1948 Babe Ruth Card Certified by CSG Sells for Almost $4,000 on eBay

A rare Babe Ruth card graded by Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) achieved an impressive result in a recent eBay auction. After 71 bids in a week of fierce bidding, the 1948 Leaf #3 Babe Ruth graded CSG 2 realized $3,920 on November 30, 2022. The card is one of only three examples in the CSG Population Report, and the second-highest-graded example.

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The 1948-49 Leaf Baseball card set was the first post-World War II set to feature color images of the players. This made the series popular among collectors at the time, who sought out these colorful full-face images of stars like Honus Wagner, Jackie Robinson and, of course, Babe Ruth.

Despite its common pull rate, Babe Ruth #3 is one of the most popular cards in the set, as the legendary baseball star had passed away just months prior to the set’s release. Attrition over the years has made the surviving cards valuable in any condition to modern collectors.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. is considered one of the greatest baseball players in history and an American cultural icon. He began his MLB career in 1914 by pitching for the Boston Red Sox, and was traded several years later to the New York Yankees, where he achieved fame as a slugger. He recorded several achievements and records throughout his career with the Yankees and still holds some to this day, including the Major League record for the longest home run at 575 feet.