1800s baseball card collection valued at $1 million

BOSTON - A Boston woman found out her baseball card collection, which had been tucked away collecting dust, is actually worth $1 million.

"It was just sitting in here in a desk drawer and I ran across it one day and decided I'd like to have it, not realizing at all what it was worth," said Gale, whose last name is being withheld for security purposes. She found out the value of the cards on the PBS Show "Antiques Roadshow."

Her collection features vintage baseball cards depicting the 1871-72 Boston Red Stockings. Gale, a Red Sox fan herself, who grew up outside of Boston said she didn't want to sell the cards, but rather keep them in her family, CBS Connecticut reported.

The collection has handwritten notes to her great-grandmother from team players after they roomed in her boarding house.

Leila Dunbar, an expert appraiser, told WTVD that certain aspects of the material must be observed to understand its value.

"When you look at memorabilia and you value it, you look at the historical importance of the players, the team, of the era, of the event," she said. "You also look at rarity, you look at condition, you look at provenance, and this has it all."