Pre-war baseball card prices have remained healthy this year. But just as Ty Cobb cards moved the needle a few years ago, the cardboard of Honus Wagner was on the move in 2023.
Wagner, of course, needs no introduction as one of the real standout players of his time. Over a 21-year career primarily with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was an offensive terror. He was a batting champion eight times and led the league in a slew of other categories multiple times, including hits, runs, doubles, triples, runs batted in, and total bases. While most fans are probably aware of his offensive prowess, though, the other aspects of his game may not be quite as well known.
Wagner was a tremendous batter, but he was a dangerous baserunner, too.
The star retired with 723 stolen bases and still ranks tenth all-time in that category. He also excelled on defense. Wagner was routinely in the top five in terms of fielding percentage at shortstop. From 1912 through 1915 (at the ages of 38-41, no less), he led the league in that category. Further, the 1909 World Series title he won with the Pirates was a statement victory, topping Ty Cobb’s Tigers team that year. His career was capped with an induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the five inaugural members. In short, he did it all.
The cards of Wagner have always been expensive, mind you. But 2023 saw a particular new interest in his cards. The increased demand, predictably, brought increased prices.
Wagner’s most legendary card, of course, is also the most iconic card in the entire hobby — his T206 card. The card was famously dropped from production quickly after distribution began and is extremely rare. The last Wagner T206 for sale in a public auction was one that was notably restored. It sold for $1,968,000 in a September auction. That was significantly more than the $1.1 million that the same card previously sold for in 2021.
The T206 Wagner has always been out of reach for most collectors due to its high value. But even though Wagner’s other cards weren’t exactly ignored before, they certainly have set some new records this past year.
Take Wagner’s E90-2 American Caramel. That card was part of a special release in 1910 to celebrate the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team release likely focused on the Pirates because of their 1909 World Series title. Wagner’s card, like the others in the set, is quite rare and has always been a desirable issue. However, the card began to take off this year. A PSA 5 was sold by Memory Lane in May for $116,742. That was more than four times the amount a different PSA 5 Wagner reached in the summer of 2021 ($27,600 in a Heritage Auction).
That Wagner card is being targeted by collectors, perhaps, because, like the T206 card, it is based off of the same famous portrait pose in a Carl Horner photograph. Another popular portrait card of Wagner also on the move this year was his round Colgan’s Chips card. A PSA 8 example of that card fetched $8,100 in REA’s 2023 Fall auction, which was nearly double what a PSA 8 fetched from eBay ($4,250) in 2021.
Also in the ‘portrait’ category is Wagner’s M116 Sporting Life card. For years, these pastel-colored background cards have been somewhat underappreciated. But that has started to change in recent years and Wagner’s card is one that has been highly desired. An SGC 5.5 sold for an incredible $72,000 in REA’s October auction in 2023. Contrast that with a PSA 6 example that sold in 2022 for just over $25,000 in a Heritage auction.
The non-portrait Wagner cards are also up. The 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel set is one of the most popular early caramel releases. A low-grade SGC 1 example of Wagner’s batting card from that set raised more than $8,200 in a spring auction from The Collector Connection. Even during the Covid ‘card boom’ of 2020, two PSA 1s of that Wagner card sold for under $1,500 on eBay. Movement was even more impressive on a slightly better example. A PSA 2 of the Wagner batting card sold for a whopping $15,000 in REA’s spring auction. That’s exactly double the price a Wagner in the same grade sold for in REA’s summer auction in 2022.
Other caramel cards with action poses of Wagner have been popular targets in 2023 as well. A PSA 2 of the famous 1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel card of the Flying Dutchman sold in October on eBay for $10,300 — the most in a public sale for a card in that grade. Wagner’s rare E106 American Caramel card, too, showed huge gains. While a PSA 1.5 sold on eBay for just under $4,000 in 2021, one in the same grade hit an incredible $18,000 in REA’s spring auction from 2023.
On eBay, nine Wagner cards sold for $10,000 or more in 2023, topped by a 1910 E103 Williams Caramel PSA 2 that was purchased via Buy it Now for $30,000.
Sure, as collectors follow the ‘Buy the card, not the grade’ mantra, certain cards in the same grade can sometimes sell for drastically different prices. But that clearly is not the only factor at play here as Wagner cards are up across the board. So what is behind the Wagner craze?
Honestly, it’s difficult to say.
With only one public auction sale of a T206 in 2023, it’s not because that card has necessarily been in the news all that much. And it is tough to point to any pieces of significant news about Wagner or his playing career this year. Increased card prices can sometimes also be tied to new media, such as popular movies or book releases. But that’s not the case here, either.
Perhaps collectors that were in on the Cobb or Babe Ruth boom have shifted to Wagner as a more affordable subject. But really, I’ve been hard-pressed to figure out the source of this newfound interest in one of baseball’s legendary players. And it is just as difficult to tell if Wagner cards will continue to rise in 2024 or if we’ll see a leveling out, similar to what has largely happened with Cobb cards in particular.
One thing is certain though. Sellers of Wagner cards reaped some nice benefits in 2023.
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