Honus Wagner card sells for $1.23 million
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
An SGC 40 specimen of the hobby’s most-famous baseball card sold for more than a million dollars on Friday morning at auction.
It’s a Honus Wagner T206 tobacco card (Sweet Caporal back), and it sold for $1,232,466.34 after 14 bids through St. Louis-based Goodwin & Co.
According to Beckett sales data for the card, a PSA 8 was sold for a record $2.8 million in 2007. A PSA 2 typically sells for $500,000 or less, but with an estimated total of just 50 known to exist — many of those in worse condition — there aren’t too many alternatives for a prospective buyer when one comes to market. This is just the fifth time Beckett has tracked a sale of more than $1 million for the card (in any condition).
This one blasted prices previously paid for cards in similar condition as a GAI 3.5 (Very Good+) sold for $456,057 through Mastro Auctions in late 2005.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Wow, this sets a new high! I wonder what the PSA 2 Memory Lane offering will go for here in a few weeks.
I dont whats more amazing the 1.23 million price or the fact that it reached that price after only 14 bid. Theres some deep pockets out there.
There has to be more than just 50 cards out there
The most amazing card in the hobby.