A Reddit user (u/KodiakKid99) shared images of an incredible vintage baseball card collection that he had inherited from his grandpa, which he vowed to keep and even add to.
The collection from the 1930s resurfaced decades after it was first assembled by a boy growing up before World War II.
It includes several of the hobby’s most treasured cards, featuring the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
The collector also shared his progress on grading and preserving the incredible collection.
The Incredible Vintage Collection
In the video shared, you can see a binder full of ‘30s baseball cards in good condition.
There are also images of some big-hitting cards, including three of Babe Ruth’s iconic 1933 Goudey cards, plus two of Lou Gehrig’s cards from the same set.
There’s also a 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth card, a 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig card, and 1933 Sport Kings Ty Cobb and Jack Dempsey cards.
They were kept in plastic screw-down holders, a storage method once common in the hobby.
The owner noted that these are the recessed type, which prevent surface damage that can occur when cards are pressed between flat acrylic plates. While the cases themselves show heavy scratching, the cards underneath appear intact and largely well-kept, relative to their age.
Some cards show signs of use, including writing on the back of one Babe Ruth card. The owner acknowledged the mark but expressed no frustration, saying it is part of the card’s history and a reminder that they were once handled as everyday objects, not valuables.
Preserving And Grading The Best Cards
The grandson also shared the process of submitting several of the highest-value cards for third-party grading with PSA.
According to PSA specialists he contacted, the authentication and grading fees for the Babe Ruth cards would cost upward of $1,000 per card, with the Lou Gehrig cards estimated at around $600 each.
He shared images of five of the cards after grading:
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 – PSA 1
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 – PSA 2
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 – PSA 3
- 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth #32 – PSA 1
- 1933 Sport Kings Ty Cobb #1 – PSA 1
His Vow To Keep And Add To The Collection
Despite the collection being worth tens of thousands of dollars, the grandson vowed that his intention is not to sell the collection, but to preserve it and continue building on it.
The collection has deep personal meaning to him. “Here’s for you, Grandpa,” he wrote when sharing the photos. He described the cards as “childhood treasures” and emphasized that they will remain in the family.
The photographs prompted strong interest among collectors and historians, who noted both the condition of the cards and the rarity of seeing an original, single-family collection survive intact for so long. Complete or near-complete runs of pre-war sets are uncommon, and those that remain often passed through multiple owners.
For the family, the cards represent more than monetary or historical significance. They serve as a link between generations, connecting a child in the 1930s to a collector nearly a century later.
“I just imagine my grandpa as a kid, before WWII, collecting these with a pack of Big League gum,” the grandson said.
