The 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card has long been considered the Holy Grail among card collectors. Only between 50 and 60 are thought to exist, and over the years, collectors have been more than happy to unload money on one.
The most recent purchase — made by Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks — registered a record-setting $2.8 million, but history shows that each new sale supplants the last, and this latest one could be a doozy.
That’s because after just seven hours on the auction block, the latest 1909 T206 Honus Wagner was up to $1.02 million — with three weeks to go, according to CBS New York .
Brian Dwyer of Robert Edward Auctions shed some light on the typical card buyer for this particular product with the news site.
“The typical buyer for a Wagner ranges from diehard card collector to somebody that wants the best of the best,” he said, forgetting to mention the non-negotiable point that you have to be rich as well.
This particular card has been handed down from generation to generation among family members in Oceanside, New York, who’ve finally decided to part ways.
In 100 years, the card is said to have only had two owners. Number three, whoever you are, will have to pay one stiff sale price.
While most collectibles don’t go for as much as a 1909 T206 Honus Wagner, it’s not unusual to see collectors pony up a lot of dough to get their hands on an authentic piece of sports memorabilia. The last time Inquisitr reported on this type of sale, it involved a Babe Ruth rookie card.
The Ruth card went for a comparatively paltry $695,000, but that’s still quite a chunk of change for most of us.
Ruth is generally the most collected baseball player among those who hunt and gather memorabilia. Items depicting the legend, or with his signature, are so sought after that sometimes thieves rob them from right out under owners’ noses as evidenced in a story from November, 2014, via the Burlington Free Press .
That involved a collector in Vermont who owned a baseball with Ruth’s signature as well as other items being victimized by a burglar. The owner didn’t disclose the value of the items, but did offer a “significant cash reward” for the return of the ball and other items.
No word on how that turned out.
What do you think about major sales like that of the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card, readers? Even if you had that kind of money, would you buy?
[Image via CBS New York , linked above]
