Cache of century-old Ty Cobb baseball cards found

This undated photo provided by Professional Sports Authenticator shows one of seven Ty Cobb baseball cards, a baseball-card find of a lifetime, that were found crumpled paper bag in a dilapidated house. Card experts in Southern California say they have verified the legitimacy, and seven-figure value, of the seven identical Ty Cobb cards from the printing period of 1909 to 1911. Before the recent find there were only about 15 known to still exist. (Professional Sports Authenticator via AP) This undated photo provided by Professional Sports Authenticator shows one of seven Ty Cobb baseball cards, a baseball-card find of a lifetime, that were found crumpled paper bag in a dilapidated house. Card experts in Southern California say they have verified the legitimacy, and seven-figure value, of the seven identical Ty Cobb cards from the printing period of 1909 to 1911. Before the recent find there were only about 15 known to still exist. (Professional Sports Authenticator via AP)

By Associated Press March 3, 2016 3 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – From a crumpled paper bag in a dilapidated house came a baseball-card find of a lifetime. Seven of them actually.

Card experts in Southern California said Wednesday that they have verified the legitimacy – and seven-figure total value – of seven identical Ty Cobb cards from the printing period of 1909 to 1911. Before the recent find, there were only about 15 known to still exist.

Joe Orlando, the president of Professional Sports Authenticator in Newport Beach, California, who verified the find, said it is “spectacular” and “miraculous” to have come across such a cache.

“I am not sure if any other baseball card find is more remarkable than this new discovery,” Orlando said in a statement.

The family who discovered the cards in a neglected paper bag at the run-down house of a deceased great-grandfather has asked to remain anonymous.