Last summer, Bernice Gallego pulled an old baseball card from a box of antiques. She figured it might be worth something to someone, so she listed it on eBay.
The starting bid was $10.
But after getting a flurry of inquiries about whether the card was authentic or not, Gallego started to suspect she was holding something a little more valuable and immediately ended the auction.
Turns out her hunch was correct. She did have something more valuable. The card she found was made in 1869 and featured the "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the sport's first professional team. It's considered one of the first baseball cards ever produced and its actual value could be worth more than $100,000 when she puts it back on eBay (with a higher starting price, of course).
Of course, the news that she had found a rare piece of early baseball history came as a shock to the 72-year-old Fresno, Calif., resident who said she's never been to a baseball game.
source: 'Duk. Woman finds 139-year-old baseball card in box of antiques. January 7, 2009. (Electronic version)
Vocabulary:
flurry - a sudden occurrence of many things at once
hunch - a strong feeling concerning especially a future event or result
Talking Points:
1. Retell the story.
2. What is the lesson of the story?
3. What is the possible ending of the story?
4. If you were Bernice, what would you do with the card?
5. If you were a baseball enthusiast, what would you do to have the card?
6. Bernice Gallego and his husband are both antique collectors. How about you, are you a collector, too?
7. What is your plan with your collection?
8. Why do you think people collect stuff?
9. If you were to collect something, what would it be and why?
10. In your opinion, what is the most nonsense collection?
Teacher Yanda