Wagner Cards on Display; Ex-Lakers Stars Signing in Long Beach

Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Honus Wagner will share top billing at next month’s Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Sports Collectible Expo. The two Laker Hall of Famers will be signing autographs while Wagner’s appearance comes courtesy of Arizona Diamondbacks’ owner Ken Kendrick, who is bringing his multi-milliion dollar PSA 8-graded T206 to the show. Eight other vintage Wagner cards will also be on display. The combined market value of the nine, early 20th century Wagner cards is estimated at over $10 million.

"(This) will be the largest public display of these legendary 1909-era baseball cards ever assembled in California,” said Long Beach Expo President Cassi East. The exhibit also will include a game-worn Wagner jersey from the Hall of Fame player's 1913 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The first 100 people to visit the Collectors Universe Collectibles Display (booth #828) will receive a limited edition gift compliments of Memory Lane. Children ages 12 and under can take a photo with a T206 Wagner card between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. daily during the show.

It’ll be the first time in over a decade that autograph guests will appear at the three-times-a-year collectibles event held in the Long Beach, California Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Ave.

Autograph fees are $29 for Pincay, $99 each for West and Johnson with a combo rate of $179 for both. Inscriptions will be available for an additional $25.

Members of the Laker Girls will perform cheerleading routines and sign free autographs at the show at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The Long Beach Expo will be open to the public Thursday through Saturday, February 7 - 9, 2013. The sports autograph sessions will be on Saturday, February 9, beginning with Hall of Fame jockey Lafitte Pincay at noon, West at 12:30 and Johnson at 1 p.m.

The three-day show also will feature multi-million dollar exhibits of rare coins including a $2.5 million 1913 Liberty Head nickel that was unsuspectingly stored in a closet for four decades after the owners were mistakenly told it was a fake.

The Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Sports Collectible Expo is open to the public for buying and selling sports memorabilia, gold and silver, rare coins, vintage paper money, rare stamps and other collectibles and estate jewelry.

Many of the 300 dealers attending the show will offer free, informal appraisals for the public. There will be educational seminars and collector's club meetings, and Heritage Auctions (www.HA.com) will conduct a public auction of rare coins.

The show will be open to the public Thursday and Friday, February 7 and 8, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, February 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Public admission is $8 (good for all three days); $6 for members of any coin or stamp club; $4 for seniors 65 and older and for children ages 8 to 16. Free admission for children ages 7 and younger. More admissions discount information and a Schedule of Events are available online at www.LongBeachExpo.com.

For additional information or to pre-purchase autograph tickets, contact Cassi East by phone at (949) 567-1332 or email at [email protected] During the show, call (562) 499-7455.