Unique Signed 1932 Babe Ruth U.S. Caramel Card Sells for $976,000 at Goldin

A one-of-a-kind Babe Ruth card has sold for nearly $1 million at Goldin, with a signed 1932 U.S. Caramel #32 bringing $976,000 in the auction house’s Fall Vintage Elite Auction.

The card is signed across the front in black fountain pen with the inscription “Sincerely – Babe Ruth.” PSA has authenticated the card, while PSA/DNA graded Ruth’s autograph Mint 9. What makes the piece particularly unusual is its population: Goldin says it is not only the sole known autographed example of the Babe Ruth card, but the only known signed card from any of the 32 subjects in the entire 1932 U.S. Caramel set.

That distinction puts it in a very different category from an ordinary high-grade Ruth card. The card itself shows wear, including creases, surface abrasions, corner layering, writing and evidence that it was once removed from a scrapbook, but the Ruth portrait remains largely unobstructed. The autograph, rather than the condition of the underlying card, is the centerpiece, with much of the original strength of the black fountain pen signature still visible.

The 1932 U.S. Caramel set was issued by the United States Caramel Company of East Boston, Massachusetts. Its 32-card checklist included baseball stars along with notable figures from golf and boxing, with Ruth appearing as the final card in the set. Goldin also points to the timing of the issue as part of the card’s appeal. It was released in 1932, the same year as Ruth’s famous “Called Shot” home run against the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field.

Unsigned U.S. Caramel Ruth cards are already scarce compared with some of his better-known issues. Goldin said that when the auction description was prepared, roughly 160 examples had been graded by PSA, compared with more than 5,800 PSA-encapsulated Babe Ruth cards from the 1933 Goudey set. That scarcity helps explain why finding a period-autographed U.S. Caramel Ruth is so difficult.

The inscription adds another layer. Goldin describes signed Ruth cards carrying the word “Sincerely” as particularly uncommon, and the strong autograph earned a PSA/DNA Mint 9 grade despite the wear visible on the card itself. The card has also appreciated dramatically since its last public appearance. The same signed U.S. Caramel Ruth sold for $244,736.40 through Memory Lane in September 2022. Its $976,000 Goldin result four years later is nearly four times that amount.

Signed vintage cards have increasingly become major trophies in the sports collectibles market, and Babe Ruth remains one of the most important names in that category. Goldin noted in its listing that a signed 1933 Goudey Ruth had sold for $1.5 million earlier in 2026, illustrating how much collectors are willing to pay when an iconic prewar card and an authenticated Ruth autograph appear together.