Passed down through generations of a single family, a T206 Joe Doyle “NY Nat’l” error card sold for over $1.3 million late Sunday night, a record price at public auction for one of the hobby’s rarest cards.
The SGC 3.5 example sold through Robert Edward Auctions, which also saw a Babe Ruth game model bat photomatched to use in 1923 sell for the same price. It’s the first auction in REA’s 30-year history to have two items surpass the $1 million mark.
The Doyle card was recently discovered by a family in North Carolina after laying dormant for 100 years. It originally belonged to the consignor’s great grandfather who originally collected tobacco cards in the early 1900s.
What makes the card rare and valuable has nothing to do with Doyle’s pitching record – he won only 21 games over five seasons – it’s the erroneous listing of his team on the front of the card, which turned him into a National Leaguer. The right-hander was actually a member of the Highlanders (later known as the Yankees). The American Tobacco Company, which distributed T206 cards through its various cigarette brands, apparently caught the error very early in the printing process as only a small number were printed.
The T206 Doyle error card is easily the rarest card in the entire T206 set–more than six times rarer than the T206 Honus Wagner. The Doyle variation wasn’t even known until longtime dealer Larry Fritsch noticed it while sorting through stacks of T206 cards. Considering the card’s scarcity, it was certainly understandable.
Graded GU 10 by PSA/DNA, the uncracked Ruth bat can be seen in a photo from a 1923 benefit game. It measures nearly 36 inches in length and weighs a massive 41.9 ounces.
“It’s a big deal in the hobby when an item passes the one million dollar mark so to have two surpass that coveted benchmark on the same night is very exciting,” remarked Brian Dwyer, President of REA. “What’s very interesting about these results is you have one item tied to the most iconic player in baseball history and another that depicts a virtually unknown player, and they both sold for the same figure. It really represents how much passion there is in this industry. It also demonstrated that the high-end card and memorabilia markets are alive and well.”
The auction opened on July 24 and featured nearly 3,000 items. In all, it generated more than $15.7 million in sales and garnered more than 80,000 bids.
Eleven other items in the Summer Catalog Auction also finished above $100,000, including:
- 1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie PSA NM-MT 8 – $372,000
- 1955 Topps #123 Sandy Koufax Rookie PSA MINT 9 – $360,000
- 1948-1949 Leaf #79 Jackie Robinson Rookie PSA NM-MT 8 – $324,000
- Extremely Rare 1903 Boston Americans (vs. Pittsburgh Pirates) World Series Game 1 Ticket – One of Only Two Examples Known – $270,000
- 1909-1911 T206 White Border Eddie Plank PSA GOOD+ 2.5 (Ex-Conlon Collection) – $168,000
- 1952 Topps #261 Willie Mays SGC NM/MT 8 – $144,000
- 1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson Rookie PSA GEM MINT 10 – $144,000
- 1953 Topps Original Card Artwork Collection (25) In Framed Display Including Yogi Berra, Red Schoendienst, and Phil Rizzuto – $138,000
- 1909-1911 T206 White Border Walter Johnson Hands at Chest – Broad Leaf 460 Back PSA FAIR 1.5 – Newly Discovered! – $138,000
- 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle PSA EX 5 – $126,000
- 1933 R319 Goudey #92 Lou Gehrig PSA NM-MT 8 – $108,000
Other results included:
- 1970-1971 Topps Basketball Second Series Unopened Wax Box (24 Packs) – BBCE – $96,000
- 1909-1911 T206 White Border Ty Cobb Portrait Red Background SGC NM/MT 8 – $93,000
- 1963 Topps Football Near-Complete Set (169/170): #3 PSA Set Registry – $93,000
- 1965 Topps #477 Steve Carlton Rookie PSA GEM MINT 10 – $87,000
- Circa 1966 Willie Mays San Francisco Giants Signed Game-Used Glove with Batboy Provenance – PSA/DNA – $63,000
- 1977 Topps “Star Wars” Series 1-5 PSA GEM MINT 10 and MINT 9 Near-Complete Set (262/330) – $63,000
- 1977 Topps “Star Wars” #1 Luke Skywalker PSA GEM MINT 10 – $63,000
- 1932-1933 Herb Pennock New York Yankees Game-Used Road Uniform – Resolution Photomatch – $60,000
- 1981 Topps Football #216 Joe Montana Rookie PSA GEM MINT 10 – $45,600
- 1962 Philadelphia Warriors (vs. New York Knicks) Ticket Stub PSA GOOD 2 – Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-Point Game – $36,000
You can see the full breakdown of REA’s Summer Catalog Auction results on the company’s website.
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