He paid $75 for baseball cards glued to a wooden chest. They're likely worth thousands of dollars.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island ( WBZ ) -- Some very rare baseball cards are now up for auction after they were found in an unlikely place.

For antique collector Tom Conrad, a good find usually means an old advertising sign, oil can or soda bottles. But when he stumbled upon a box of baseball cards from the early 1900's on Facebook Marketplace, he knew he'd found something special.

"I hate to say once in a lifetime find, but it really is right up there," Conrad said.

Conrad bought the collection for just $75 from someone who had originally picked it up at an estate sale in Providence, Rhode Island. Inside a wooden chest, he discovered 122 baseball cards dating from 1909 to 1911 featuring legends such as Cy Young, Christy Mathewson and John McGraw.

The cards were glued to the inside of the c