Unopened baseball card worth thousands found during Chatham home demolition (2024)

More than three years ago, as he worked at a house that was being demolished in Chatham, Jason West saw something peculiar. A staircase had been ripped out of the building, exposing a hidden area inside a wall.

“In a pile of garbage in the wall there were a few different items, and I just so happened to see a picture of a baseball bat,” West, a heating and cooling professional who lives in Harwich, said.

From that mound of detritus, West plucked out a single baseball card, still unopened and wrapped in its original wax paper from 1952. He kept it, but did not think too hard about it at first. He threw it on the dashboard of his truck and forgot about it for a few days.

Then he inspected it more closely, saw how old it was, and did some research online. The card, printed by Bowman, is part of a 1952 set featuring 252 cards with color art reproductions of player photographs and facsimile autographs. Legends like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Yogi Berra are some of the highlights of the set.

“When I first got it, I thought about opening it,” he said. “But I collect classic cars and different things, and I just knew it was better to sit on it and talk to some experts before I make that decision.”

Soon after, West sent it to an auction house in New Jersey, which in turn sent the card to Professional Sports Authenticator, a company that grades cards and other collectibles. PSA apparently could not determine which card was inside the sealed paper and thus could not grade it officially, West said. So the mystery card found its way back into West’s hands.

West said he forgot about it again, until a friend connected him with the owner of a local company that specializes in card collecting. They were incredulous at first, West said, until he sent a photo.

That photo was posted online, and publicity ensued.

Eric Whiteback, an enthusiast known as “The Collectibles Guru” on social media, reposted the image of the card and called the find “incredible.” A sealed pack of 1952 Bowman cards sold at auction for $14,400 recently, he wrote.

PSA has recorded only 18 1952 Bowman “wax” packs, all of which are five-cent packs unlike West’s one-cent pack. The term “wax” is used by hobbyists simply to describe unopened packs of cards or other collectibles.

While a sealed pack is undeniably valuable, whoever is in possession of it could open it and take a high-risk, high-reward gamble.

Some of the cards it could contain, in good condition, are highly sought after. Mantle’s 1952 Bowman card in mint condition can fetch more than $400,000. A Mays card from the set in mint condition is similarly valued.

But if the pack contains a lesser-known player, its value would drop significantly.

“$14,400 could turn to $144 real quick,” Whiteback wrote on X.

West is still undecided about whether or not he will open the card.

“I’m kind of undecided, because it goes both ways,” he said.

“It’s hard, I want to talk to more experts about it… If it’s a $100 card and I open it, then I’m just going to frame it and put it on my shelf,” West added with a laugh.

If he does open it, interested hobbyists could get a peek inside alongside him. West said he has been told by those with experience to livestream any pack opening like this online for the sake of authenticity.

West now plans to enlist the help of more experts, and wants to get the pack evaluated in person.