A “Shoeless” Joe Jackson card from the 1915 Cracker Jack set established a new record high when it sold for $504,000 at Heritage Auctions on Thursday.
That price is not only a record for the card, but places third for any Jackson card sold publicly. It also ties the record for a 1915 Cracker Jack card.
Graded an SGC 9, it’s one of just two examples at the grade. Between PSA and SGC, there are only four 9s and no 10s.
This is the first time an SGC 9 example has sold publicly since 2016, when a copy sold for $106,000. Prior to this sale, the record for the card was held by an SGC 8.5 example, which sold for $336,000 in February.
The top price for any Jackson card remains the $600,000 paid for a 1910 Old Mill Series 8 sold in February 2019.
First created by Cracker Jack in 1914, the 1915 set is beloved by hobbyists, with PSA calling the Ty Cobb card from the set “easily one of the most vigorously sought after and proudly held relics in the modern collecting hobby.”
The 1915 set utilized many of the same images from the previous year’s edition, though it learned from one crucial mistake. In 1914, the cards were distributed within boxes of Cracker Jacks and were quite often marred by stains from the sugary snacks. In 1915, to avoid such disappointment, the entire set was actually made available to buyers for purchase via mail. These “factory sets” are believed to be among the first of their kind.
Hardly 200 examples of the Jackson card have been graded by PSA and SGC combined, and it’s the most valuable of the set.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.