Latest news with #T206HonusWagner
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why rare auction of legendary T206 Honus Wagner card is attracting multi-million dollar bids
An ultra-rare T206 Honus Wagner card is now on sale at auction, marking a milestone event for the sports card hobby. It's also an occasion circled by the very wealthy who want bragging rights and a small piece of 116-year-old art that's repeatedly proven to be one of the world's most lucrative investments. Advertisement Bidding for the 'Connecticut Wagner,' which got its name after being brough to a Connecticut card show in 1985, opened on Wednesday at $2 million in Goldin's Spring Vintage Auction and rose above $3.1 million within the first hour. But Ken Goldin, founder of the auction house, would not be surprised if the winning bid doubled that amount — even though it is graded in 'poor' condition by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), as a '1' on a scale of 1-10. 'North of $6 million would be great for the hobby,' Goldin said. 'Somewhere in mid-seven figures. I view this card as an above-average '1' for the color and the fact that the face is really undisturbed where a lot are very disturbed. And the back is very clean.' Goldin said most 1s have significant paper loss on the back. The Wagner card was originally released by the American Tobacco Company in 1909, part of a set that was included with cigarettes. There are only 36 graded by leading trading card grader PSA and there are another 17 graded by SGC, according to Card Ladder, which tracks card sales across multiple marketplaces. Overall Goldin says the total population of all T206 Wagner cards is believed to be no more than 60. It's such an exclusive club that owners of the card have an exclusive club that meets annually. Last year was the first year in at least the last 30 where no new members joined the club, with no T206 Wagners changing hands. So demand for this offering is expected to be high. 'It has such cultural significance,' Goldin said. 'So many people who don't own anything else in sports would love to own a T206 Wagner for bragging rights.' And also for financial gain. 'I looked at every type of transaction I could think of in gold, precious metals, art, stocks,' Goldin continued. 'The only example I can find where the exact same item (meaning the same Wagner card) sold for more every time is a T206 Wagner, and it's done that in every grade.' Advertisement According to the auction house, the Wagner card in this grade has increased in value by 1,012 percent between 2010 and 2022 (the last two sales). That's between two and three times more than the growth in that period of the major U.S. stock indexes. Wagner is so famous for the scarcity of his card that his excellence as a baseball player is often given short shrift. The hall-of-fame shortstop overcame an unusual body type (barrel chest and bowed legs) to become baseball's greatest pure athlete over his 21-year career between 1897 and 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He stole 723 bases in his career, leading the National League five times. Wagner led the NL in Wins Above Replacement 11 times, won eight batting crowns and amassed the eighth-most hits in history (3,420). The T206 set gets its name, which denotes it is tobacco card set No. 206, from Jefferson Burdick's 1939 book 'The American Card Catalog.' It has 523 or 524 subjects (a topic of some controversy, though Goldin says the number is 523). Legend has it that Wagner's card was pulled from distribution because he hated smoking. But according to the Smithsonian, it's far more likely Wagner just didn't want anyone profiting from his likeness. Goldin, dubbed 'The King of Collectibles' by Netflix in its reality series on his buying and selling operation, is an avid collector himself. But he said the Wagner card is now priced beyond him, even though he owns the rest of the T206 set. 'Like (many), I have waited to find one under a certain price and it just never happens. I wouldn't be surprised to see a graded Wagner of a '1' sell for $10 million soon. And the best of them could sell for $50 million.' The 'best' is in the collection of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. In 2007, he paid $2.8 million for a T206 Wagner graded an '8' (near mint to mint) by PSA in the early 1990s — the first card the company ever graded. Though Kendrick said he and others widely suspected the card was altered (trimmed to make it appear in better condition), he bought it anyway. In 2013, the Department of Justice extracted a confession from former sports memorabilia auction house owner Bill Mastro in a plea agreement in which he stated that he trimmed that Wagner card with a paper slicer. Advertisement PSA offered to buy the Wagner card back from Kendrick for what he paid to honor their guarantee. In a recent interview with Sports Card Investor, Kendrick said he declined because he bought it 'with reasonable knowledge and a cachet of wrongdoing. I figured that being part of a crime would make it more valuable.' Kendrick compares it to John Dillinger's gun, which is just a gun but has immensely more value due to its infamous role in a crime. He added that his instincts have clearly proven to be right. He also said the card deserves its grade. In 2021, Kendrick became an investor in PSA's parent company, Collectors Universe. The next highest graded T206 Wagner is one in 'excellent' condition (a '5' on the 10-point scale). Goldin said just 26 are graded higher than the PSA 1 he's auctioning. In April, an 'altered/restored' Wagner fetched $1.98 million. Goldin was impressed by that sale because he said that '95 percent (of buyers) would never have considered the altered Wagner. You had an artist recreate part of it. Let's say you have a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle with the top third torn off and send it out to an art restorer and get it rebuilt. To me it's not the same card.' While the Connecticut Wagner may technically be graded as poor, it's in its natural state and considered more a work of art and a cultural touchstone than a mere piece of cardboard. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
VeeFriends, Bowman Baseball Highlight Big Week in Card Releases
A soughtafter baseball card once coowned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky has been purchased by a Southern California collector for a recordsetting $2.35 million. The famous 1909 Honus Wagner tobacco card, considered the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards, was shown at Dodger Stadium by part owners of the card from SCP Auctions on 02/27/2007. Here David Kohler of SCP Auctions holds card inside it's plastic container. (Photo by Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Hey Collectors, On Monday night our friends at Wheelhouse hosted an event here in LA, and the crew from Goldin came packing heat! Among the items they had on display? A signed check from Abe Lincoln, a pair of game-used Reebok Pumps worn by Shaq, a copy of Superman #1 and a T206 Honus Wagner . Museum pieces, all of them. Advertisement I don't have T206-level money, and security was watching me like a hawk, so I guess I'm going to have to keep ripping packs, hoping to hit something big the old fashioned way. Good thing there were a few big card releases just yesterday… Yesterday Topps Chrome VeeFriends, created by Gary Vaynerchuk, hit shelves (and sold out within minutes). The set is headlined by the ultra-rare ERUPT! cards. With odds as steep as 1 in 3,000 hobby packs—and 1 in 9,000 for blasters—these chase cards are among the rarest in the set, featuring high-end parallels like Black Lava (/10) and Superfractor 1/1s. The launch marks a major step in VeeFriends' evolution from digital NFT to tangible collectible, blending scarcity, storytelling, and artistic impact, and with Hobby Boxes selling for 2x retail, early interest is as strong as Alpha Alligator . Also releasing yesterday? 2025 Bowman Baseball, and this year Topps included a new element, with the Red Rookie program. These special cards, marked with a red RC logo, unlock prizes if the featured player wins a major award—like Rookie of the Year—or eventually reaches the Hall of Fame. It's a long game, but there's real short-term upside. Using data compiled by Max Arterburn from Prospects Live , Mike Metzler narrowed the 30-player checklist to just four with real ROY potential in 2025: Jackson Jobe, Jacob Wilson, Roki Sasaki, and Dylan Crews. Pull a Red RC of the player who wins this year's ROY, and you'll be in line for $100 from Topps. A $1,000 prize can be yours if the player ends up in the Hall, but you'll have to wait a while to cash in. Caitlin Clark's cultural and collectible dominance continues into 2025, with the return of her Crunch Time cereal to all Hy-Vee locations across the Midwest. Originally launched in Iowa in 2024 and flipped for five times retail on eBay, the limited-edition cereal still commands $20–$30 per box on the secondary market. With all of Clark's proceeds going to her foundation, the product exemplifies the blend of star power, scarcity, and social impact driving her market appeal. However, for all of the posts and stories we read about this cereal, not ONE mentioned how Crunch Time tastes… Following a record-breaking 2024 season (led, in part, by Crunch Time Cereal's Caitlin Clark), the WNBA's 2025 rookie class enters a booming collectibles market fueled by rising viewership, historic attendance, and increased demand for women's sports cards. Headlined by No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers—whose Bowman 1st PSA 10s are already surging—this class includes international standout Dominique Malonga, high-scoring forward Kiki Iriafen, versatile guard Sonia Citron, and media-savvy Hailey Van Lith. With the WNBA preseason now underway, we'll start seeing which of these rookies will dominate on the court and in the card market. For the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, Formula One swapped its usual driver parade truck for full-size, drivable F1 cars made entirely out of Lego bricks — a first-of-its-kind spectacle born from F1's growing partnership with Lego. Each of the 10 life-size cars required around 400,000 bricks and was constructed over three weeks at Lego's 'big builds' factory in the Czech Republic, complete with electric powertrains, hydraulic brakes, and custom steering systems. Designed to carry two drivers, the cars, of course, also featured fully accurate team liveries and sponsor details. Can't forget that Visa logo! Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel and subscribe to the Above the Mantel newsletter today.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB's Tokyo Series a Hit with Fans and Collectors
Konnichiwa, Collectors. The baseball season is officially underway, with the Dodgers sitting at 2-0 after sweeping the Cubs in the Tokyo Series. The games, featuring Japanese MLB stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki for the Dodgers, and Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs, was a huge success, with more than 25M fans in Japan tuning into the opening game. The series was also closely followed by collectors, with Topps releasing a special set of Series 1 cards, Complex, Topps and artist Takashi Murakami collaborating on suite of cards and merch that had lines snaking around retail outlets, and even MLB auctioning off jerseys, balls and bases from the games. Which makes us wonder, how did MLB authenticate and list all of those items for auction so quickly…? And here's our answer! published a deep-dive of MLB's authentication process, which aims to ensure the legitimacy of game-used memorabilia. Since 2001, MLB has authenticated over 10.5M items, including jerseys, baseballs, and other equipment. The authentication team, composed of former law enforcement personnel, catalogs and records items using a hologram system and a strict chain of custody. The long-read is a fascinating look at how items like the ball from Ohtani's first hit of the season, or Imanaga's jersey from Game 1, go from field to the auction block. A rare copy of baseball's most iconic card, the T206 Honus Wagner, known as 'The Connecticut Wagner,' is set to be auctioned in Goldin's Spring Vintage Auction starting May 21. The card, a PSA 1, which last sold publicly in 2010 for $282,000, is expected to sell for significantly more this time around, with estimates cresting the $5M figure. Meanwhile, another T206 Wagner, this one graded PSA Authentic (Restored), is heading to auction through Mile High Card Company, with the sale kicking off April 7. A copy of the other contender for 'baseball's most iconic card' is up for auction, and it arrived there under unique circumstances. Back in 1980, to settle a $100 debt tied to a game of pinochle, a man accepted a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in lieu of a crisp Benjamin. The card was then stored safely for 4 decades until it was inherited by his grandson, who got it graded (SGC 2.5) and sent it to Fanatics Collect for auction. The sale ends tonight, and at press time, bidding was already at $36,000, making the card-over-cash decision a very lucrative one. Hey! Are you reading Mail Day yet? Those who are got the hot tip to pick up J.J. McCarthy rookie cards on Tuesday, a day before news broke that he was likely to be named the Vikings starter headed into the upcoming NFL season. And Mail Day readers got the scoop on the new Capris Sun Moon Punch, that has collectors holstering their plastic straws to preserve the limited edition pouches. The next Mail Day, known in certain never-wrong circles as the most entertaining read in collectibles, drops Tuesday. To follow up on a story we've been tracking at Above the Mantel, the leader of a crime ring that stole and melted down priceless sports memorabilia, including Yogi Berra's World Series rings and Roger Maris' MVP awards, has been sentenced to an 8-year prison term. Earlier this month Thomas Trotta plead guilty to the crimes, including targeting museums and private collections to steal irreplaceable artifacts. In addition to the prison sentence, Trotta was ordered to pay over $2.7M in restitution. Today begins one of the best stretches in all of sports, March Madness. Heading into the tournament, all eyes are on freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, after he injured his ankle in the ACC Tournament. Flagg is expected to play, and his sports card market (and firm status as the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft) will be strengthened by a strong run in March. Think Flagg and Duke can win it all? Join Mantel's Bracket Mayhem on Yahoo Sports, where the winner will take home a box of 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald's All-American Basketball Mega Box. Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel and subscribe to the Above the Mantel newsletter today.
