They sold a Wagner too, but a T206 brother generated heavy bidding for Heritage Auctions.
It may not get the attention of the T206 Honus Wagner, but serious collectors of the set realize how hard it is to find an Eddie Plank card from the same set in respectable condtion.
Heritage Auctions was the beneficiary of some very competitive bidding over the weekend when a Plank card graded SGC 40 sold for $77,675 with the company’s 19.5% buyer’s premium.
The same price tag applied to a near set of 1933 Goudey baseball cards in high grade missing only the #149 Babe Ruth. A 1952 Topps set with 101 graded cards, brought $59,750 while a 1953 Topps set with 147 graded and 10 of those mint, sold for $41,825. A group of T206s, just 24 short of a set, hit $37,045 and a 1956 Topps high grade set sold for $22,705.
The auction realized $3,683,484 for 877 lots, although after-auction sales are still ongoing and could push the total higher.
"Any potential consignors concerned that the stormy U.S. economic climate might throw a shadow over the collectibles market should have had those fears eliminated by this event," noted Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions for Heritage. "In both trading cards and memorabilia we saw estimates obliterated in some of the fiercest bidding wars we’ve ever witnessed."
Among the single cards offered by Heritage was a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie grade 92 by SGC ($28,680), a 1869 Peck and Snyder Red Stockings trade card ($22,705), a 1910 E93 Standard Caramel Honus Wagner PSA 7 ($20,3150) and a 1934 Zeenuts PCL Joe DiMaggio card with the coupon attached ($20,315).
Game worn jerseys fared well, led by a 1958 Duke Snider Dodgers shirt which fetched $65,725. One gamer from Pete Maravich’s rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks (1970-71) sold for $50,787 while one of Bob Gibson’s 1967 Cardinals shirts went for $44, 812.
High grade autographed Babe Ruth baseballs still have more a lot more buyers than sellers and a single-signed ball autographed by the Bambino brought $50,787 for HA.
The pre-auction buzz surrounding the incredible "Arkansas Find" of PM1 pins proved to be justified as well, as the grouping of nine realized an astonishing $109,940 in total.
A few other highlights from the two-day auction, conducted in two parts included:
- 1966 Mickey Mantle game used bat graded 10 by PSA & Mears ($35,850)
- 1973 Topps Comics test issue high grade set ($20,315)
- 1954 Topps baseball set in high grade ($19,120)
- 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 SGC 88 ($17, 925)
- 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie card PSA 9 ($16,730)
