Ever seen the most expensive baseball card? If you haven’t, then this introduction is in order. A baseball card is made either on a cardboard paper, silk or plastic. It showcases either one, two, or a group of baseball stars. However, in some cases, it might be the teams or sports centers. Although there are varieties of cards from other sports; nevertheless, none of them are of the same level of interest as baseball cards.
While these cards are mostly found in America, it can also be found in various parts of the world. Some of which include Australia, Japan, Canada, North America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and many others. Notably, there different kinds of baseball cards but the uncommon ones are the vintage cards which are also the most priceless of them all.
Interestingly, there are lots of baseball card collectors around the world and they pay lump sums in order to acquire these cards, particularly the vintage ones. These collectors usually obtain them either from buyers like themselves or from specialized dealers. More so, they can also be purchased on eBay or major baseball card auctions which are held from time to time at different cities both in the US and beyond.
Many have been wondering who is featured on the most expensive baseball card ever sold at an auction. However, the answer is not farfetched; find out this and other interesting facts about baseball cards as you read further.
Who is Featured on the Most Expensive Baseball Card Ever Sold at an Auction?
Like we earlier inferred, the Vintage cards are the rare type of baseball cards. Owing to their very high value, they have attracted a lot of attention in recent times. It is worthy of note that the prices of these cards are dependent on factors like age, scarcity, collectible market trend, and condition. That being said, the Honus Wagner baseball card is currently the most expensive baseball card ever sold at an auction. Read on to find out its value and who is featured on it.
The T206 HONUS WAGNER (1909 – 1911) Card
Value: $3.12 Million
This baseball card shows the Pittsburgh Pirates star, Honus Wagner, who is highly revered as one of the best baseball players of all time. The card was first designed and distributed by the American Tobacco Company from 1909 – 1911 as part of the company’s T206 series. Unfortunately, due to reasons not known to the media, the baseball star ordered that the production should stop. With the limited number of Wagner cards that were in circulation at the time, it became one of the most sought after cards of the era.
However, by 1933, it was listed as the most expensive baseball card with a value of US$50. Later on, it was sold by a man named Alan Ray to Bill Mastro; a card collector who eventually sold it two years later for nearly four times the price to Jim Copeland. Four years later, Jim sold it to Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall at the price of $451,000 in 1991. In a bid to use it as a grand prize for a contest, Treat Entertainment and Wal-Mart bought the card for $500,000 in 1995.
In the following year, a postal worker from Florida won the card and sold it at Christie’s Auction House for $640,000 to another collector Michael Gidwitz. At the dawn of the millennium, the card was resold at Robert Edward Auctions to another card collector named Brian Siegel. This time, it was sold for $1.27 million.
In 2007, Brian sold the card in a private transaction to an undisclosed buyer for $2.35 million. However, three months later, the card was resold to another collector whose identity is not known for $2.8 million. Lo and behold, in 2011, the anonymous buyer was disclosed as the owner of Arizona Diamondbacks of the Major League Baseball, Ken Kendrick.
In 2016, another Honus Wagner card called Jumbo Wagner was reportedly sold at an auction for $3.12 million. Following the auction, the Wagner card became the most expensive baseball card in history.
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Additionally, there are other baseball cards which have been sold at various auctions at high values. Some of which include Mickey Mantle (1952 Topps) and Mickey Mantle (1951 Bowman) which sold for $2.88 million and $750,000, respectively in 2018. Others are Babe Ruth’s Sporting News Card (1916) sold for $717 thousand in 2016; Pete Rose/Pedro Gonzalez and McMullen Al Weis (1963 Topps) sold for $717 thousand in 2016; Edie Plank (1909 T206 series) was sold for $700,000 in 2012; Shoeless Joe Jackson card (1909 American Caramel) sold for $667,149 in 2016; Sherry Magee (1909 T206 series) sold for $660,000 in 2018; and Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman (1968 Topps) sold for $612,359 in 2016.
