The T206 Honus Wagner card just broke its own record at auction recently. The historic Wagner piece, which recently saw a copy sell for $6.6M at auction in August of 2021, just sold for a sports card record $7.25M.
The sale, which was facilitated by Goldin Auctions, was for an SGC graded 2 (Good) copy of the legendary card. With fewer than 50 authenticated copies currently known to exist, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ infamous card serves as the de facto “Holy Grail” of the industry for serious collectors.
“I’ve 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 said in a news release. “There’s a reason why no Wagner card has never sold for less than it was previously purchased for – the card is art, it’s history, it’s folklore. The T-206 is one of the reasons I do what I do and why serious collectors around the world love this hobby so much. To be a part of history and facilitate this record-breaking sale is an honor.”
“The T-206 is truly one of the hobby’s greatest rarities. Since it was printed, it’s taken on a life of its own…The card is equal parts art and history and will forever hold a special place within the hobby.”
The record fetching sum is just one of many eye popping figures paid for rare sports cards since the pandemic fueled renaissance of the collecting world. A PSA 9 1952 Mickey Mantle card sold in January of 2021 for $5.2M, and an Upper Deck LeBron James RPA (rookie patch auto) card sold for $5.2M in April of the same year.
While the Wagner card currently holds the record for most expensive sports card ever sold, it’s unlikely to have that distinction for long. Currently an SGC 9.5 copy of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card dubbed the “finest known example” of the card has reached $6.35M in online bids through Heritage Auctions.
With the auction not set to close until August 24th, it’s quite possible that the Mantle card could become the first sports card to eclipse the $10M plateau once buyer’s premiums are factored in.
That being said however, the seller of the T206 likely isn’t complaining. The unidentified previous owner bought the card for $294,338 back in 2006, so they’re up nearly $7M on their initial investment.