Babe Ruth Card Brings $976,000 as Ty Cobb Photo Reaches $945,500

Two baseball collectibles came within striking distance of $1 million at Goldin’s October 11, 2026, sale: a signed 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth card at $976,000 and a 1910 Ty Cobb photograph at $945,500. Their appeal rests on different details: Ruth’s unusual inscription and the card’s authentication, and the forceful action captured in Charles Conlon’s glass-plate image of Cobb.

The wider group of results covered guitars, land, a cabin, a textile and a zebra mount. WorthPoint added 102,398 transactions to its Price Guide on October 18, 2026. Those entries totaled $36,488,849, with an average lot value of $356.34. The high-profile sports and music sales stand out, but the smaller results show how varied the material in a single day’s market can be.

A signed Ruth card with an unusual inscription

The 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth card sold for $976,000 through Goldin. The card was described as visibly worn, with the source suggesting its appearance might correspond to PSA 1 if graded. That was an impression, not a reported grade: the card was housed in a PSA authentic slab, and the notable feature is the inscription, not a stated numerical condition grade.

Ruth wrote “Sincerely—Babe Ruth” and “made it soar.” The source describes this as an almost unknown type of inscription on his cards and says Ruth rarely signed cards in this manner. The intended recipient remains unidentified. That open question adds a personal dimension to the object, while the wording itself makes the card distinctive within the category.

For collectors considering a signed card, the distinction between authentication and a condition grade matters. Here, the reported holder is identified as PSA authentic; the source does not give a numerical grade for the card. The inscription, visible wear and slab are separate points to record when comparing this sale with other signed examples.

Conlon’s action photograph of Ty Cobb

The other near-million-dollar result at Goldin was an 8×10 photograph of Ty Cobb from 1910. It brought $945,500 in the same October 11 sale. The image shows Cobb sliding into third base, a split-second play rendered with a level of detail that the source calls remarkable for a photograph of its era.

Charles Conlon (1868–1945), described in Goldin’s write-up as the father of baseball photography, made the image on a glass plate negative. The source points to the technical challenge: large, slow-shutter cameras of the period were not designed for baseball action, yet Conlon captured Cobb in motion. The composition and its place in early baseball photography give this photograph a story beyond its subject.

Collectors sorting older baseball photographs can take a practical cue from the result: inspect the reverse for Conlon’s name before discarding or separating a print from its related material. The sale record belongs to this specific 1910 image and its attribution; it does not establish a price for every old baseball photograph.

Two standout guitars at Heritage Auctions

At Heritage Auctions on October 15, 2026, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard sunburst solid-body electric guitar sold for $781,250. Its serial number, 9 0640, is described as decoding to a 1959 instrument, number 640 in that year’s serial sequence. The source also cites the guitar’s rarity and originality, its place in the registry and the Burst Serial Registry, and its provenance from the collection of Ikira Kato as factors surrounding the result.

The same sale included Lonnie Mack’s No. 7 red Gibson Flying V guitar, accompanied by a Magnatone amplifier. That lot brought $550,000. Heritage’s event covered currency and comics as well as musical instruments, and recorded $6,407,605.14 across 2,006 items.

Serial details and provenance give guitar collectors concrete reference points when comparing instruments. The reported serial interpretation helps identify the Les Paul’s place in its production sequence, while the collection history and registry references add context. The result applies to this guitar and its stated attributes; the source offers no basis for extending it to instruments with different histories or condition.

Other results across the collecting and property mix

The day’s additional results ranged from a full zebra mount to an antique Tibetan wool runner. Their varied categories call for different kinds of inspection: provenance and condition for a mount, and close attention to construction and materials for a textile. The listed prices are tied to the individual lots and dates below.

• 2.44 acres in Cooper Landing, Alaska sold through Alaska Premier Auctions on October 10, 2026, for $259,900. The result reflects a particular parcel and its location, access and size.
• Spectacular full zebra mount sold at Circle M Auctions on October 10, 2026, for $9,300. Condition and documentation are useful points to examine when assessing a mount.
• Three-bedroom log cabin home on 5.3 acres brought $374,000 at Inman Auction on October 4, 2026. Its scale and setting make this a distinct property result within the day’s mix.
• Nineteenth-century Tibetan wool runner, with two square medallion panels and measuring 55 by 29 inches, sold through Eddie’s Auction on October 11, 2026, for $9,450. Dating the weave and dyes can help buyers assess a textile listing.

For comparisons, the WorthPoint Price Guide provides records of past sales. These results offer specific reference points, but each item’s documented details, condition and provenance shape the comparison. The most useful next step for anyone researching an object is to match those details as closely as possible.