1915 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson highlights REA September auction

A 1915 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson card highlights REA's September auction. With nearly 4,700 lots, it represents the auction house's largest-every monthly auction. The auction is filled with iconic cards spanning the 20th century, many of them in hard-to-find high grades.

The Mathewson is graded a PSA 7, population 15. Only 124 of this pre-war Mathewson card have ever been graded by PSA. There are only 17 examples graded higher, excluding qualifiers. As of this writing, the Mathewson is the seventh-highest bid card in the auction. A total of 84 bids have raised the price of the cad to $9,750.

An unfamiliar image of Christy Mathewson, ca. 1911, by William Davis Hassler (1877-1921). From the collections of the New-York Historical Society, in which the ballplayer is "Unidentified." pic.twitter.com/x21Mj84JZH
— John Thorn (@thorn_john) July 9, 2025

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The price of the card is expected to skyrocket in the coming days. A PSA 7 last sold in Jan. 2025 for $42,864 at Memory Lane. The 1915 Cracker Jack is one of Mathewson’s most striking and popular cards. 1915 Cracker Jacks are one of the most highly prized and widely collected of all prewar sets. Mathewson is one of the key cards in the set, along with Cobb, Jackson, Johnson, and Wagner.

1915 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson — This is one of Mathewson’s most striking and popular cards. The last publicly sold 1915 Cracker Jack Mathewson sold for nearly $43,000 in Jan. 2025, according to Card Ladder. | Image Courtesy of REA

As of this writing, the highest-bid card is of a PSA 8 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card. So far, 104 bidders have priced the card up to $37,000. Hank Aaron's rookie card is one of the most famous and iconic cards in all of collecting. The last PSA 8 sale occurred just a month ago at REA, where a copy sold for $43,200.

1954 Topps Hank Aaron PSA 8 — This high-grade PSA 8 rookie card of Hall of Famer Hank Aaron from the 1954 Topps series is currently the highest-bid card in the REA September auction. | Image courtesy of REA

The REA auction will run through Sunday, Sept. 21. Initial bids must be placed by 9 PM ET on the final day in order for to qualify for extended bidding. Other notable items in the auction include:

- 1910 E103 Williams Caramel Ty Cobb PSA VG 3 - 1916 M101-4 Sporting News #91 Walter Johnson SGC EX+ 5.5 - 1 of 1 - (Highest Graded) - 1949 Bowman #60 Yogi Berra PSA MINT 9 - (Highest Graded) - Signed 1950 Bowman #98 Ted Williams PSA VG-EX 4 with MINT 9 Signature - 1967 Topps #581 Tom Seaver Rookie PSA EX 5 with NM 7 Signature

A lovely mid-grade example of The Christian Gentleman’s 1911 T205 Gold Border card. 1911 marked the first year a league MVP was awarded to the most valuable player from each league. The Chalmers Award - named for Hugh Chalmers, president of the Chalmers Motor Car Company of… pic.twitter.com/RSnH3vehoP
— REA (@collect_rea) September 14, 2025