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HELMAR BASEBALL CARDS AUCTION

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Helmar’s Grand Baseball Card Auction

On March 30th, dedicated sports card collectors from across the country will descend upon Helmar’s Auction House in Chicago, Illinois for their highly anticipated annual baseball card auction. Now in its 12th year, Helmar’s Grand Baseball Card Auction has become the premier event for finding rare and valuable vintage cards and sets. With over 10,000 cards up for bids this year, the auction is expected to generate multiple millions in sales.

Helmar’s Auction House was founded in 1986 by Joseph Helmar, an avid collector himself who realized there was opportunity in facilitating collectors buying and selling high end cards. Starting small with local consignments, the auction grew steadily year over year as Joseph built a trusted reputation in the hobby. By the late 90s, Helmar’s was hosting specialized auctions for different sports monthly that were gaining national attention. Since Joseph’s passing in 2005, the auction house has been run by his son Ryan who has taken it to new heights.

Under Ryan’s leadership, Helmar’s first dedicated their auction solely to baseball cards in 2008. The event was an instant success, selling over $2 million worth of cards in a single day. Each year since, the Grand Baseball Card Auction has shattered past sales records. Last year’s auction achieved over $7.5 million in sales, making it the highest grossing sports card auction in history at the time. Cards up for bid this year are expected to far surpass that figure.

The consignments for Helmar’s 2023 auction feature an all-star lineup of vintage rarities and investments grade gems. Some of the headline cards collectors will be vying for include a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner, one of the iconic cards considered the “Mona Lisa” of the hobby. Graded PSA NM-MT 8, it’s among the highest graded examples in existence and expected to draw bids in the millions. Also included is a 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card graded PSA Gem Mint 9 that could set a new record price for the fiery pitcher’s first Bowman issue.

Another coveted lot is an unopened 1976 Hostess run of untouched packs, boxes, and displays. Still sealed exactly as they left the factory nearly 50 years ago, these Hostess promotional pieces are true time capsules that offer collectors a chance to live out childhood dreams of opening fresh wax. Alongside these crowning jewels are hundreds of other valuable vintage cards from sets like 1915 Cracker Jack, 1933 Goudey, 1952 Topps, and 1957 Topps that continue to gain in demand year over year in the booming market.

While mainly focused on moving high dollar individually graded vintage cards, Helmar’s auction does offer collectors opportunities to obtain entire sets at discounts versus buying piecemeal. This year’s auction features several complete or near-complete vintage sets like 1914 Cracker Jack, 1952 and 1957 Topps, and others consigned as single entires to allow bidders to quickly take home establishedCondition census rarities and key rookie cards all at once. Set specialists find these lot consignments to be major scores, saving thousands versus hunting raw singles piece by piece.

Like all major auctions today, Helmar’s Grand Baseball Card Auction is conducted both live on-site in Chicago and via remote online bidding options for those unable to attend in person. The auction house’s state-of-the-art bidding platform paired with live telephone bid assistants ensures all participants have equal chances to take home desired lots whether watching from home or the ballroom floor. Condition reports featuring high resolution photos and video bring much needed transparency to the process compared to auctions of previous eras.

Over the past decade, Helmar’s auction has cemented itself as the leading barometer for the overall sports card market. Prices realized for keys sets and singles often set new high water marks that ripple throughout the collecting community. With the current record-breaking sales velocities, this year’s event is sure to once again make headlines. Whether you’re a serious investor, a lifelong collector, or just love the thrill of the bid, you don’t want to miss out on being a part of collecting history in the making at Helmar’s Grand Baseball Card Auction on March 30th.

HELMAR BASEBALL CARDS

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Helmar was a small company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that produced baseball cards from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. While never one of the major manufacturers like Topps or Bowman, Helmar cards have developed a cult following among vintage baseball card collectors due to their unique designs and short print run.

Founded in 1947, Helmar was primarily known for producing various promotional items like yo-yos, balls, and toy cars. In the late 1950s, they decided to branch out into the lucrative baseball card market that was booming after the famous 1952 Topps set sparked renewed interest in the hobby. Their first test set was released in 1958 and featured 144 player cards without any gum or candy inclusion. Photos were mostly headshots with basic stats listing the player’s name, team, position, batting average, and home runs. R ather than licensing deals with the players’ union or leagues, Helmar obtained rights to players’ images through individual photo release agreements.

While crude compared to the flashy, photography-driven designs of the 1950s Topps issues, the 1958 Helmar cards sold reasonably well and demonstrated there was room for another manufacturer in the market. In subsequent years, Helmar refined their template with cleaner layouts and more colorful palettes. Their 1959 set included 162 cards plus additional stars and managers for a total of 168 issued. Design improvements like action photos and the addition of each player’s uniform number helped make the cards more visually interesting. Distribution was still primarily regional to the Midwest rather than a national rollout like Topps.

Perhaps the most iconic of any Helmar set is their 1960 offering, which featured photography by Marc Okkonen on the fronts with catchy slogans below each image. The backs included stats plus short paragraphs describing notable career highlights up to that point. This set is rightly considered a creative peak for the short-lived company, blending photography, graphic design, and textual content better than any previous baseball card issues under their brand name. Population numbers remain low today despite an original print run estimated around 2-3 million cards, a testament to Helmar’s relatively small distribution compared to heavyweights of the era.

After the successful 1960 set, Helmar decided to increase production and broaden their distribution in 1961. This expansion came at the cost of quality control and design consistency. Photograph quality slipped noticeably from the prior year. Meanwhile, statistical information was truncated or sometimes incorrect on the backs of many cards. The messy rollout dampened sales and collector enthusiasm compared to the crisply produced 1960s issue. Helmar scaled back once more to regional distribution only for their subpar 1962 and 1963 sets.

By 1964, it had become clear the baseball card market was becoming oversaturated as both Topps and Fleer released large sets each year. With collector attention fragmented and production costs rising, Helmar decided to cease operations after one final 64-card set released that year. It featured a mix of new and recycled photos devoid of any career stat summaries on the backs. This would go down as the company’s last hurrah in the hobby before closing up shop for good.

In the decades since, Helmar cards have achieved significant cachet among collectors seeking interesting and aesthetically pleasing vintage issues from lesser known manufacturers. Their 1960 set in particular commands high prices for its blend of great photos and attractive design qualities. While small print runs mean condition-sensitive Helmar cards will never reach the same values as the most coveted 1952 Topps Mickey Mantles, dedicated collectors are always on the hunt for these unique cardboard represenations of baseball’s golden era from the long defunct Milwaukee company. Even in their short time in the business, Helmar managed to leave an artistic mark on the evolution of baseball cards through innovative photography and graphics. Their cult following today ensures these niche mid-20th century cards will continue to fascinate collectors for generations to come.