Kahn’s Baseball Cards is a leading online retailer and auction house of vintage baseball cards, memorabilia and collectibles. Founded in 1938 by Morris Kahn in Detroit, Michigan, it started as a corner shop buying and selling used baseball cards from locals. Kahn had a passion for the sport of baseball and was fascinated by the stories and images captured on early baseball cards.
In the post-World War 2 era of the late 1940s and 50s, baseball saw unprecedented growth in popularity across America. Morris capitalized on this by traveling around the Midwest, buying collections of older baseball cards and starting to carry complete sets from that era in his shop for fans to collect. His keen eye and extensive knowledge of the early cardboard allowed him to become a respected authenticator in the burgeoning hobby.
By the 1960s, Kahn’s had established themselves as the premier destination for collectors in Detroit and would regularly host meetups where fans could trade and discuss their collections. Around this time the first organized baseball card shows began popping up in other cities, with Kahn’s attending some of the earliest gatherings to both buy from and sell to other dealers. They published their first mail order catalog in 1964 and had one of the first online stores launch in 1994 to reach a national audience.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Kahn’s continued to be at the forefront of the exploding vintage baseball card market. Their mail order business flourished during the period and they began sourcing higher end older collections direct from longtime collectors looking to cash out of the often valuable assets they had accumulated. Their reputation as a top authenticator also allowed Kahn’s to capitalize on uncovering counterfeited cards, which were unfortunately becoming more common during this time.
By the 1990s and 2000s, Kahn’s had cemented themselves as an institution within the sports collectibles industry. With the rise of mass produced sets in the 1980s that would later gain considerable vintage value, Kahn’s offerings expanded to carrying unopened boxes and cases direct from the original printing plants. Their authentication services continued to be heavily utilized, both for individual cards being researched as well as full collection appraisals.
Today, Kahn’s Baseball Cards has proven their longevity and remains a leader online through their website and live auctions. Their monthly auctions routinely see six and seven figure sales on truly iconic vintage cards and memorabilia. Notable items that have sold through Kahn’s include Honus Wagner’s T206 tobacco card ($2.8M in 2016), Babe Ruth’s last season game bat ($1.26M in 2020) and Muhammad Ali’s signed championship belt ($857k in 2021).
Kahn’s unparalleled authentification expertise is also still a major part of their business, acting as a trusted third party to analyze everything from single cards to entire million dollar archives. Their research library is considered one of the most extensive in the world. Beyond individual collector sales, Kahn’s has appeared on the national stage by handling consignments for the collections of sports legends like Mickey Mantle.
Today Kahn’s Baseball Cards is run by Morris’ grandchildren Andrew and David Kahn, the third generation continuing their grandfather’s legacy. While the baseball card hobby may have changed considerably since the 1930s, Kahn’s has proven adaptable and stayed at the forefront through close to a century of booms, busts and evolving collecting trends. With their online archive of resources, auctions and authentication, Kahn’s mission of preserving baseball history on cardboard lives on for fans worldwide.
