It is the highest graded example to hit the market in the past six . But nearly everyone agrees: The truly high-end cards will continue to rocket up, insulated from any broader stabilization or downturn. I guess the next step is to take it to a local baseball card place. 1) Read my past two columns on black light and direct comparison of cards. Mr. Mangasarian said the card seemed authentic and stated he would attend the auction for the card later on if the card could be taken out of the thick lucite holder for a closer examination. In 2015, Robert Edward Auctions sold one off for $1.32 million, considered a steal even at the time. Learn more - eBay Money Back Guarantee - opens in a new window or tab. 3, July/August 2008, p. 4. RARE 1910-11 M116 Sporting Life HOF Hugh Duffy SGC A Authentic Baseball Card! [69] Cobb and Edwards also have alleged that they have been dismissed because they are inner city black men in a hobby that has been dominated by successful white men. Additionally, many leading hobby experts regarded the card as a fake, including PSA president, Joe Orlando. How the Honus Wagner Card Became the Mona Lisa of Baseball Cards Other T206 Wagners, both legitimate and fake, have surfaced in recent years. Honus Wagner Cards [23], Another explanation surmised is that Wagner did not consent because he felt he was not receiving just compensation from the ATC for his baseball card. The March 1991 auction attracted nearly 800 collectors who were interested in purchasing some of Copeland's rare memorabilia. The old record price for a T206 Wagner was $3.75 million, set in May. No T206 Honus Wagner card has graded higher than PSA 8 NM-MT but if one is ever to be found in better shape than thatwho knows what its value would be? It may not look like much, or even resemble what we think of as a baseball cardthe shortstop sits upright, expressionless, in a fuzzy image against an unnatural orange background, no cap upon his headbut the T206 Honus Wagner just might be the single most valuable baseball collectible on earth. That's where the demand comes into play. Here's a look at five different price points at which this card has sold over the years: This card was part of a large find of T206 cards that made its way into the hobby from a collector in the Chesapeke Bay area. They don't come up for sale too often but if you're ever lucky enough to purchase one, you'll possess not only the most famous baseball card but one of the most famous collectibles in general! The Gretzky T206 Wagner was first sold by Alan Ray to a baseball memorabilia collector named Bill Mastro, who sold the card two years later to Jim Copeland for nearly four times the price he had originally paid. One particular T206 Honus Wagner of suspect provenance is the example owned by John Cobb and Ray Edwards of Cincinnati. On April 6, 2013, a T206 card sold for a record for a baseball card on an online auction. SCG 3 Honus Wagner card could set new record at Robert Edward Auctions The "MC" in the grade refers to the fact that it was miscut, hence its extra size. However, a handful are known to have the Sweet Caporal 150 Series-Factory 30 advertisement. After his business ventures were hard hit by the Depression, Wagner returned to the Pirates to coach from 1933 until 1951. LOL! In 2010, a PSA Authentic/Altered Wagner sold for $219,225. This victory was a redemption of sorts for the Pirates team that six seasons prior had lost the inaugural World Series. Perhaps, the most famous is the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner. By last count, there have been 57 known examples. In February, 2007, Siegel then sold the card privately to an anonymous collector for $2.35 million. There's really no way of knowing for certain. World Record $3.12 Million T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card 1910 T-206 Honus Wagner - Wagner Estate, CMG Reprint Card The T206 Honus Wagner card is not the oldest card ever. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [11] Two years later, the ATC was broken up into several major companies as part of the United States Supreme Court ruling in United States v. American Tobacco Company, 221 U.S. 106 (1911). Meanwhile, HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel decided to cover the progress of Cobb and Edwards' struggles with the card. Three are also known to have the Piedmont backing, making it the rarest version of all. Lol I find it highly strange that 10 of the 50 something Wagner 206 owners have commented on this article. The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman," a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. [66] The card ultimately sold for $2,105,770.50, including the buyer's premium, a record price for a baseball card in a public auction. Another raw T206 Wagner can be found at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. A 1909-11 Honus Wagner T-206, one of the rarest trading cards in the world, sold for $7.25 million to an anonymous buyer. I know we're all dealing with inflation but . From there, youll likely want to contact a major auction house. Now, a Wagner looks poised to retake the throne. And since there's no indication they'll become cheaper anytime soon, the Honus Wagner card will remain a dream for many collectors as long as this hobby exists. And perhaps no card is as revered as a T206 Honus Wagner. To give you an idea, here are four of the most popular cards from the sets and their respective populations (number of them graded) by PSA currently: So, that should give you a good picture of how scarce Wagner's card is relative to others in the set. [75] Connelly met a card dealer in New York City, Mike Mangasarian, who was sent on behalf of a prominent collector to check the card out. All Rights Reserved, T206 Honus Wagner Baseball History of the Worlds Most Famous Card, Bill Mastro admitted to trimming the card, 2022-23 Topps UEFA Club Competitions Variations Guide, Top Selling Sports Card and Trading Card Hobby Boxes Hot List, 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention Guide - Autograph Signers, 2023 Topps Home Run Challenge Baseball Cards Checklist and Game Details, 2022-23 Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie Card Checklist, Gallery & Hot List, http://goldinauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=1861, 2022-23 Panini Select Premier League Soccer Cards Checklist Added, 2023 Panini Select Draft Picks Football Cards, 2022 Leaf Vivid Baseball Cards Checklist Added, 2023 Topps Game Within the Game Baseball Cards Checklist Gallery. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Surprisingly, the card's reverse has nothing to do with cigars or baseball, but instead features a poem, a parody of Joseph Bert Smiley's "St. Peter at the Gate," which promotes union labor and rails against . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1910 Honus Wagner Cigar Advertisement Card 1 Of 1 Authentic 1909 Cigar at the best online prices at eBay! Just a short six months later, the card was sold to another anonymous collector for $2.8 million. However, this record was recently broken when a Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractors series rookie card with a card count of 1 sold in August 2020 for a record setting $3.93 million, and pushed further back by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that sold for $5.2 million in November 2020,[6] making Wagner the third most valuable baseball card in the world. This story has been shared 240,292 times. Within minutes of the opening bid for the T206 Wagner card, the highest bidder had put down $228,000, twice the pre-auction estimate. My dad just found the same card and it doesnt have any markings and/or words that signify that its a reprint. A SCG 3 grade of the famous T206 Honus Wagner card is set to hit the open market and could set a new record for sports cards. According to PSA, current market values in various conditions are: Can you imagine owning a baseball card worth $7.5 million dollars? [64] Mastro was released in May 2017. The technical grade includes the MC qualifier. [10], Thereafter, the ATC was back in competition with other tobacco companies, so it reinserted baseball cards into cigarette packs. The final bid was $700,000, but with a 13% buyer's premium added, the realized price was $791,000. An owner of a Long Island sports memorabilia store announced that a man named Alan Ray was selling his 1909 T206 Wagner for $25,000. 1909-1911 T206 White Border Honus Wagner | PSA CardFacts "The T-206 is one of the reasons I do what I do," Goldin concluded. A handful of other T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards have surfaced in recent years, some real and some not. Read more here. Included in the above auction, a PSA 1 card sold for $110,000. Unsurprisingly, the ATC asked for Wagner's permission to have his picture on a baseball card. [2] In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of US$50 in Jefferson Burdick's The American Card Catalog (equivalent to $1,000 in 2021), making it the most expensive baseball card in the world at the time. Note: Please note that this card is not an originally issued card, but rather a Reprint of the Original. By comparison, there are hundreds of Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young, Walter Johnson and other Hall of Famers from the set whose cards have been professionally graded. [55] Less than six months later, on September 6, 2007, SCP Auctions announced that the card had been sold once again to another anonymous collector for $2.8 million (equivalent to $3.7million in 2021). Collectibles marketplace Goldin announced on Thursday that a T-206 Honus Wagner has sold in a private sale for $7.25M, a record amount for a sports card. Elected to the Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, Wagner was truly one of the greats. While industry experts cite various factorsamong them, a rediscovery of the hobby during Covid-19 lockdowns, buzz from social media influencers, uncertainty about the stock market and a building interest in alternative assets combined with a lack of financial regulations in the card spacethere is no one explanation for the sharp rise in the market. [63] In August 2015, Mastro was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison under a new plea agreement. "[66], Initially sold at auction for $1.62M in 2008, the 'Jumbo Wagner' was featured by Goldin Auctions in their 2013 Winter Auction, which closed on April 5, 2013. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1987 Hygrade All-Time Greats Red Back Honus Wagner T-206 - GD/VG at the best online prices at eBay! Heck, or even one worth $450,000 for that matter! [71] When Cobb and Edwards tried to sell the card on eBay in 2002, an attorney from Newport, Kentucky (part of the Cincinnati metro) filed a police report against the two men because he believed the card was a reprint that was stolen from his office months earlier. Linda (ID 58011) Once proven authentic, the card is potentially worth A LOT. Are you selling sports cards that were produced from 1868 - 1975? In April, 2011, the identity of the buyer was revealed to be Ken Kendrick, managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. [29] Copeland received around $5 million for the entire collection. The Baseball 100: No. 12, Honus Wagner - The Athletic PSAs website is psacard.com and their phone number is (800) 325-1121. The T206 Honus Wagner is rare and defies traditional grading standards. In 1939, for instance, a pioneering collector named Jefferson Burdick, who incidentally coined the T206 name for the series, valued the card at $50 (roughly $1,000 today, accounting for inflation); most other cards in his catalog were listed for less than $1. The publicity the latest T206 Honus Wagner received proved, once again, that regardless of condition, deep-pocketed collectors and investors are willing to pay huge amounts for this rare card. 1911 M116 Sporting Life BLUE TINT Ira Thomas Philadelphia Athletics SGC NM 7. Another PSA PR-FR-1 brought $132,000 one year later in 2005. Wagner was offered a $20,000 contract by the Chicago White Sox, but turned it down and continued to play with the Pirates. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. And finally, we get to. 2) T206s are on thin, off-white card stock. Usually, the older a card is and if it has a Hall of Famer on it, the more valuable it's going to be. But it's believed there may be less than 60. Contact him at [emailprotected]. Shop COMC's extensive selection of all items matching: 2022 topps 206 - honus wagner. These dimensions far exceed the standard size for a T206 baseball card, virtually preserving a Near Mint example within its boundaries. [29] With Sotheby's 10% buyer's premium, the final price of the card came out to $451,000 (equivalent to $897,262 in 2021), nearly four times the pre-auction estimate. Do you guys have any information on the Honus Wagner card up that is up for auction now at Goldin Auctions? Then who knows. It is graded PSA 1. And in this guide well dive into what makes this card so special, why its so valuable, and what youll have to do to acquire one. One thing is certain, whenever a T206 Honus Wagner is sold, it will make national headlines. The Trout and the Mantle were just two in a slew of record or notable sales that also included a $5.2 million LeBron James card (which set a mark in April for a basketball card) and a $3.75 million Wayne Gretzky card (in June, a new peak for a hockey card). Of course the famous Wagner T206 card has also added to the legend of "The Flying Dutchman." Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In November 2005, Cobb and Edwards put the card up for sale on eBay. Copeland's sizable transaction revitalized interest in the sports memorabilia collection market. He didn't want kids to have to buy tobacco to get his card. So this Wagner is a collectible that really does transcend the hobby.. It is not a reprint or counyerfiet!!! As Friedland made each bid, the phone bidder would counter with a bid $5,000 or $10,000 higher. An IPS expert determined that the card dated back to 1910, which would be consistent to the time period when the card was distributed. This early 20th-century card of Honus Wagner is one of just two copies known to exist. As you can see, every time the card has sold, the value has risen significantly. Free shipping for many products! Classic in size, the cards measure 1-7/16 by 2-5/8 inches and part of a 524-card set. One particular T206 Honus Wagner owned by John Cobb and Ray Edwards has attracted media controversy over its authenticity. Gotta Have . Buy from many sellers and get your cards all in one shipment! [51] Four years later, on July 5, 2000, Gidwitz partnered with eBay and Robert Edwards Auctions to start a 10-day online auction for the card. In a 2005 interview, McNall stated his "philosophy was, if you buy something that is absolutely the best in the world, you'd be okay because there is always another buyer for something at the top end. My sentiments exactly gentlemen..Very very unkikely if not a guarantee that not a single card of the 10 mentioned here are authentic. [35] Bill Mastro, a sports memorabilia dealer who later founded Mastro Auctions and became one of the most powerful figures in the industry, heard the news, and immediately jumped on the offer. He had a photograph of the card taken before the transaction with Mastro and claimed that the card in the photo looked significantly different from the photo of Gretzky's card. The bidding for the Pirates' legend's card began on July 23 and opened at $1 million. [25] This theory has its flaws, however, since Wagner sent Gruber a check for $10 to compensate him for the fee ATC would have paid him if Wagner had given permission to create his baseball card.