In 2004, it sold for just over $100,000. Now, a poor grade T206 Honus Wagner card is expected to fetch more than $1 million.
Goldin Auctions says it will offer the PSA 1 example in its October Legends catalog, set to open Monday.
The same card sold through Lelands sixteen years ago for $101,410.
It’s the second time in just over a month that a copy of the most recognizable baseball card of all time will be sold at auction. Mile High Card Company also sold one in its last major auction in early September. That one fetched nearly $1.17 million, marking the first time any Wagner in Poor (1) grade broached the seven-figure mark. In all, PSA has rated ten T206 Wagner cards as 1.
The card that will headline Goldin’s auction has been consigned private collector. Wagner cards have generally proven to be good investments, with each sale price surpassing the last and often by considerable margins.
In June of 2017, a buyer paid $609,294 for a PSA 1 Wagner offered by SCP Auctions. In 2016, an SGC 1 sold for $444,000. In 2013 and 2014, two PSA 1 examples sold for just over $400,000 each. The highest price paid for any Wagner is $3.12 million.
The auction will open on Monday, October 12 at GoldinAuctions.com with over 1,900 lots spread over two sessions that will close October 31 and November 1.