Copeland's sizable transaction revitalized interest in the sports memorabilia collection market. Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson, authors of The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card, asked why Wagner would compensate Gruber for $10, a substantial amount of money at the time (approximately equal to $275 in 2016), if he refused authorization for monetary reasons. '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. skytuc_49 (0) Save seller. And it expects to see the record obliterated. Reader wrote that "[i]t is not at all uncommon to find T206 examples that have been altered at some point during their near-century of existence. In 1909, the company introduced the T206 series also known as the "white border set" of baseball cards of 524 players into its cigarette packs. Gidwitz dropped out of the competition when the bidding reached the $300,000 mark. Rookie cards, autographs and more. Gibbs could not afford the taxes on the card, so she decided to consign the card to an auction later on. 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. Perhaps, the most famous is the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner. He helped the Pirates to a World Series in 1909 and won the batting title eight times. A card collector by the name of Alan Ray first sold the card in 1985 to Bill Mastro, formerly of Mastro Auctions, who then sold the card to sporting goods retailer, James Copeland in 1987. "[74] Afterwards, an appraiser named Bob Connelly valued the card at $850,000, based on the two previous paper analysis reports. After spending hours unsuccessfully trying to contact Gibbs, King's staff finally got through to her phone, and informed Gibbs of her prize. A slightly-damaged T206 Wagner card surfaced earlier this year when a man left it to the. The short amount of time it has remained in the hands of a single owner is indicative of the commodity status the card has achieved. [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. [8], In October 2013, Bill Mastro, CEO of Mastro Auctions (the owner of Robert Edward Auctions) pleaded guilty to mail fraud in U.S. District Court and later admitted to the court that he had trimmed the "Gretzky" Wagner card to sharply increase its value.[9]. This card, which resides in one of the most popular sets of all time, features one of baseball's greatest players and it remains the symbol of trading card collecting. The Wagner card is something that does have incredible crossover appeal; there are people that own Wagners that own no other sports cards, Dwyer says, adding: It may go to a person that just understands and appreciates its rarity and its significance and its place in the hobby, like the Inverted Jennys place in stamps or a $20 gold coin or Action No. [18][19] Wagner had been at the top of his game throughout the decade, and was even considered to be the game's greatest player at the time. The card long had a controversial past, as some speculate that it was once altered, most likely having been trimmed or cut from an undistributed sheet. Robert Edwards Auctions, a division of MastroNet, set up a registration system in which they approved prospective individuals before they actually made bids. The T206 Honus Wagner card is one of the most valuable cards in the hobby. By last count, there have been 57 known examples. 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. Hopefully after reading through this you have a further appreciation for the rarity and value of this notorious baseball card. I guess the next step is to take it to a local baseball card place. I imagine theyd be very eager to grade your card. [63] In August 2015, Mastro was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison under a new plea agreement. It was later revealed that the anonymous collector was former major league pitcher Tom Candiotti. The back of the record-setting T206 Honus Wagner trading card, with the brand of cigarettes that the card and others like it were produced by American Tobacco Company to help market. 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. His granddaughter, Blair, remarked that "[h]e loved children. In 2015, Robert Edward Auctions sold one off for $1.32 million, considered a steal even at the time. The current owner is Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who purchased the card privately in 2007 for $2.8 million. These dimensions far exceed the standard size for a T206 baseball card, virtually preserving a Near Mint example within its boundaries. Learn more - eBay Money Back Guarantee - opens in a new window or tab. It's the face of an entire hobby. He hit .328 for his career in 2,794 games. 1. 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. 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. The first suggests that Wagner, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, didnt want his likeness used to market tobacco. [36] McNall orchestrated the plan to buy the card. . Read more here. 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. He played for the Louisville Colonels and thePittsburgh Pirates. Its the most valuable baseball card ever sold. [7] That is, until August 2022 when another 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for $12.6 million becoming the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia in history. While the card and memorabilia industry had been growing in recent years, the pandemic ignited a frenzy. One of theworlds rarest baseball cardswas sold for an extraordinary price last week. Additionally, he stated that he was not comfortable with the print process exhibited on the card's front. Free shipping for many products! It sold for about $316,000 in 2010 and the strip includes other players, including Cy Young, Mordecai Brown, Johnny Kling, and Frank Bowerman. Honus Wagner 1914 Cracker Jack E145-1 #68 The beauty of the 1914 Cracker Jack set has not been forgotten. Additionally, many leading hobby experts regarded the card as a fake, including PSA president, Joe Orlando. The next year, a Florida postal worker won the card and auctioned it at Christie's for $640,000 to collector Michael Gidwitz. 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. Walton, however, never paid, and Heritage Auctions subsequently contacted one of its longtime clients, Nicholas DePace, a New Jersey cardiologist, who immediately agreed to buy the card for the same price. Regardless, it's still a great baseball card and last sold for $403,664 in 2014. what?! No matter what condition the card it is in, it should sell for at least six figures! [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. The technical grade includes the MC qualifier. Graded a PSA 5 EX (MC) by PSA, this is one of the highest graded Wagner's you'll find. 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. 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. The expert ruled that the "paper stock was consistent with the time that card would have been made." Classic in size, the cards measure 1-7/16 by 2-5/8 inches and part of a 524-card set. http://goldinauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=1861 Videos Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Most collectors equate Honus Wagner with his T206 card and aren't aware of his playing day and later year cards that can fit into some collector budgets. I am new to this. 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. According to PSA, current market values in various conditions are: Can you imagine owning a baseball card worth $7.5 million dollars? As Lifson commented, the Copeland deal revitalized the industry and "created an incentive to sell these great cards."[41]. 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. Mastro eventually sold the card to Jim Copeland, a sporting goods magnate, for nearly four times the price he had originally paid. The T206 set itself is the most popular pre-War baseball card set in the hobby. 1910-1911 M116 Sporting Life Doc White SGC VG 3 Chicago White Sox FREE SHIP! I have a 206 Tobacco Card of Honus Wagner, hello i have a honus wagner tobacco card excellent condition how do i find out if its the real deal.it matches every other one from the front but the back of mine is printed in red please reply. The two men, John Cobb and Ray Edwards, have tried to prove that their Piedmont-backed card is not a fake and, due to its excellent condition, should fetch over $1 million in an auction. In 1991, Copeland sold the card to ice hockey figures Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall for $451,000. As a result of the publicity generated from the financially successful Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner, a number of previously undiscovered legitimate T206 Wagner cards have surfaced. "[72], Card Collector Services graded the card and officially ruled that it was indeed a reprint. [45] In 1993, illusionist David Copperfield used the popularity of the card as part of a magic trick which he performed during a TV Special. your purchase may be eligible for eBay Money Back Guarantee if the return request is made within 14 days from delivery. [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. Now, a Wagner looks poised to retake the throne. Meanwhile, a number of card collectors who doubted the card contacted eBay and demanded that the card's listing on the website be removed. FREE shipping Add to Favorites RARE 1992 Honus Wagner "The Flying Dutchman" Framed Lithograph Print by Kelly Russell Studios, Inc. #1595 Cooperstown Collection 5 out of 5 stars (145 . How do I contact the PSA or BVG for authenticity? In many cases going to a collector one would worry they might undervalue with the hope of buying the collection. In February 2007, Seigel sold the card privately to an anonymous collector for $2.35 million. 3, July/August 2008, p. 4. I got extremely lucky. 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.. [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. Votto back with Reds after rehab . That's where the demand comes into play. The version of the Wagner that sold recently was graded a 2 out of 10 by Sportscard Guaranty Corp., or SGC; the 2021 record-breaker received a 3 from SGC. Thanks. An authentic card is part of the Leopold Morse Goulston Baseball Collection in The New York Public Library's George Arents Collection. Meanwhile, HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel decided to cover the progress of Cobb and Edwards' struggles with the card. The T206 Honus Wagner card is quite simply in a league of its own and a mere pipe dream for millions of collectors. That would be a problem for a modern card, but for a 110-year-old Wagner, VG 3 means the card is in exceptional condition, with relatively sharp corners, relatively light creasing and relatively good coloration. In 2019, Rally Rd announced that it was going to begin selling shares in the card at $52 each. - Goldin Auctions", "Honus Wagner baseball card sells privately for $1.2 million", "ESPN: Rare Honus Wagner card sells for record $6.6M", "Half of rare Honus Wagner baseball card auctioned for nearly $500,000", "Holy Grail of baseball cards a Honus Wagner T-206 sells for record $7.25 million", The T206 Collection The Player & Their Stories, Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories, Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series home run, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T206_Honus_Wagner&oldid=1151100663, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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. A rare, century-old Hogus Wagner baseball card previously owned by actor Charlie Sheen will be auctioned later this month with an estimated value of US$3 million, according to . But it's believed there may be less than 60. But, as the condition increases so does the price. Fewer than 60 copies are thought to exist today, and even when the American Tobacco Co. was issuing the card from 1909 to 1911, not many more than that were in circulation. 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. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to . 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. I know we're all dealing with inflation but . This ungraded or "raw" card, as it's referred to in the hobby, is currently housed at the New York Public Library. As you can see, every time the card has sold, the value has risen significantly. [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. 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.

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