Collectors of important sports memorabilia will have the chance to bid live online via Artfact.com on and exciting lineup over 250 items at Heritage Auctions’ Signature Sports Collectibles Auction, April 21-22, 2011.  Highlights of the auction roster include a game-worn Hank Aaron Jersey, a Ted Williams season game-used bat and an incredibly rare 1959 Topps Baseball complete card set.  This rare collection is being offered to bidders locally at the Dallas, TX auction and internationally through live online bidding at Artfact Live!  For additional information, or to bid live online from anywhere in the world on Artfact Live! please visit www.Artfact.com.

Highlighting the sale is a 1954 Hank Aaron game-worn Milwaukee Braves rookie jersey (est. $200,000+).  Aaron is widely considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  His major league career began in 1954, and Aaron is best known for breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth.  The jersey bears his number “44” and the classic Braves tomahawk iconography.  The original Indian head logo patch on the left sleeve survives perfectly and the original zipper front functions like new.  A vintage black sharpie salutation on the jersey reads “Best Wishes, Hank Aaron”.  

Also featured is a 1947 Ted Williams Triple Crown Season game-used bat (est. $75,000+).  The bat exhibits “excellent use” according to leading hobby expert John Taube, whose letter of examination is included in the sale.  He notes “several ball marks, deep stitch impressions and cleat marks on the left barrel,” and “a few read and green bat rack streaks,” along with “a light coat of pine tar on the handle”.  Period photos document Williams at the plate gripping the bat.  Williams’ number “9” appears on the knob in vintage black paint, the style perfectly matching other known Williams bats documented in the hobby.  Despite the strong use, the bat remains free of cracks.

A 1959 Topps Baseball Complete Set (est. $50,000+) with 572 original cards is also included in this exciting two-day auction.  The set is #6 on the PSA Set Registry and is of notable quality, containing over 210 mint 9 cards.  Such a set is highly coveted by collectors, and is predicted to attract significant attention.

Followers of Olympic swimming will also delight at a swim cap worn by noted Olympic athlete Michael Phelps as he won his eighth Olympic Gold medal.  Worn as Phelps finalized the finest individual athletic performance ever rendered in international competition, the signed cap is perhaps the most significant competition worn Olympics memorabilia in private hands.  Phelps indicated that the cap was worn during other races in Beijing, but is certain that this was indeed his final race cap, and has supplied a letter attesting to that fact, which is included with the sale.

The auction also includes a score of additional memorabilia from additional sports, including hockey, basketball, football and golf.  A full-color catalog for the sale is available at www.Artfact.com. 

In addition to this important sports memorabilia auction, Artfact Live! also offers live online bidding at premier auctions around the world.  Artfact Live! bidders benefit from an enhanced, easy-to-use bidding console; a comprehensive auction database; and a powerful search engine that allows bidders to search consignments by keyword, auction house, artist name and more.  To register to bid at this or any other Artfact Live! auction, please visit www.Artfact.com.

Artfact.com is the largest global marketplace of fine and decorative arts, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions.  In 2009, Artfact launched two live online bidding platforms, Artfact Live! and Invaluable Live! In the UK, allowing users to bid in real-time on auctions held around the world reaching a community of more than 10 million knowledgeable collectors and dealers worldwide. In 2010, Artfact merged with AuctionZip.com, increasing the reach of their platforms to include thousands of auction houses around the country.  Artfact's industry leading database includes more than 57 million complete auction results totaling more than $204 billion in value, including information on more than 500,000 international artists.