One of the hobby’s most scarce error cards has changed hands.
It could be ten times harder to find than the super scarce T206 Honus Wagner.
The Joe Doyle "NY Nat’l" error card distributed in cigarette packs 100 years ago may have been a slight curiosity for those who found it. Today, it’s a magnet for some of the most dedicated and well-financed collectors in the world.
One of less than ten believed to exist, a T206 Doyle error card, graded "authentic" by SGC, sold late last week in a Goodwin & Company auction. With a 17.5% buyer’s premium added to the final bid, the realized price was $186,155. The sale comes less than a year after an SGC 50 example sold for $329,000 in Robert Edward Auctions’ catalog sale.
The Doyle card is scarce for the relative few that have the "Nat’l" designation on front. Doyle actually played for New York’s American League franchise and it’s likely the typesetter or someone else involved with the project confused the pitcher with National Leaguer Larry Doyle. The error was quickly spotted and corrected with only a few surviving the ensuing decades.
Vintage card sales dominated the Goodwin auction again, with a 1957 Topps set, graded all 8 and 9 by PSA bringing the second highest realized price ($39,547). A 1952 Bowman set, graded 8, brought $32,683.
A rare high-grade 1948 Leaf Bob Waterfield football card generated a lot of attention. Graded PSA 8.5 (only one graded higher), it brought $31,598.
A 1914 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson, graded SGC 50, sold for $29,711 while a 1916 M101-4 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie card graded PSA 4 (only 7 higher), brought $26,113.
Other highlights from the auction included:
- 1911 Sporting Life Cabinets Ty Cobb SGC 30 $23,738
- 1933 Goudey #144 Babe Ruth PSA 8 $17,834
- 1962 Topps Bob Gibson PSA 10 1-1 $14,052
- 1948 Leaf Sid Luckman PSA 7 $11,239
- 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle SGC 30 $10,555
- 1948 Bowman basketball George Mikan rookie card PSA 5 $2468
