A $25 piano bought in Maryland in 1992 turned out to be hiding 112 baseball cards, including a 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card.
asserted
piano → buy → card
The card was found inside a stuck pedal and remained with the buyer for 27 years before being put up for auction.
asserted
card → find → auction
It eventually sold for $130,053, far above the expected price of $60,000 to $75,000.
asserted
It → sell → 75,000
Ellen Kelly bought the old piano from a family estate sale in Westernport, Maryland, in 1992, Yahoo Sports reported.
asserted
Sports → buy → 1992
The piano had belonged to her aunt Nora, who had kept it at her home.
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who → belong → home
Kelly said she never remembered it working, but she still wanted to play it after buying it for $25.
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she → say → 25
That led to an unexpected discovery.
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That → lead → discovery
When Kelly asked a friend to repair a pedal and tune the piano, the friend found that the pedal was stuck because 112 baseball cards had been placed inside it.
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cards → ask → it
As Kelly looked through the cards, she noticed one of the biggest names in baseball history.
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she → look → history
"He was looking at a pile of cards and I said, 'Hey, there's Babe Ruth,'" Kelly recalled.
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Kelly → look → cards
The cards were believed to have been placed inside the piano by Kelly's father or uncle.
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cards → believe → father
Kelly said they may have hidden them there because her aunt was a neat freak and might have thrown them away.
uncertain
aunt → say → them
The cards had apparently remained inside the piano for decades, with the Babe Ruth card among them.
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cards → remain → them
Babe Ruth card sells for $130,053
asserted
card → sell → 130,053
The card found by Kelly was a 1916 Sporting News M101-4 Babe Ruth rookie card.
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card → find → Kelly
It shows Ruth's photograph along with his name, position and team on the front, while the back is blank.
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back → show → front
The card was later included in the Beckett Goodwin Masterpieces and Uncommon Commons 78 auction.
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card → include → auction
It attracted 23 bids before selling for $130,053.
asserted
It → attract → 130,053
The auction result was around twice the amount expected before the sale.
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result → expect → sale
"We were expecting $60,000-$75,000 for the card, so it far exceeded our expectations," said Steve Bloedow, Beckett Director of Auctions, in a Beckett news release.
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Bloedow → expect → release
Babe Ruth played professional baseball in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1935.
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Ruth → play → 1935
Bloedow also pointed to the condition and appearance of the card.
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Bloedow → point → card
"Ruth's RC continues to soar in price and has clearly joined the hobby's elite.
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RC → continue → elite
The centering and eye appeal on this one was very strong so it's not shocking that it exceeded all expectations.
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it → center → expectations
The card received a BVG grade of 2.5, described as Good+.
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card → receive → Good+
Despite that grade, its sale price made it notable among publicly sold cards in the same graded condition.
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it → make → condition
A different Ruth rookie card had sold at Heritage Auctions in 2009 for $38,837.
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card → sell → 38,837
That card had received a grade of 6 on a scale of 10, which was higher than Kelly's card.
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which → receive → card
Despite having the lower grade, Kelly's card sold for more than four times the 2009 price.
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card → have → price
Forbes reported that the earlier sale would be worth $46,017.44 in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation.
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sale → report → inflation
What else did Kelly find?
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Kelly → find → What
The Babe Ruth card was not the only baseball card Kelly found.
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Kelly → find → ?
The piano contained 112 cards in total, dating from 1916.
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piano → contain → 1916
Kelly's collection included cards featuring other Hall of Fame players from that period, including Walter Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander.
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collection → include → Johnson
The cards had remained inside the piano's pedal area for years.
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cards → remain → years
Their condition was described as surprisingly good by a senior grader who spoke to Sports Collectors Daily.
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who → describe → Daily
However, the cards had dust stains and a crimp that was believed to have come from being stored underneath the pedal.
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that → have → pedal
Kelly eventually decided to sell the cards rather than continue keeping the collection.
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Kelly → decide → collection
She said she wanted the money to help care for her brother's medical condition and to buy a new vehicle because her truck was breaking down.
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truck → say → vehicle
The Babe Ruth card was sold separately at auction, while the other 110 cards from 1916 were sold together.
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cards → sell → 1916
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
