Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2016 Issue

Baseball Card Sets New Record Price at $3.12 Million

Honus Wagner, the baseball card.

Honus Wagner, the baseball card.

Rising prices in paper ephemera were confirmed once again last month with another new record set for the price of a baseball card. And once again, the honored ballplayer was the man they called "Honus," Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner. This time the price was $3,120,000. Once again, it was not just any Honus Wagner card, but what is known as a T206 "Jumbo" card issued circa 1909 by Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Sweet Caporal, on the card's back, claims to be "The Standard For Years." Not, obviously, for cigarettes, but for baseball cards, yes they are.

 

Honus Wagner was in his seventh season in the major leagues in 1909. Even by then, he was one of the oldest players in baseball. He retired in 1917 at the age of 43. Along the way, Wagner compiled eight batting titles, while also being a consummate slugger, base stealer, and defensive shortstop. It is ironic that Wagner, though being one of the greatest to ever play the game, is better known today for his baseball card than his play. Then again, Wagner himself never made anything like the $3.1 million his card just made. His maximum salary was $10,000.

 

Only about 200 of these cards were issued by Sweet Caporal. Wagner objected, ordering them to cease and desist. Why he objected is not certain. One explanation is that he was not paid by Sweet Caporal. That would certainly be grounds for an objection, though baseball players were not routinely paid for promoting products in that day. The other possible reason, cited by Wagner's granddaughter, is that Honus did not want to encourage children to smoke. You had to buy cigarettes to get these cards. Wagner was himself a smoker and chewer, but that doesn't mean he would not have objected to promoting tobacco to children. Whatever the reason, printing of the cards was discontinued after a short run. Today, a little over 50 of these cards are known to survive.

 

However, most are not worth $3.1 million. Along with this being a rare "Jumbo" card (wider margins), it is one of only three Wagner cards with a PSA rating of 5 or greater. Unlike books, with a somewhat vague poor/fair/good/very good/fine scale, baseball cards are rated 1-10. There is one other Wagner card rated 5 and another rated 8. The one rated 8, which might bring more than $3.1 million at auction today, is known as the "Gretzky" card because it was once owned by hockey player Wayne Gretzy. While the Gretzky card is better, it is believed a later owner trimmed the edges to remove some rubbing or curling that would have lowered the rating. Gretzky bought the card in 1991 for $451,000 and sold it in 1995 for $500,000. The Gretzky card was privately sold in 2007 for $2.8 million, previously the highest price paid for a baseball card.

 

The new record setter, which was sold by sports memorabilia specialist Goldin Auctions, is in the records for at least two previous sales. In 2008, it was sold at auction for $1.62 million. The same card came up again in 2013 and this time was sold for $2.105 million. If nothing else, this recent sale for $3.12 million proves that Honus Wagner and other significant baseball cards make a great investment. Even substantially lesser grades on the Wagner card easily climb well into six figures.

 

As remarkable as that price is for a baseball card, this one may be even more so. At the same auction, Goldin sold a signed rookie Lebron James basketball card for $318,500. $318,500? This card is barely 13 years old. Lebron is alive and well and can still sign as many more cards as he feels like. Moneyed collectors are evidently alive and well too, and items in the field of collectible works on paper are getting their share of the money, even if sometimes it is non-traditional forms of paper.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.
  • Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSAS
    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    JOUY; GARNERAY
    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE
    Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LICENT
    Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY
    Panorama d’Athènes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PEETERS
    Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    VALENTINER
    Atlas des Sonnensystems.
  • Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD

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