Honus Wagner Card Sells For Record $2.1 Million At Auction

A Honus Wagner baseball card called the most coveted of all time sold for a record $2.1 million in an online auction this week.

The 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner has now become one of the most valuable baseball cards of all time, setting the highest price ever paid in a public sale. It also turned a nice profit in the last few years. The same card sold for $1.6 million back in 2008.

The auction company responsible for the Honus Wagner card sale said the event was a success.

“My overall goal on the T206 Wagner from the start was to set a record for a trading card auction,” said Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions, which auctioned the card. “My auction house set a new record by close to $500,000.”

The Honus Wagner card has an interesting story. There were fewer than 200 copies of the Hall of Fame shortstop’s card made because Wagner was unhappy that the card, produced by the American Tobacco Company, would send children bad messages about smoking.

But some people disagree with his intentions. Wagner was a smoker himself and even endorsed cigars, so some baseball historians think Wagner was just upset that he wasn’t paid to appear on the card.

There’s also some controversy about the Honus Wagner card itself. It’s said that the original card was trimmed to improve its condition.

Known as the “Flying Dutchman,” Wagner played shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning eight batting titles and hitting .327 for his career.

Other sports artifacts were sold at the same auction, including a ticket from Mickey Mantle’s first major league game that went for $6,890 and a program from the same game that sold for $6,750.

Honus Wagner baseball cards have been a cash cow in the past. In August, a rare 1909 Honus Wagner card sold at auction for $1.2 million to a New Jersey collector.