GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids sports memorabilia shop owner got the surprise of a lifetime when a customer walked in with a collection of nearly 200 baseball cards from 1933 —some potentially worth over $10,000 each.
Lou Brown, owner of Legends Sports and Games on 28th Street, has spent decades buying and selling trading cards, sports memorabilia, and gaming cards.
Brown has been passionate about trading cards since childhood.
"I was doing shows when I was a kid, I really enjoyed the buying and selling side of it, even when I was young," Brown said.
Even with decades of experience, Brown said a find like this one only comes along rarely.
"Something like this (happens) once every couple of years, probably, you know, along these lines, that that's equally stunning, and shocking to see," Brown said.
The story behind the collection is just as remarkable as the cards themselves. A woman discovered the collection hidden inside her late brother's storage unit in Nebraska. When she went through his belongings after he passed away, she found the cards buried deep inside a series of nested boxes.
"There were several boxes that were in there that were wrapped and then inside of a box, inside of a box, inside of a box, so they literally had to open up five six boxes to get to the center," Brown said.
Inside those boxes was a tin containing the cards. The woman had no idea what she was holding.
"Her exact words were, these are either duds or diamonds, and I think she was swaying towards the duds, not thinking they were anything, so it was a bit of an emotional shock when I explained to her that we're dealing with," Brown said.
WATCH: Diamond in the rough: Nearly 200 rare 1933 baseball cards found in Nebraska storage unit
Brown walked me through the significance of the collection, which includes some of baseball's most legendary names.
"Featuring four Babe Ruth, two Lou Gehrig's, Jimmy Fox, Hack Wilson," Brown said. "The four Ruths all by itself is a big deal, and the other 200 cards, was stunning."
The Ruth cards alone carry serious value.
"The Ruths are all over 10,000, the nicest ones are probably closer, you know, maybe 18, 20. You know, so there's some value there," Brown said.
In total, the collection could be worth over $100,000.
"Her reaction was awesome too, you know. She was like in disbelief that she was dealing with something of that magnitude," Brown said.
Brown said the value comes down to how rarely cards like these surface. As time passes, vintage collections like this one become increasingly difficult to find.
"These classics become a bigger and bigger deal," Brown said. "They're in people's collections, and they don't come out of their collections, so it's harder and harder to find them."
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