Rare 1909 Honus Wagner Card Could Break Records At Auction

Forbes

01-06-2025

The T206 Honus Wagner card issued but recalled by the American Tobacco Company in 1909 is worth ... More millions because of its scarcity. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
A rare Honus Wagner card has a chance to break its former record as the most expensive ever printed.
So says Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of the Goldin auction house that is now conducting an online auction featuring one of few surviving T206 Wagner cards from a 1909 American Tobacco Company set.
'This card, along with our expert curation of storied vintage collectibles, is one of the most significant sports collectibles to ever hit the auction block,' Goldin said.
It is also one of the most valuable – especially because this is the first time in more than three years that a numerically-graded T206 Wagner is appearing in public auction. Starting point for the bidding began at $3 million.
The price of the Wagner T206, which originally cost a few pennies, was listed at $50 in a 1933 edition of The American Card Catalog by pioneering hobbyist Jefferson Burdick. An off-center version was once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who teamed with Bruce McNall to buy it for $451,000 in 1991, while Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick bought one in 2011 for $2.8 million.
When a T206 Wagner went for $7.25 million on Aug. 4, 2022, it became the most expensive piece of cardboard gold ever sold – until a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in mint condition brought $12.6 million just weeks later, on Aug. 28, 2022, to recapture the top of the memorabilia list.
A mint Mickey Mantle issued by Topps in 1952 brought a card-record $12.6 million at auction in 2022. ... More (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Then a Babe Ruth jersey believed to be worn when he 'called his shot' before a home run for the Yankees in the 1932 World Series brought $24.1 million at an auction held in August 2024.
None of those pieces is as old – or as scarce – as the T206 Wagner.
Originally produced as part of a trading card set by American Tobacco, the card became valuable after it became scarce – the result of Wagner's wrath at the tobacco company because he abhorred using his image to promote smoking among minors who might see it.
With more than a century since publication and multiple owners involved, there are no T206 Wagners in mint condition, Goldin said. But he noted that this one is close.
The version at auction today is graded PSA PR-FR 1 because of its rich color and clear, well-centered portrait. Only 60 such Wagner cards are believed to exist, he said.
Dubbed 'the Connecticut Wagner' because it first surfaced at a Connecticut show in 1985, the card did not reappear until it went on display at a Detroit Institute of the Arts show in 2010. Widely considered 'the Holy Grail' of sports cards, the T206 has never experienced a market value correction.
Sold for $282,000 in 2010, the last public sale of a PSA 1 Wagner 12 years later earned $3,137,000, an increase of an astronomical 1,012%.
During that same time span, the Dow Jones increased by 246%, the S & P by 307% , and the NASDAQ by 586%.
Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates was one of five players in the charter ... More election class of the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Photo by)
Goldin, who launched his firm in 2012, has sold more than $2 billion in pop culture products ranging from bats, balls, and baseball cards to game-used jackets, jerseys, and caps. His company has surpassed $1 billion in sales of products placed into auction.
The firm, which has an international reputation for selling high-end sports and entertainment memorabilia, is the official auction partner of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It has more than 100 employees and is based in Runnemede, NJ.
When time permits, the 59-year-old Goldin roots for the closest major-league team, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Goldin's Spring Vintage Elite Auction, one of the major events on its annual auction calendar, opened May 28 and runs through June 9.
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