The "anonymous" John Dunlop card, first issued in 1894.A Michigan family was cleaning out an old farmhouse and accidentally stumbled across a long-sought after collection of football cards worth thousands of dollars and considered perhaps the rarest such collection in history. The set is highlighted by an "anonymous" card of former Harvard football player John Dunlop, which was first issued in 1894.
The Dunlop card alone is reportedly worth $10,000, according to Lou Brown, president of Legends Sports and Games. "If it was in the right condition, it could be worth up to $60,000," Brown said.
"We get a lot of calls from a lot of people saying they've got something, and usually it's not what you expect,". But Brown says this set is something different entierly. "It's the 'Holy Grail' of football cards,". The Dunlop card, created by the Mayo Tobocco Works of Richmond Virginia, is called "anonymous" because it did not actually feature Dunlop's name. The entire set is considered the rarest football set in history.
The Dunlop card is being put up for sale by the Robert Edward Auctions this May. There are only 10 Dunlop cards known to still exist, with some valued as high as $18,000. The entire collection is the first ever dedicated to football players. And since there was no NFL at the time, the set focused entirely on the nation's 35 best Ivy League college players.
The family also discovered several rare boxing cards, first issued by the same tobacco company in 1890. "I was hoping there might be some baseball cards in there too," Brown has been trading cards professionally for over 35 years. "But I'm pretty excited with what they did find." Brown says the set will be evaluated for their estimated total worth, then either auctioned or purchased by Brown's store directly.
"It's a whole different deal now," Brown said. His own collectible shop, first opened in 1988, now has an entire room dedicated to gaming and other non-sport collectibles.
The Dunlop card is being put up for sale by the Robert Edward Auctions this May. There are only 10 Dunlop cards known to still exist, with some valued as high as $18,000. The entire collection is the first ever dedicated to football players. And since there was no NFL at the time, the set focused entirely on the nation's 35 best Ivy League college players.
The family also discovered several rare boxing cards, first issued by the same tobacco company in 1890. "I was hoping there might be some baseball cards in there too," Brown has been trading cards professionally for over 35 years. "But I'm pretty excited with what they did find." Brown says the set will be evaluated for their estimated total worth, then either auctioned or purchased by Brown's store directly.
"It's a whole different deal now," Brown said. His own collectible shop, first opened in 1988, now has an entire room dedicated to gaming and other non-sport collectibles.
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