A few upcoming auctions to check out:

August 22… Inside the Park Collectibles
516-747-7932)

August 22… Collectible Classics
(724-446-3079)

August 27 & 28.Mastro
(630-472-1200

Bob McCann is currently having a sports sale (not auction). For more information you can call (610) 367-1827.

Recently, one of the T206 Honus Wagner Cards was auctioned for $1.62 million. It was not the Gretzky T206 card, but was one of the T206 cards in better condition.

For what its worth:
In a recent Harris Poll of 245 American adults conducted between June 9-16, Democrats favored the New York Yankees, Republicans the Atlanta Braves, and Independents the Boston Red Sox.

The FBI seems to be underway in a new fraud investigation “much bigger” than Operation Bullpen.

Stay tuned.

Jeff Figler

If there’s an industry with more passion than the Collectibles Industry let me know.

The National Sports Collectors Convention recently convened at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago. It took place from July 29th to August 2nd.

Hall of Famers and super stars were everywhere. The Tri Star Autograph Pavilion saw plenty of action the entire show. There were appearances by several Super Bowl MVPs including: Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Randy White, John Riggins, Franco Harris, and Terry Bradshaw. Baseball Hall of Famers included: Rod Carew, Whitey Ford, Lou Brock, Bruce Sutter, Ralph Kiner, Bob Gibson, Stan Musial, and Red Schoendienst. Other guests included hockey greats: Gordie Howe, Phil and Tony Esposito, and Chriss Chelios. And that’s just a sampling of great athletes in attendance.

With hundreds of booths on display, it was a collector’s heaven. From signed balls, bats, gloves, photos, and paintings – there was everything there a collector would enjoy perusing or buying. There were small, one-man/women booths to large dealers and auction houses such as: Upper Deck, Tri Star Productions, eTopps, Heritage Auction Galleries, and Sportsbuy.com, just to name a few. One of my favorite booths was Art of the Stars, a leader in sports artwork with some truly unique pieces.

I attended the convention to introduce HOFN.com’s new social-networking community, www.HOFcommunity.com. HOFcommunity will be dedicated to building a vibrant community of dealers, collectors, memorabilia aficionados, and those interested in the Hall of Fame Industry. It was well-received.

And, after attending The National Sports Collectors Convention, I’m convinced that we couldn’t have picked a more passionate industry to build an online community. Come join us!