T206 Honus Wagner - Shields Family - PSA-1 sold for $5,124,000

Goldin (Feb 21, 2026)

Lot # 1: 1909-11 T206 White Border Honus Wagner - Sweet Caporal 150/25 - Shields Family Collection - PSA PR-FR 1

THE "SHIELDS WAGNER" SURFACES

The prospect for a newly unearthed museum worthy "find" is one of card collecting's most captivating features, and no "fresh to the hobby" artifact could be more compelling than a T206 Honus Wagner. The undisputed "Holy Grail" sports card, Wagner's timeless tobacco marvel continues reigning supreme as the "best of the best", regardless of its technical condition, and Goldin auction is proud to present a newly discovered example - THE SHIELDS WAGNER - that was recently highlighted in season three of Netflix's King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch. Graded a PSA PR 1, it emphatically boasts one of the most fascinating T206 Wagner "find" stories, with its original owner Morton Bertstein securing this and other tobacco cards since their original ATC 1909 inception. Indeed, this museum worthy marvel can be traced back to being pulled from the American Tobacco Company's original T206 pack by Mr. Bernstein. Morton was the son of Samuel E Bernstein, who founded The National Silver Company in 1890, and then purchased the F.B Rogers Silver Company in 1955. He had an unequivocal passion for baseball, boxing, and football while retaining an unquenchable thirst for gathering related sports cards for his vast heroes. Originally situated on the East Coast, Morton then migrated out west to start the National Silver Company on the West Coast, which still included F.B. Rogers. At this point Morton decided to frame all his trading Cards (Sports, Birds, Boxers, Light House, Floral, etc.) for purposes of decorating the walls of his West Coast Offices - creating his own personal "mancave" at his place of business. Upon the demise of National Silver Company, the frames were stored in a family-owned warehouse whereby Morton's two grandchildren, Dennis and Douglas, became the keepers of all their grandfather's memorabilia including the illustrious T206 Honus Wagner, carefully preserving these magnificent keepsakes. Incredible as it may seem, this captivating T206 Honus Wagner (as well as other T202; T205 and T206 cards also presented in this auction) have been privately secured within the same family for the past 117 years! Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, accurately stated "I've never been able to trace a [Honus] Wagner that has stayed in only one family since the day the card came out. The Shields care and respect for their grandfather's collection have preserved one of the hobby's true grails, and the importance of this cannot be overstated." While there have been some noted T206 Wagner's sold in public auctions, to reiterate and to the best of our knowledge, no Wagner has been able to be documented directly to its original insertion in a 1909 Sweet Caporal Cigarette pack - courtesy of the Shields' beloved grandfather Morton Bernstein. As his grandson Dennis duly notes: "throughout the years, these display pieces remained near and dear to our grandfather, as they became a marker to his extraordinary life. My brother Douglas and I have held onto these cards for years, and most significantly, it was never for monetary issues but more for the sentimental value that they were our grandfather's prized possessions. Simply stated, we kept them just because we love him, and they were literally an enduring facet of our grandfather's life that served as an effective reminder of the remarkable human being he truly was." Ultimately, the Shields family made the difficult decision to part with their grandfather's collection, recognizing that no heir shares his passion for baseball and collecting. They want the Wagner to pass on to someone who will genuinely treasure it, choosing Goldin Auctions because they knew Goldin could tell the story of their grandfather and his remarkable card with unmatched care and reach.

Hallowed artifacts and the simple "right to own a copy" concept are two extremely powerful and prevailing forces driving an elite enthusiast to pursue the most electrifying collectibles. In the sports card venue, no card could possibly compete with the iconic T206 Honus Wagner - with its unparalleled stature spanning the globe in resounding fashion. Whether it is fine art, coin collecting, stamps, entertainment, or sports cards (just to mention a few of the popular hobby niches), each distinctive venue boasts a particular "Holy Grail" keepsake sparking an incomparable desire for their decisive ownership. The idea of esteemed "bragging rights" certainly comes into play, for most collectors fortunate enough to be able to afford these seemingly priceless heirlooms are immediately endowed with an infinite level of immense pride and a prestigious entry into an exclusive "Collector's Club." Fine art has its Rembrandts and Picasso's, elite coin collectors can only relish the thought of owning the 1933 St. Gaudens Gold $20 Double-Eagle, stamp enthusiasts salivate at the notion of purchasing an Inverted Jenny air-mail postage stamp, and the staggering $32.5 million record-setting sale of Judy Garland's exalted Ruby Slippers in 2024 placed an exclamation point on the unlimited investment potential of any world-class memento. Baseball memorabilia enthusiasts will point to the $24 million record-breaking sale for Babe Ruth's Called Shot jersey as well as a staggering $12.6 million price tag for the SGC 9.5 MINT+ 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle as extraordinary values substantiating the spiraling upticks of the finest sports collectibles. Yet, the one card that stands tall is the legendary T206 Honus Wagner originally released by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) in 1909. While there is an abundance of other hallowed cardboard keepsakes such as the 1952 Topps Mantle, 1914 Baltimore News Ruth, T206 Ty Cobb Tobacco ad-back, 1916 Babe Ruth Rookie, T206 Plank and 1933 Goudey Lajoie (just to mention a few), none of these cards can possibly compete with the esoteric reverence of a T206 Wagner. This unmatched tobacco treasure stands far above any of its inferior brethren, ultimately leading to its rightful designation as the "Holy Grail" of all sports cards. Some 117 years ago, no one could remotely fathom that when the great Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner apparently instructed the American Tobacco Company (ATC) to withdraw his subject from T206 cigarette production, it would eventually lead to the most coveted cardboard memento on the planet. This "fresh to the hobby" PSA 1 "Shields Wagner" just happens to feature a Sweet Caporal 150 Subjects/Factory 25 ad back and boasts an overwhelming level of character. One of approximately 60 known T206 Wagner's known to exist (including some un-graded specimens), the combined PSA and SGC census reports list only 55 total encapsulated copies, of which 29 examples (53%) reflect "PR 1 (20) or "Authentic" (9) assessments - truly justifying the severe condition sensitivity of the T206 Wagner.

HISTORY OF THE T206 WAGNER

Who would have thought that when the renowned photographer Carl Horner originally struck this timeless Honus Wagner portrait pose at the turn of the 20th century, the classic image would eventually evolve into the undisputed cornerstone of the illustrious card hobby. Its unwavering presence resides as a sheer symbol of baseball treasure, effectively transcending the captivated fan through a century of time when the immortal Honus Wagner was embarking on a career that would place him as our National Pastime's greatest all-time shortstop. Unfortunately for the collecting community, the T206 Wagner seldom surfaces for the taking, with this esteemed offering the first numerically graded T206 Wagner offered in a public auction at "NO RESERVE" since early 2022. The evolution of the unparalleled recognition associated with the T206 Honus Wagner is the foundation of its uncontested "king of the hill" standing. While certainly scarce, its obscurity is still exceeded by other Wagner cardboard issues claiming less copies. Yet, these rarer issues cannot remotely compete with the immense values and mystique affiliated with any T206 Wagner, let alone an example revealing a numerical grade. The painstaking desire to capture one of these exalted keepsakes originates from its celebrated ATC extinction, with several ambiguous tales linked to its early termination. Allegedly, Honus Wagner's contempt for the ATC utilizing his image to promote a tobacco product provoked him to have the card "pulled" from production. Yet, Wagner was noted for utilizing tobacco products, and as the story goes, it was his utmost disdain for promoting cigarettes to children that truly prompted him to have the ATC terminate his T206 subject. Sound evidence relating to Wagner withdrawing his T206 card stems from an article written in the Sporting News Magazine on October 4, 1912, whereby Wagner was sent a letter by a local representative to sign a form providing his consent to be included in the T206 set. Wagner provided a return letter to the representative stating he did not want his picture to be used in the set, as well as including a $10 check addressed to the representative, John Gruber, to compensate him for the money he would have received had Wagner granted his permission. Some 43 years later, a similar article printed in the December 6, 1955, Cleveland Plain Dealer documented the original story, stating that Gruber never cashed the $10 check while opting to frame it for reasons of historical significance. Due to Wagner's refusal to sign the permission form, the initial ATC 150 subject printings did not include Wagner's subject; yet inexplicably, the ATC decided to affix his image on their later issued Sweet Caporal 150 Subjects, Factory 25 or 30 issues. Fully aware that Sweet Caporal cigarette packs included his T206 subject, Wagner rigidly instructed the ATC to terminate his card's distribution. The legacy of the immortal T206 Wagner rarity was now officially born, with any example a "global" centerpiece attraction extending far beyond the baseball card collecting community.

PRICING TRENDS & INVESTMENT POTENTIAL

Little did hobbyists realize that when a T206 Wagner sold for $25,000 at a Long Island New York sports card shop in 1985, the Wagner card would embark on an unprecedented journey to not only the top of the baseball card market, but equally significant, boasting investment potential far superior to even the top three stock market indices. This same card eventually found itself in a PSA 8 holder, arguably now worth in excess of $50 million! The undisputed "Holy Grail" of our illustrious hobby, the T206 Wagner is the quintessential sports card, and its unlimited investment potential is easily justified by the lofty escalating pricing points for all grading levels.

Simply stated, the same Wagner card has NEVER sold for less than its previous public sale, while experiencing some extraordinary pricing upticks in a short period of time. It is not only the "Creme de la Creme" from a sports card collecting perspective, but more significantly, standing tall from an investment viewpoint versus the major stock market indices for which a graph has been provided. Utilizing the 2010 sale ($282K) of a PSA 1 Wagner as a starting point, over a 12-year period, the PSA 1 Wagner has immensely outperformed the three major stock indices. The last public sale of a PSA 1 Wagner was $3,137K in 2022 - a staggering 1012% increase. Over that same 12-year period, the DOW JONES (246%), S&P 500 (307%) and heavy technology-based NASDAQ (586%), have not even approached the lucrative ROI (Return on Investment) of the T206 Wagner. While an abundance of even the most affluent stocks are subject to periods of volatility (up and down value swings and/or "corrections"), amazingly, the T206 Wagner has never experienced a market value correction. A bona fide "sure thing", sales for any professionally graded examples boast an upside path of staggering proportions, with the separate graphs (by grade) substantiating its irrefutable future prosperity. Key points for the various grades are as follows:

"AUTHENTIC" - An "Authentic" T206 Wagner realized $420K in 2018, with another "Authentic" example selling for $1,170K in 2020 - a 179% increase. Five years later (2025), an "Authentic Restored" copy (reflecting major restoration) would fetch $1,980K - a 69% jump since 2020 and a remarkable 371% increase since 2018 - a short five-year window.

PSA PR 1 - To reiterate, utilizing the 2010 sale ($282K) of a PSA 1 Wagner as a starting point, over a 12-year period, the PSA 1 Wagner has immensely outperformed the three major stock indices. The last public sale of a PSA 1 Wagner was $3,137K in 2022 - a staggering 1012% increase.

PSA FR 1.5 - The exact same PSA 1.5 that sold for $2,280K in 2021, re-sold the following year (2022) in a Goldin Auction for $3,720K - a whopping $1,440K or 63% increase in a single year.

GOOD 2 - In 2012, a GD 2 example sold for $655K, with another GD 2 specimen nine years later publicly selling for $3,752K - a 473% increase. Only a year later, a private sale would see another GD 2 T206 Wagner fetch an extraordinary $7,500K - shockingly exceeding the prior year sale by a full 100% and a remarkable 1045% since 2012.

VG 3 - In 2012, a VG 3 sold for $1,232K, with another VG example some eight years later fetching $3,700K - a 200% increase. Even more impressive is that the following year (2021) would see the same VG 3 that sold for $1,232 in 2012 nail down $6,600K - an astonishing $2,900K or 78% jump in a single year and $5,368K or 436% increase since 2012.

PSA EX 5-MC (Jumbo Wagner) - The first sale of the historic PSA 5 (MC) Jumbo Wagner was in 2008 for $1,620K, with its second re-sale in 2016 nailing down $3,190K - a 97% increase.

CONDITION RELATED ISSUES (AESTHTEICS)

As previously stated, more than half the professionally graded T206 Wagner's reveal "1" or "Authentic" assessments, plagued by a myriad of unsightly flaws damaging the integrity of the critical central image. This extremely well-centered example, while certainly exhibiting numerous scattered creases and general surface wear, still portrays a bright portrait pose of the 1936 HOF Charter Member. Fine clarity and contrast literally bring the Honus image to life, and the sunburst orange background has retained most of its original vibrant hue. The classic brown colored "PITTSBURG" text affixed across Wagner's Steel City flannels and the lower border caption reading "WAGNER, PITTSBURG" are completely intact, with the rounded corners essentially providing an eye-pleasing uniformity. Accounting for the assessment are several scattered creases including one running from the left to right edge directly through the upper portion of Carl Horner's timeless portrait pose (near the top of Wagner's head). Other stray wrinkles are apparent beneath his chin and the PITTSBURG logo as well as diagonal creases near the two upper corners and above Wagner's right ear. There is some modest surface chipping near the upper right edge, and aside from some standard mild toning, the borders have eluded any unsightly soling/foxing. Most significantly, the "charming" Wagner image originally struck by Carl Horner in the early 1900's exhibits a superb level of character that "steals the show", with the HOF shortstop's celebrated facial features successfully eluding any notable blemishes. The image's iconic presence prompted various other manufacturers to utilize it for their likewise popular Honus cardboard issues including his 1903-04 W600 Sporting Life Cabinet, 1906 Fan Craze, 1910 E103 Williams Caramel; 1910 Tip Top Bread; 1910 E90-2 American Caramel; 1910 Nadja Caramel and 1911 M116 Sporting Life subjects. Along with the 1952 Topps Mantle "bat over shoulder" illustration, no other sports card image can compete with the momentous T206 Wagnr pose that has set the pinnacle benchmark for the card hobby. The final "thumbs up" is a fully intact Sweet Caporal 150 Subjects - Factory 25 ad back, somewhat compromised by the previously mentioned creases, yet still revealing all the original advertisement via its bold red verbiage. From an aesthetics perspective, the attractive Wagner illustration retains a reasonable proportion of its original integrity, arguably standing as one of the finer low-grade copies extant. Gazing at this cardboard masterpiece could feasibly inspire anyone to crave the thought of rushing to a local "mom & pop" store to open a pack of baseball cards, for its mere presence ignites an unquenchable thirst to feel young once again - the same feeling the Shield's esteemed grandfather felt in 1909 when he first secured this tobacco gem.

CLOSING COMMENTS

This newly discovered "Shields Wagner" extends far beyond the American sports card hobby and joins other T206 Wagner's as a global commodity, with its fortunate new owner immediately becoming part of a distinguished "Collecting Club." As the aforementioned pricing analysis clearly supports, from an investment perspective, any T206 Honus Wagner immediately presents itself as a "sure thing." The same T206 Wagner has never re-sold for less than its prior pricing point, and its 21st century soaring pricing trends have clearly outperformed the major stock market indices including the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P500. Safe to say, this extraordinary offering "knows no pricing boundaries", and while the most advanced economists cannot forecast the future with 100% accuracy, this magnificent tobacco heirloom unquestionably resides as one of the world's most solidified assets. Both collectors and investors painstaking pursue any possible example, especially one bearing a numerical grade with bona fide historical provenance - a highly popular feature for any extremely valuable sports card. An unparalleled "trophy piece" for the most sophisticated hobbyists, its sheer existence echoes through eternity, residing as a steadfast symbol of America's favorite pastime. How often does a conversation amongst the most renowned collectors conjure up the question - "Do you or have you ever owned a Wagner?", with now being the perfect opportunity to finally answer via a resounding 'YES." A "Rembrandt-like" offering certainly worthy of the highest accolades, whether it is for purposes of seizing one of the planet's finest investment prospects or simply possessing the T206 Wagner "Holy Grail" as your star attraction, you are merely a final bid away from achieving one of the ultimate collecting milestones. In closing, this classic quote appropriately summarizes the legacy of this extraordinary tobacco discovery: "For anyone who has owned a Wagner, no words are necessary, and for those passionate collectors who haven't, no words could ever be truly adequate!"

Final Bid with Buyer's Premium (22%): $5,124,000