Robert Edward Auctions’ Spring Auction will open for bidding next week, and Honus will be in the house.
A 1909-11 T206 Wagner has been consigned to the catalog sale and will be Lot #1. The card carries a $50,000 minimum bid but should stretch well into six figures when all bids are in.
Graded SGC 10 (poor), this Wagner has a long history within the hobby. It can be traced back more than 30 years to David Festberg, a well-known collector/dealer at the time, who acquired it in the 1980s at one of the famed Willow Grove, Pennsylvania card shows. Festberg kept the card as part of his collection until 1993, when he heralded the auction of the card in a full page advertisement in Sports Collectors Digest.
While the selling price at the time was not disclosed, the card remained in private hands until it resurfaced at public auction in 2008. Robert Edward Auctions is handling the first public auction sale of the card since that time. The card is expected to sell for more than $250,000 when bidding ends on April 30.
T206 Wagners are no stranger to REA. The SGC 10 is the eighth Wagner auction in nine years for the company. Last year, REA established a new record price for a T206 Wagner graded VG when it hammered down a $1,320,000 sale. A PSA 1 Wagner sold for $403,664 via SCP Auctions in December of 2014.
The Wagner card will be among several items REA is bringing to the CSA Show at Chantilly, VA this Saturday and Sunday. There will be free photo opportunities with the card both days between noon and 2 PM at the Dulles Expo Center.
Two 1916 Babe Ruth rookie cards, several 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards, including a SGC 86 and PSA 6 example and a 1916 Joe Jackson signed voucher with family provenance will also be on the block. For more information about the auction, visit the Robert Edward Auctions website.