"There's a reason why no Wagner card has sold for less than it was previously purchased for -- the card is art, it's history, it's folklore.". Thanks. The T206 Honus Wagner is considered to be the Holy Grail of all trading cards. This is an amazing find!!!!!!! There is no easy explanation, either, for the cool-down that much of the market has experienced over the last few months. Your best bet is to have it graded and authenticated by PSA or BVG. 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! [48] At around 9:00p.m., Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, one of King's guests on the show, pulled out the name of one Patricia Gibbs, a postal worker living in Hollywood, Florida. They should be able to tell pretty quick. Ever since then, the card has dominated the record books. She consigned the card to Christie's, a New York-based auction house better known for selling famous artworks. 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. I have 100% real Honus Wagner card. The expert ruled that the "paper stock was consistent with the time that card would have been made." He didn't want kids to have to buy tobacco to get his card. Production of the card was cut short due to a dispute between Wagner and American Tobacco. [88], In April 2013, Robert Edward Auctions was scheduled to begin an auction of a T206 Honus Wagner that was once owned by actor Charlie Sheen. In 2010, a PSA Authentic/Altered Wagner sold for $219,225. Of course the famous Wagner T206 card has also added to the legend of "The Flying Dutchman." He played for the Louisville Colonels and thePittsburgh Pirates. (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 . [26] The ATC had already produced a number of T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards; the exact number is unknown, but is speculated to be between 50 and 200. Less than six months later, the card was sold to another anonymous collector for $2.8 million. what?! [4] A different card, named the "Jumbo Wagner", was sold at auction again in 2016 for a record $3.12 million. 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 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. Your inbox approves RB enters top 10 Men's basketball . 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! By the time Wagner, a legendary Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, was selected as one of five members of the Baseball Hall of Fames inaugural class in 1936, the cards value was being recognized. He threatened to seek legal action against ATC if they went ahead and distributed his baseball card. When it came time for that card to come out, it wasn't that he wasn't paid. [64] Mastro was released in May 2017. The ATC ended production of the Wagner card, and a total of only 50 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public (the exact number is unknown), as compared to the "tens or hundreds of thousands" of T206 cards, over three years in sixteen brands of cigarettes, for any other player. The Gretzky T206 Wagner was first sold by collector Alan Ray to the famed sports memorabilia dealer named Bill Mastro, the one-time owner of Mastro Auctions. . . A handful of other T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards have surfaced in recent years, some real and some not. However, a handful are known to have the Sweet Caporal 150 Series-Factory 30 advertisement. The winning online bid was $1.1 million, but with the 15% buyer's premium, the total came to $1.265 million. This didnt thwart the owners' attempts to prove the legitimacy of their card, who next presented it to Integrated Paper Services (IPS), an independent paper testing and analysis lab to have their card's paper checked for era of production. Graded EX 5 (MC) on the PSA grading scale, the card has unusually ample borders due to a miscut. It should be pre-80s. And perhaps no card is as revered as a T206 Honus Wagner. Elected to the Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, Wagner was truly one of the greats. Connelly consented and took the card across the country to prospective buyers. I hve honus wagner card with his pic on front and wagner Pittsburgh at the bottom.on bck in red box honus wagner value 35000.00 1910 tobacco card then small storyis it valuable or worthless. Note: Please note that this card is not an originally issued card, but rather a Reprint of the Original. Beckett's population report shows they've graded 0. How much does using PSA cost? 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. Half a Honus. [61] In 2013, Mastro pleaded guilty, having entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, and admitted to trimming the Honus Wagner card in the mid-1980s to increase its value. 3, July/August 2008, p. 4. Linda (ID 58011) Once proven authentic, the card is potentially worth A LOT. In later years, Mastro Auctions was the subject of an FBI investigation for using unscrupulous methods such as card doctoring, price-fixing and shill bidding to increase profits. The next year, a Florida postal worker won the card and auctioned it at Christie's auction house for $640,000. What is my next step? The card was used as the grand prize in a promotional contest. [37], The circumstances regarding how Ray came into possession of the Gretzky T206 Wagner have been shrouded in mystery. David Thompson (ID 39461) The best place to start would be to go to your nearest shop, at least to get a ballpark figure based on condition. [38], After the transaction was completed, Mastro went back to his car and showed the Gretzky T206 Wagner to Lifson. In 2000, the card was sold via Robert Edward Auctions to card collector Brian Seigel for $1.27 million. That blew away the previous. Offering Shares Of T206 Honus Wagner Card Friday", "Don't put this in your spokes: 'Jumbo Wagner' card could fetch $3M", "Bidding to be Open February 25 for the T206 Honus Wagner PSA EX 5 (MC) and 850 Additional Lots in Goldin Auctions 2013 Winter Auction", "Jumbo Wagner Bidding to Start at $500,000", "ESPN: T206 Honus Wagner sells for $2.1 Million", "REA Pulls Back Curtain on Annual Blockbuster Auction: Will Include T206 Wagner", "T206 Wagner, Gehrig Jersey, Ruth Bat Part of Live Auction", "Rare baseball card tops $1 million in auction", "1909 Honus Wagner baseball card sells for $2.1 million", "Honus Wagner Card - What Makes the T206 Jumbo So Special? On April 6, 2013, a T206 card sold for a record for a baseball card on an online auction. The cards were printed at seven factories in New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. One thing is certain, whenever a T206 Honus Wagner is sold, it will make national headlines. The final bid was $700,000, but with a 13% buyer's premium added, the realized price was $791,000. Five years later, in 2005, another PSA 2 card sold for $237,000. 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. Thank you for your response. The size and scope of the deal revitalized interest in the sports memorabilia market as investors saw it as a means of sheltering money in turbulent economic times, free from the volatility of the stock market and other traditional investment tools. Upload your video Looking for specific info? T206 Honus Wagner Card: The Ultimate Collector's Guide It's the Holy Grail of baseball cards. 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]. Then who knows. This ungraded or "raw" card, as it's referred to in the hobby, is currently housed at the New York Public Library. No matter the reason(s), so few copies have made it to 2022 that the Wagner is routinely called the holy grail or Mona Lisa of trading cards. Contact him at [emailprotected]. The card is a T206 Honus Wagner -- one of the move coveted sports cards on the planet -- that dates back to 1909. The expert ruled that the "paper stock was consistent with the time that card would have been made. I know we're all dealing with inflation but . 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. The story of the most famous and valuable baseball card in the world continues to be told. [87] Historical price increases and the state of the sports collectible market contributed to projections that the auction could set a new overall price record for the sale of a T206 Honus Wagner. It sold for about $316,000 in 2010 and the strip includes other players, including Cy Young, Mordecai Brown, Johnny Kling, and Frank Bowerman. [43] Sotheby's advertised Copeland's items as the "Copeland Collection of Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia" to attract hobbyists and other potential clients. Ive been in this business for a very long time and seen a lot of incredible trading cards and pieces of memorabilia, but there is nothing on earth like a T-206 card, Ken Goldin, the Goldin executive chairman and founder, said in a news release. To be a part of history and facilitate this record-breaking sale is an honor.. 1. Within five years, Copeland decided it was time to sell his card collection; he chose to sell his entire 873-piece collection in a single sale, through Mastro. 2 No. Some also claim that Mastro bought the card from Sevchuk, not Ray. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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[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. Then it has on the back the story about him not wanting his name associated with tobacco. 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. Fun fact:this particular card was the first card that PSA ever graded. An IPS expert determined that the card dated back to 1910, which would be consistent to the time period when the card was distributed. Similar to the All-Star Cafe / Sheen Wagner, this one also possesses rounded corners, creasing, and marking which is why it received the "MK" qualifier on its grade.. 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 helped the Pirates to a World Series in 1909 and won the batting title eight times. On August 3, 2022, a SGC Grade 2 T206 Honus Wagner card sold for $7.25 million in a private sale, breaking the record for the most expensive card. The backs of the cards featured the monochromatic colors of the 16 tobacco brands for which the cards were printed. Other T206 Wagners, both legitimate and fake, have surfaced in recent years. A slightly-damaged T206 Wagner card surfaced earlier this year when a man left it to the. Source PropertyRoom.com's trusted merchant, Sports Collectibles, presents this online auction for the above 1910 T-206 Honus Wagner - Wagner Estate, CMG Reprint Card. "[46], In 1995, Gretzky sold the card to Walmart and Treat Entertainment for $500,000 (equivalent to $889,168 in 2021). The front and back of the T206 Honus Wagner being sold by Robert Edward Auctions. I am interested in selling my T206 Honus Wagner card. help!!! He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. That's where the demand comes into play. 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. After the auction and by not bidding on the card Mr. Mangasarian revealed to HBO that he felt the back of the card was indeed real but in his opinion the front was not. Hopefully after reading through this you have a further appreciation for the rarity and value of this notorious baseball card. 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. This is a sharp reprint of the famous T-206 Wagner card. Several months later, in November 2008, an SGC 3 graded Wagner card was sold by Philip Weiss Auctions of New York. Kindest regards. [10] During the presidency of "trust-buster" Theodore Roosevelt, the ATC was subjected to legal action from the government, in hopes of shutting down the monopoly in the industry. The way that the bid increments are structured, one more bid will push the price past $5 million. 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. One particular T206 Honus Wagner owned by John Cobb and Ray Edwards has attracted media controversy over its authenticity. United States v. American Tobacco Company, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, "Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner (ESPN Films' 30 For 30 Shorts)", "Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick reveals $2.8 million secret Honus Wagner card", "Honus Wagner baseball card sells for new record $3.12 million", "1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sells for record $5.2 million", "Honus Wagner Card Sells For $6.6 Million, The Third Record Baseball Card Sale In A Year", "Bill Mastro admits cutting T206 Honus Wagner card, pleads guilty to mail fraud", "Wagner A Wonder: One Player In Game Who Is Not Money Mad", "eBay invokes new rules for baseball card auction", "World Record of $2.8 Million Paid for Famed T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card", "Grantland's 30 for 30 series examines The Card - the T206 Honus Wagner", "Wagner's Wild Card: Mystery has surrounded Honus T206 since 1909", "Baseball's Card of Cards Is Up for Grabs", "Legendary T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Trading Card for Sale on eBay", "T206 Honus Wagner Sold on eBay for $1.265 Million;", "Honus Wagner card sold for $2.35 million", "Honus Wagner card sells for record $2.8 million", "Memorabilia dealer admits to altering famed $2.8 million Honus Wagner card", "Sports memorabilia king Bill Mastro indicted on fraud charges", "Bill Mastro Honus Wagner Altered: Dealer Cops To Doctoring Most Valuable Baseball Card Ever Sold", "Judge tosses out Mastro's plea deal again", "Mastro Released from Federal Prison Camp", "Goldin Auctions Winter 2013 Auction Offers The Rare Chance To Own One Of Only Three 1909 Honus Wagner T206 Graded Excellent 5 Or Higher By PSA", "A Q&A About the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Baseball Card Collection", "Nuns cash in big on sale of Honus Wagner T-206 card", "Christmas comes early, thanks to a Haddonfield physician", "Nuns' Honus Wagner card goes to new buyer", "Rally Rd. In April 2011, that anonymous purchaser was revealed to be Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. 'Believe in the power of cheese': How a group of rookies helped give the Brewers the best vibes in baseball, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. It is estimated that less than 60 of the T206 Honus Wagner cards still exist. 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." In 2004, a PSA PR-FR-1 Wagner sold for $109,638. Why? 1 one month into the season? As a result, a number of previously interested collectors decided not to bid for the card at the auction the next day. We've received your submission. MLB Power Rankings: Who's No. Despite PSA company president David Hall's personal statement that the card was "superb" and a "fantastic card in every way," a number of people in the memorabilia industry were not convinced that the card had not been altered at some point. There are a couple of theories as to exactly why this was the case: Either way, there just aren't many T206 Honus Wagners to go around. Graded a PSA 5 EX (MC) by PSA, this is one of the highest graded Wagner's you'll find. You can learn more about this particular card here. In 1991, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and then owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Bill McNall, purchased the card for $451,000. [39] (Halper sold that card and 200 other baseball memorabilia items in 1998 to Major League Baseball for over $5,000,000. "[14] These discrepancies were taken advantage of by so-called "card doctors", who trimmed corners and dirty edges to improve the appearance of the card. [34], The Gretzky T206 Wagner first came to attention in 1985, when small-time Hicksville, New York card collector Alan Ray contacted Bob Sevchuk, the owner of a Long Island sports memorabilia store, to arrange a potential $25,000 deal for his T206 Honus Wagner card. 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. Within minutes of the opening bid for the T206 Wagner card, the highest bidder had put down $228,000, twice the pre-auction estimate. Another example sold for $6.6 million in August 2021, making it the most expensive sports card. Collectibles marketplace Goldin announced on Thursday that a T-206 Honus Wagner has sold in a private sale for $7.25 million, a record amount for a sports card. And the early response has been encouraging to REA, with at least 15 bidders represented among the 18 bids so far and more expected to jump in as the deadline approaches. Gretzky, who was not a major card collector, said he purchased it because he thought "the market would remain strong," thus making for a valuable investment. Thanks for any information. This particular T206 Honus Wagner stands out from other known examples and therefore gives it placement as a top-notch specimen. The old record price for a T206 Wagner was $3.75 million, set in May. Although not quite as valuable as the previously mentioned Gretzky and Jumbo Wagners, this card is still impressively expensive considering even in poor condition it has sold for six figures! [29] The card became known as the "Gretzky T206 Wagner" to the public. An outraged Edwards dismissed the accusations as "bullshit," adding that they would not have been made "if we were white. $924.95. A promise was made that this could be done the day of the auction in Binghamton, NY. Despite being pulled from production, several variations of the card were printed. Votto back with Reds after rehab . It has even been the topic of a book by the same name. eBay officials decided to remove the listing the day before the auction was scheduled to begin. The winning bid was placed by Chicago collector, Michael Gidwitz. 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. "[72], Card Collector Services graded the card and officially ruled that it was indeed a reprint. One of theworlds rarest baseball cardswas sold for an extraordinary price last week. He wanted to teach kids good sportsmanship. There's really no way of knowing for certain. Even the most beat up copies of the T206 Honus Wagner sell for at least six figures, just as long as it's deemed authentic. The technical grade includes the MC qualifier. See questions and answers Very small. [56] The anonymous collector was later revealed to be Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. The card itself looks exactly as the original and is in mint condition. Brian Dwyer, owner and president of Robert Edward Auctions and who brokered the T206 sale, spoke with The Athletic on Tuesday . Stock photo shown. 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. 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. And from there, who knows? Factoring in the 20% buyers premium that REA collects puts the official price above $4.8 million. 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. This is an authentic reprint of the famous 1909 Tobacco Honus Wagner Baseball Card. The figure eclipsed the $6.606 million fetched for another T-206 Wagner almost a year ago to the day. These two columns alone will help you identify reprints of T206s and all other cards, especially Pre-WWII cards. A fake T206 Honus Wagner card in a fake 'basement grading' deceitful card holder. Wagner held his fans in high regard, particularly the younger ones. It's rounded corners, creasing, and what looks to be a pinhole above his head are definite causes to be graded in poor condition. One such example is known in the industry as the 'Jumbo Wagner' [shown on the right]. 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. [28], In 1991, National Hockey League player Wayne Gretzky purchased a mint condition 1909 T206 Honus Wager baseball card, with a Piedmont cigarette brand back, at a Sotheby's auction. We have 100's of thousands of cards, comics, records, coins, posters, and other collectiblesso check back often. [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. If you hang around this hobby long enough, you'll find there are many quirks in how baseball card values are determined. Now, Robert Edward Auctions has its hands on another Wagner. He explained that all T-206s have dark brown letters printed for the team's name and player's name and this one was in black. From there, youll likely want to contact a major auction house. [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.