I spotted another 1909-11 T206 White Border Honus Wanger, raw, in an old catalog, and it compelled me to trace its sales history a bit. This one, number 14 on The T206 Resources’ Wagner Gallery, was made available in the November 1998 Oregon Trail Sports Auctions catalog.
They included this brief description, and didn’t include a photo of the back.
38. 1909-11 T206 White Border Honus Wagner. The hobby’s most famous and valuable card. The T206 Wagner is unique in that the legend of its great rarity transcends the world of card collecting. The card has become one of the greatest icons in the entire world of collecting, and the story of this card has become a part of classic American Folklore. Less than 50 genuine examples of the Honus Wagner card are known to exist. Condition: As in most other known T206 Honus Wagner’s, the card has condition problems. Most notably, there is a small piece of the upper left corner is missing, and the card is multi-creased and somewhat soiled. The Sweet Caporal “150” reverse also exhibits some soiling and wear. On the plus side, the card is well-centered, retains very bright color and sharp focus. We have seen many worse examples (pinholes, trimming, attempts at restoration, etc.) than the card offered here, which has pleasant visual appeal and compares favorably to many of the other known examples. Grades Fair to Good, an acceptable example of an extremely rare tobacco card. Reserve $25,000
Unfortunately, I have no idea what it sold for. But, it popped up for sale again six years later when Lelands sold it for $101,410.44 in December 2004.
They included a little longer description, but not really any revelations about the card or its provenance.
The Holy Grail of baseball card collecting. The stuff of legends, dreams, and fantasies, most of which are more enjoyable to revel in than almost any other kind. This is the one, the only, the T206 Wagner. Coming up now on it’s 100 year anniversary as the ultimate baseball card, the card is, if anything, growing more popular and more desireable as the years pass. Prices realized for sales of the card often reflect this, and when presentable copies such as this one surface it’s often thought that a new price level can be attained. Grading Fair, this example of the iconic card has numerous condition issues, none of which, however, alter the originality, authenticity, and purity of the spirit of the card. A few words about Wagner: whether he was scooping up and throwing clumps of dirt or belting his way to a batting title (8 time NL champion), he was always Lou Gehrig to Ty Cobb’s Babe Ruth, even as he found out later that many of his contemporaries had considered Honus to be the equal or even the superior to the great Tyrus. The 1909 World Series pitted the two against each other and the stolid Wagner and his mates defeated the AL champs in a 7 game joust. Wagner was indeed an American icon – a man without equal in a man’s game and completely larger than life, even if he didn’t act like it. The offered example of the T206 Wagner has been handled – it’s creased primarily in two areas: vertically from the bottom middle of the card up through his collar and to his right temple, where there’s a bisecting crease running along his hairline and up towards the top right corner. Various light surface wrinkles are scattered around the surface, mostly around the edges, but there is nothing to deface or degrade the integrity of the appearance. A light scuff appears on his jersey, between the “B” and the “U”, and each of the four corners is well rounded with honest, even wear. The reverse is, of course, Sweet Caporal 150 Series and exhibits noticeable wear but no loss of paper and is not damaged by any pencil or pen markings. Bigger than our hobby, bigger than life, bigger than most things – it’s our most cherished representation of our great sport and hobby and will forever remind it’s lucky new owner that great things can and do happen – it’s not a dream!
The third sale I’ve found for this card was in November 2020, when Goldin sold it for $1,392,000.
I guess each time a Wagner sells, an auction house has to double its description. Here’s what Goldin said about this one:
This is one of the very few collectibles on earth for which no explanatory description is required, and for which verbal inducement intended to pique interest is utterly redundant. The mere sight of a T206 Wagner is sufficient to provoke an unbelievably pleasant sensation, unique to each individual, within the emotional core of a baseball enthusiast. Wagner’s legend is well-traveled, particularly as it relates to this small but majestic printed piece with the distinctive orange background, but the specifics of each T206 Wagner’s singular journey remain bountifully intriguing. We recognize the likeness of the Dutchman at once, but related questions immediately ensue. “Where has this card been? What has it seen?” Those wonderings are compelling in each Wagner card’s own instance. They only add even more fuel to the magnetic wish to possess it, and, in so doing, to contribute to the card’s personal time-line’s path.
Graded PR-FR 1 by PSA, one of just three dozen copies across all levels to merit fully graded, numerical authentication by that company. Hall of Famer. Scarcer “Sweet Caporal – 150 Subjects – Factory No. 30” back. Rather than being disrupted overmuch by an assessment that might, at first blush, be perceived as negative, it must be noted that this specimen’s mystique is sparkling and intact. Creases trace a latticework about the cardfront’s central subject, but the observer sees at once that Wagner’s gaze has remained solid and direct – as if mere fingers would dare to touch those eyes! Viewed casually, the piece works its magic with time-tested effectiveness and power, and, studied closely, its evidence of handling forms gripping testimony with respect to the relic’s immutability and endurance. The reverse’s advertisement marks the card’s long-ago embarkation into the world as a Sweet Caporal promotional giveaway, but its subsequent peregrinations have carried the keepsake through dimensions about which observers can only speculate.
Here is the item that has inspired the industry from its earliest days, and the artifact which continues to be the ultimate goal for every card-collecting enthusiast. Honus Wagner’s presence elevates any collection like no other force on the planet, but so lamentably few of the industry’s finest assemblies have the opportunity to attain the resultant, ultra-elite status thus afforded. This special card, with its signs of natural circulation displayed proudly, represents the cherished essence of the innumerable, rewarding lifetimes spent in pursuit of collecting fulfillment.
Goldin Auctions – as the industry’s established leader in sales of the most important vintage sports cards – is proud to present this distinguished paper heirloom. Although news accounts of our company’s record-breaking, seven-figure prices realized for modern cards now occur on a monthly, or even weekly basis, our success in the vintage field remains as impressive as ever. Goldin Auctions’ unmatched expertise in all cards, old and new, along with the hobby’s best marketing and promotional capabilities, ensures the very best results!
After a few more of these look-backs at T206 Wagner sales, I’ll add an archive to The Hobby Resources page. And if you have any more details about this Wagner, please reach out.
Happy collecting!
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