Their Error, Your Profit

Hey there, Collectors.

Yesterday the Fed’s long-anticipated rate cut was announced, and within minutes, the collectibles world was asking, “What does this mean for us?”

While we don’t have an answer here at Mantel HQ, we do know a few more cuts will help us afford the new Topps Mercury Victor Wembanyama set, which will be going on sale next month for a whopping $8,000 per 8-card box.

A Baseball Card Missing One Thing- The Actual Player

In 2021, touted MLB prospect Jackson Merrill opened a box featuring his first Bowman Draft cards. The name was right. The stats were right. But the image was wrong – somehow youth baseball coach Isaac Frye was swinging the bat instead. As Merrill turns heads with the San Diego Padres this season, these “mistaken identity” cards have taken on a life of their own, with sales hitting upwards of $8,500.

The Athletic documented the strange mix-up that connected a pair of baseball lifers forever.

A Historic Coin Auction Worth the Wait

Back in March, we shared this post from Stacks Bowers announcing a sale 100 years in the making. At the end of the first World War, Danish butter magnate L.E. Bruun put his collection of 20,000 coins in a vault, for potential use as a reserve in a future conflict. Per his will, the coins could not be sold for a century. Now, the time has come, and opening sales on Tuesday totaled $16.5 million, including a $1.4M sale for a coin minted in 1496.

CNN has more on the historic, year-long auction.

Barn-find Corvettes Have Classic Car Lovers Revving Their Engines

Car collector Bill Slaven was known to have a full garage, but no one had predicted what was truly under the hood. After Slaven passed away, friends discovered 21 rare Corvettes – most of which had been untouched for at least three decades. The highlight is a one-of-225 model from 1953, Corvette’s debut year. While many of the rides have some wear-and-tear, gearheads are be expected to bid into six figures on several models.

Road and Track has photos and details covering each vintage vehicle.

Iconic Photo’s Journey From Hotel To Living Room…And Back To Sotheby’s

Authorities have discovered the legendary original print of Winston Churchill’s “Roaring Lion” portrait after a two-year search. Although the photograph used to hang at a hotel in Ottawa, staffers noticed in 2022 that it had been replaced with a fake – forged signature and all. The photograph was purchased via Sotheby’s before its theft, leading the auction house to play a critical role in the search.

The two-year odyssey to rediscover this lost treasure has been tracked by the Smithsonian.