be a shame to lose all of that history.

djangochained•46 months

This guy has some great stories I bet