Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card Sells for $1.5 Million at Auction Despite Damage
Robert Edward Auctions
A damaged T206 Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $1,528,066 Tuesday morning after a 17-day auction.
ESPN reported that the auction tallied 75 bids and that the ultimate winner prefers to remain anonymous.
The outlet previously said that a T206 Wagner is often referred to as the Holy Grail of sports cards, as there are less than 100 known to exist.
The monumental sale happened despite the piece of memorabilia's condition. The card depicting the former MLB player — who played 21 seasons primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates — is missing three sides, has been trimmed, and includes a crease across its middle.
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It's not the first time a Wagner card has been sold for a large sum despite damages. ESPN reported back in February that a Wagner that was torn in half sold for $475,960 through SCP Auctions.
In May of last year, another Wagner sold with Goldin for $3.75 million, a then-record for that card and the fifth-most ever paid for a sports card.
And in August 2021, Sports Illustrated reported that a Wagner card had been purchased for $6.606, million making it the most expensive trading card ever sold.
The card has been steeped in mystery since its creation, as so few were made after Wagner was rumored to have objected to having his likeness featured, PEOPLE reported in 2019 after the 1.2 million sale of another card.
Wagner was long rumored to be upset about his face being plastered on a tobacco product, as the card was issued by the American Tobacco Co. and inserted into packs of cigarettes as a marketing tactic, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame, however, said that Wagner's disapproval over tobacco use isn't true, as he smoked cigars and chewed tobacco, and even let a cigarette company run ads that featured his name and likeness in 1909 during the World Series.
The Hall also rejected rumors that Wagner was upset that he would not be reimbursed for his image, claiming that he gave his permission to sportswriter John Gruber, along with a check for $10.
