One of the hobby’s best known examples of the rare T206 Eddie Plank card has hit the auction block.
Hunt Auctions is leading off its year-ending Premier Internet Auction with an SGC 5 (EX) example of one of the hobby’s most sought after pre-War cards with a pre-sale estimate of $250,000-$400,000.
SGC has graded only one Plank at a higher level (a 5.5) while only six PSA unqualified examples have rated better. Like the famous T206 Honus Wagner, only a small quantity of the Plank card exists today with the exact reason having remained a mystery.
The auction, which is now open for bidding, showcases several significant collections with focus on vintage baseball photography and trading cards. It includes the first part of a massive single-owner collection of vintage cards that is coming to the market for the first time. Pieced together over a 40-year period, the collection will feature complete sets, start and rookie cards, and obscurities including Topps, Bowman, Goudey, T-206, T-202, Sporting Life, Exhibit Cards, and Caramel card issues.
Several other select private collections are being offered as well with highlights of the card portion to include:
1921 E121 Babe Ruth (SGC 4 VG-EX) (Est. $15,000-$25,000)
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 (PSA 3 VG) (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle #253 (PSA 4.5 VG-EX+) (Est. $10,000-$15,000)
1909-11 T-206 Sherry “Magie” error (SGC 1 PR) (Est. $4,000-$6,000)
1910 “Orange Borders” near complete set (Est. $5,000-$7,500)
The 152-page catalog also includes a significant number of historic baseball photographs sourced from the PhotoFile archive, a prominent East Coast collection and a recently discovered private collection of photographs focused on the 1930-50s period.
Among the highlights:
1903 Boston Red Sox/Royal Rooters World Series photo (Est. $40,000-$60,000)
June 13, 1948 “Babe Bows Out” photograph by Nat Fein (PSA/DNA Type 1) (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
1950 Mickey Mantle 1st Appearance in NY Yankees uniform (PSA/DNA Type 1) (Est. $25,000-$50,000)
1921 Babe Ruth photograph used for Exhibit baseball card (PSA/DNA Type 1) (Est. $5,000-$10,000)
1924 World Series photo autographed by Babe Ruth and others (Est. $20,000-$30,000)
1947 Jackie Robinson rookie “Dodgers Clubhouse” photo (PSA/DNA Type III) (Est. $2,000-$4,000)
The auction is set to run through December 11 on the Hunt Auctions website and is also available through the Invaluable portal or by telephone.
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