There are very few Green Bay Packers historical items that slip by anybody.
But one of the most important items did, at Hunt Auctions' Super Bowl sale in 2017 in Houston. Few noticed a document signed by the first NFL commissioner Joe Carr, which was a "Certificate of Membership" to the Green Bay Football Corporation, a community-owned team that started in August 1923 after the team almost went bankrupt the year before.
"This certificate endorses the right of the Green Bay Packers Corporation to represent the city of Green Bay in the National Football League," the document reads.
The auction house and the consignor, the Carr Family, weren't clear on exactly what it was, mostly because it didn't have a particular date on it. But the collector who bought it that day for $19,550 certainly understood the value.
"I drove to Houston to see it in person," said the winner, who prefers to remain anonymous. "I was sure it was pretty much the birth of the Packers as they still are today."
The document undoubtedly grants membership to the corporation, founded by five men including Curly Lambeau, who had 14 investors who pooled together $1,300 with shares costing $5 each. The membership fee into the NFL was $100, but there is no record of the Packers actually ever paying that amount.
Carr's autograph is rare, but not particularly valuable, and documents are hit and miss. But considering the Packers, who have the best team Hall of Fame of any NFL team, only have the copy, indications were that, if described right, the lot — offered last weekend at Heritage Auctions — would pop.
And it sure did, selling for $111,000 on Saturday night.
"I was nervous," the consignor said. "But I always knew it had potential to be in the six figures."
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.