Heritages latest Winter Sports Card Catalog Auction, held Jan. 26 and 27, was another grand slam. By the time bidding closed, more than 2,752 bidders worldwide helped push the final tally past the $11.15 million mark. Leading the pack was thelone highest-graded blank-back 1916 M101-5 Babe Ruth rookie, as the SGC Excellent+ example realized $630,000. Anda 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card graded PSA Gem Mint 10sold for $372,000,which Sports Collectors Daily notedis the highest price for a Gem Mint PSA graded copy since September 2021. A signed 1949 Jackie Robinson Bowman card realized $117,000. The card,one of just eight autographed specimens in the entirety of the PSA population, is graded a PSA Fair 1.5, but the autograph received an 8, which is how it became among the auctions most coveted cards. Another signed card, a 1949 Bowman Roy Campanella rookie, also with a PSA Fair 1.5, PSA/DNA Auto 8, realized $69,000. Thats a new record for a signed example. A 1953 Topps Willie Mays graded Near Mint-Mint 8 brought $186,000. The real story of this auction were the cards that cant be seen, the riches still encased in sealed packs and shrink-wrapped boxes decades after they rolled off the printing press. One of the most fought-over prizes in this event wasan authenticated and sealed box of 1965 Topps Baseball cards with 24 unopened packs, inside of which there may be Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, or Bob Gibson. The possibilities within make it a potential treasure chest, hence its final price of $336,000. In fact, half of the auctions top 10 lots were sealed boxes, all authenticated by Baseball Card Exchange. There was a 1986 Fleer Basketball wax box($126,000),a 1970 Topps Baseball (6th Series) cello box($105,000),a 1959 Topps Baseball (4th Series) cello box($99,000) anda 1968 Topps Football (1st Series) cello boxthat realized $99,000. Worth noting, an authenticated holy grail full of sealed boxes is among the centerpieces inHeritages Feb. 24 and 25 Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction,the only knowncaseof 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards. It contains 16 sealed boxes full of who knows how many Wayne Gretzky rookie cards. Moments after that auction opened, it was already at $1,025,000. More on this in a future issue. Another collection featured in the January auction was a 1909-11 T206 Piedmont 150 Ty Cobb graded PSA EX-MT 6 from the The Beautiful Monster assemblage selling for $105,000. This Georgia Peach has but three higher-graded competitors and is one of those grail cards of which collectors often speak in hushed tones, this one, especially, as its portrait, still a rich, verdant green, looks like it was printed yesterday. This event was so successful it has taken us this long to note the remarkable price realized bythe 1941 Play Ball Joe DiMaggio PSA NM-MT 8, $93,000, a strong price for the grade. Speaking of strong,the authentic Strong Man card, one of only two graded examples from the 1935 Schutter-Johnson collection, realized $28,800 to break a record set in 2014. Yet another heavy hitter. To learn more, visit www.HA.com.