In October, 2013, controversy finally caught up with the Gretzky Wagner as Bill Mastro admitted to trimming the card. [38] Inside the memorabilia community, there was speculation that the card had been cut from a printing sheet during the deal made with Mastro. With a hobby so dependent on condition and rarity for determining value, it is remarkable that the Wagner gets such a pass on condition. The card is part of collector Jefferson Burdick's gigantic collection of over 30,000 cards that he put together over his lifetime. The Baseball 100: No. 12, Honus Wagner - The Athletic Update, August 16: The T206 Honus Wagner sold for a record $6.6 million. The T206 Honus Wagner card is quite simply in a league of its own and a mere pipe dream for millions of collectors. what?! And perhaps no card is as revered as a T206 Honus Wagner. It is the highest graded example to hit the market in the past six . $109.00. A promise was made that this could be done the day of the auction in Binghamton, NY. Two PSA Grade 2 Wagners sold for $236,705 in 2005 and $294,338 in 2006. A Honus Wagner baseball card, the most famous and among the rarest sports trading cards in the world, sold at auction Monday morning for a record $6.6 million. . The 1909-11 T206 card was graded in Good 2 condition on a scale of 1 to 10 from Sportscard Guaranty Corp (SGC). This victory was a redemption of sorts for the Pirates team that six seasons prior had lost the inaugural World Series. It is not a reprint or counyerfiet!!! Your inbox approves RB enters top 10 Men's basketball . Shop COMC's extensive selection of all items matching: 2022 topps 206 - honus wagner. Ever since then, the card has dominated the record books. [74], A few months after the sale, Edwards asked Connelly if he would accept the card for his auction. Payment details. Honus Wagner 1914 Cracker Jack E145-1 #68 The beauty of the 1914 Cracker Jack set has not been forgotten. Thank you for your response. The bidding for the Pirates' legend's card began on July 23 and opened at $1 million. The folklore of the card hinges on its uber-rarity (somewhere between 50 and 60 copies exist) and multiple theories on why so few Wagners exist, including: Wagner's printing plate breaking during production, A copyright dispute between artist and tobacco company, The most popular theory, offered up by Wagner's family and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, is that Wagner didn't want to promote smoking tobacco to children and asked the card be pulled from production, The most logical theory is Wagner realized he wouldn't be compensated fairly for his name, image and likeness and objected. Standard Shipping (eBay Standard Envelope for Trading Cards, Stamps, Postcards & Coins up to $20) Estimated between Fri, May 5 and Tue, May 9 to 23917 The card attracted lots of media attention over its questionable authenticity, including being a feature segment on the highly rated sports documentary program, HBO Real Sports. As you can see, every time the card has sold, the value has risen significantly. He played for the Louisville Colonels and thePittsburgh Pirates. Heritage Auctions handled the sale of the card, which exceeded pre-auction estimates. Gretzky resold the card four years later to Walmart and Treat Entertainment for $500,000 for use as the top prize in a promotional contest. [67] In 2020, a new Honus Wagner card was issued by the company (#45) as part of the second wave (of 5) released that year. And it is through the roof. Contact him at [emailprotected]. As Connelly pointed out, the collectors chose not to make bids because "[w]hen eBay pulled the card it raised too many questions about its authenticity."[76]. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to . Not all Honus Wagner baseball cards have been professionally graded by PSA or SGC. That's what happened in August of last year, when one sold at an auction for $6.6 million, setting the record for the most expensive sports card of all time. A T206 Wagner owned by renowned collector Frank Nagy sold for $456,000 in December 2005, through Mastro's auction company. Written by Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News, The Card provides a detailed account of the origins of the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, its rise to hobby prominence, and some of the less-than-noble events surrounding the card's provenance in the last several years. [17], Starting from January 1909, the ATC sought authorization from baseball players for inclusion in the T206 series, which would feature 524 major league players, 76 of whom would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Heck, or even one worth $450,000 for that matter! They should be able to tell pretty quick. Mastro worked with Sotheby's for the next four years to facilitate sports memorabilia auctions and established himself as a leading card dealer in the industry. we have a honus wagner cars 350-460 with a gretzky signature at the top is it worth anything.. Hi Ryan, [12][13], The typical card in the T206 series had a width of .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1+716 inches (3.65cm) and a height of 2+58 inches (6.67cm). [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. As from the description from the. http://goldinauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=1861 Ray would not say where he acquired the card, to this day . Sheen had loaned the card to the All Star Cafe where it was stolen and later recovered by the FBI. Rare Honus Wagner baseball card sells for record $6.6 million at Linda (ID 58009) Very nice. Then who knows. [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. He cannot remember how long hes had it or where/when it was purchased or found. The next year, a Florida postal worker won the card and auctioned it at Christie's for $640,000 to collector Michael Gidwitz. 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. In April 2011, that anonymous purchaser was revealed to be Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here's a look at some sales points of this card over the years: Because this particular T206 Honus Wagner card has an extra 1/16th of an inch of cardboard in its bottom border, it has been dubbed the "Jumbo Wagner". $3.25M a record sale for Honus Wagner baseball card. N.J. auction house 1910-1911 M116 Sporting Life Doc White SGC VG 3 Chicago White Sox FREE SHIP! On April 20, 2012, an anonymous New Jersey resident purchased a VG-3 graded T206 Wagner card for more than $1.2 million. Hopefully after reading through this you have a further appreciation for the rarity and value of this notorious baseball card. help!!! [4] A different card, named the "Jumbo Wagner", was sold at auction again in 2016 for a record $3.12 million. A Brief History of the Honus Wagner Baseball Card | History Of course the famous Wagner T206 card has also added to the legend of "The Flying Dutchman." Click here to see a timeline of the sales history of the T206 Honus Wagner "Gretzky Wagner.". The bidding prices far exceeded the pre-auction estimates, as a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for $49,500, more than three times the initial pre-auction price estimate. Some of the real cards have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars in auctions. Because the company came to monopolize the tobacco industry, ATC did not have to conduct advertising or promotions for its products. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? The expert ruled that the "paper stock was consistent with the time that card would have been made." That's where the demand comes into play. Rare Charlie Sheen All Star Caf Honus Wagner Baseball Card Going on From there, youll likely want to contact a major auction house. The second, and more probable, is that Wagner felt entitled to compensation from the American Tobacco Company for the use of his name and likeness to market their product. In fact, an executive at PWCC said in an interview in April that it had sold over $100 million of assets in the first quartermore than in all of 2020. These individuals had to wire a $100,000 deposit to iEscrow.com in order to be pre-approved to make bids for the card. The card was sent all across the United States, as part of Walmart's plan to rejuvenate the baseball card market. And it expects to see the record obliterated. In 2010, the fabled T206 Honus Wagner card once again gained national notoriety when a new card was found. These two columns alone will help you identify reprints of T206s and all other cards, especially Pre-WWII cards. The technical grade includes the MC qualifier. [56] The anonymous collector was later revealed to be Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2008-2023 The Cardboard Connection. There was also a private sale in June of a 1914 Babe Ruth card at a price that was said to beat $5.2 million but was not publicly disclosed. your purchase may be eligible for eBay Money Back Guarantee if the return request is made within 14 days from delivery. He threatened to seek legal action against ATC if they went ahead and distributed his baseball card. Several months later, in November 2008, an SGC 3 graded Wagner card was sold by Philip Weiss Auctions of New York. Are you selling sports cards that were produced from 1868 - 1975? Stay up to date on all the latest sports card and memorabilia news, articles, and products by subscribing to our newsletter below: i found 6 honus wagner cards they are not a reproduction they are the real thing what would be a good place to sell them at they are in mint condition, I just found 3 rare cards in mint condition, what do I need to do to get graded and put up for auction. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 by Old Sports Cards, LLC, Wagner was upset at the company for using his likeness without sufficiently compensating him, Wagner did not want his image associated with tobacco and smoking since these cards usually found their way into the hands of kids. So this Wagner is a collectible that really does transcend the hobby.. On May 28, 2019, it was announced that a PSA-graded 2 (Good) card was sold by private transaction to an unnamed buyer for $1.2M. [3] The card's odd texture and shape led to speculation that it was altered. [29] Copeland received around $5 million for the entire collection. [24] Wagner had a history of being a tough negotiator; he had announced his retirement from baseball in December 1907, but returned shortly before the start of the 1908 baseball season after receiving a $10,000 contract, double his salary from the 1907 season. Widely considered the most valuable baseball card of all-time, the T206 Honus Wagner has been the subject of great debate and, at times, controversy. It is in excellent condition. Another PSA PR-FR-1 brought $132,000 one year later in 2005. Beckett's population report shows they've graded 0. That blew away the previous. This would account for its almost impossible-to-believe Near Mint condition. 1910-11 M116 Sporting Life Baseball Cards - The Cardboard Connection 1. [42] Mastro contacted Sotheby's, the renowned New York auction house, and asked them to accept the Copeland memorabilia collection on consignment. [81] On December 20, 2010, after taking its 19.5 percent buyer's premium, the auction house sent $220,000 by bank wire to the School Sisters of Notre Dame. 3, July/August 2008, p. 4. Top 10 Honus Wagner Baseball Cards Another example sold for $6.6 million in August 2021, making it the most expensive sports card. Having produced anywhere between 60 and 200 in total, it is remarkable that this manyof the cards have survived the test of time. The T206 Honus Wagner card is not the oldest card ever. Regardless of the specific reason, what is known is that, unlike other cards in the set, the T206 Honus Wagner is disproportionately short-printed compared to other cards in the series. [59] He sent the comparison of the two photos to both McNall and Sotheby's, but never received a response from them. It sold in March 2022 for $3,136,500, setting a record for a PSA 1 example.[89]. The way that the bid increments are structured, one more bid will push the price past $5 million. [30] The Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) company graded this card a PSA 8 Near Mint-Mint (NM-MT) on their 10-point scale,[31][32] the highest grade given to a T206 Honus Wagner card. 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. Wagner held his fans in high regard, particularly the younger ones. This is a sharp reprint of the famous T-206 Wagner card. Videos Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! T206 Honus Wagner Card: The Ultimate Collector's Guide It's the Holy Grail of baseball cards. As a result, a number of previously interested collectors decided not to bid for the card at the auction the next day. According to PSA, current market values in various conditions are: Can you imagine owning a baseball card worth $7.5 million dollars? [57], Shortly after Gretzky's 1991 purchase, previously ignored allegations that the card had once been subject to alteration flared up again. [29] The card became known as the "Gretzky T206 Wagner" to the public. People who can play at that level understand that this is an opportunity thats not going to come around often, Dwyer says, and so when you have an opportunity to acquire something that is so rare, that is so special and so revered, and that is in such good condition as the example that were selling, youre going to see tremendous interest and prices that generally are record-setting.. The card was printed with the original 1909 orange color (#179), and also in blue (#307) and red (#456). The card itself looks exactly as the original and is in mint condition. Production of the card was cut short due to a dispute between Wagner and American Tobacco. 1 one month into the season? MLB Power Rankings: Who's No. T206 Honus Wagner Card: The Ultimate Collector's Guide A mangled Honus Wagner baseball card, graded and authenticated by PSA more than 25 years ago and stashed away by a collector ever since, just sold for way more than the average home in America. Otherwise, manually looking things up on eBay is also a good way to get a second opinion just pay particular attention to condition, which is very important for vintage stuff. Honus Wagner card. PSA is considered to be the benchmark in the vintage card grading industry so collectors put heavy premiums on their graded cards. [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). Theres a reason why no Wagner card has never sold for less than it was previously purchased for the card is art, its history, its folklore. He didn't like the idea of how it might encourage kids to use tobacco. The consultant stated that a decent counterfeit of the card could only be produced from a "master pressman with 510 years experience, and would require a machine which would cost between $500,000 and $2 million. Century-Old Honus Wagner Baseball Card Previously Owned by Charlie 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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In February 2007, Seigel sold the card privately to an anonymous collector for $2.35 million. The Wagner card is considered to be the Mona Lisa of baseball cards. There is thought to be fewer than 50 authenticated copies in the industry. The final bid was $700,000, but with a 13% buyer's premium added, the realized price was $791,000. SCG 3 Honus Wagner card could set new record at Robert Edward Auctions In 2010, a PSA Authentic/Altered Wagner sold for $219,225. Half a Honus. 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. In response to the authorization request letter sent by John Gruber, a Pittsburgh sportswriter hired by the ATC to seek Wagner's permission, Wagner wrote that he "did not care to have his picture in a package of cigarettes." 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. He refused American Tobacco Co.s request to use his image, which led to the company ceasing production of his card. 999 Pure Silver Honus Wagner WHC403 at the best online prices at eBay! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1992 Baseball Silver Card 1oz. There are fewer than 60 authenticated Wagner cards in existence. This controversy didnt prevent the card from receiving a grade of 8 from PSA/DNA, the first card ever graded by the company in 1991. Honus Wagner card sells for record $6.6M, becomes most valuable sports [1] The card was designed and issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its T206 series. Ray personally stated that Mastro might have been doing this to prevent others from trying to trace the card. The phone bidder was Wayne Gretzky, who purchased the card with advice and financial backing from his 'boss' Bruce McNall, the owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. LOL! Cobb and Edwards dismissed the findings and went to Integrated Paper Services (IPS), an independent paper testing and analysis lab, in February 2003 to have their card's paper tested. 1936 National Chicle Fine Pens Honus Wagner | PSA CardFacts [64] Mastro was released in May 2017. PSA's population report shows they've graded 34. Why? It sold for about $316,000 in 2010 and the strip includes other players, including Cy Young, Mordecai Brown, Johnny Kling, and Frank Bowerman. And from there, who knows? Belonging to the brother of Sister Virginia Muller, he left all his possessions to the Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame convent. We've received your submission. [83] It is currently on display in the Rally Rd Showroom in the Soho section of New York City. 1910 T-206 Honus Wagner - Wagner Estate, CMG Reprint Card With this proof as their claim to credibility, they proceeded to list the card on eBay but eventually had the listing removed due to the overwhelming number of questions the online auction marketplace received about the cards authenticity. Another raw T206 Wagner can be found at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In February, 2007, Siegel then sold the card privately to an anonymous collector for $2.35 million. 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. [49] Treat Entertainment and Walmart gave the card to Gibbs a few weeks later at a Walmart store in Miramar, Florida. 1910 Honus Wagner Cigar Advertisement Card 1 Of 1 Authentic 1909 Cigar