Legendary baseball card -- T206 Honus Wagner

Written by Keith Sharon, The Orange County Register (February 28, 2007)
Picture taken by Sang H. Park, The Orange County Register (February 28, 2007)

Cost of the card

YEAR	PRICE	OWNER
Sept. 2007	$2.8 million	Private Collector
Feb. 2007	$2.35 million	Private California Sports Collector in Partnership With SCP Auctions Inc.
2000	$1.26 million	Brian Seigel, Tustin
1996 *	$640,000	Michael Gidwitz, Chicago
1995	$500,000 (estimated)	Treat Entertainment Co.
1991	$451,000	Wayne Gretzky/Bruce McNall, Los Angeles
1987	$110,000	James Copeland, San Luis Obispo
1986	$25,000	Bill Mastro, Willowbrook, Ill.

*In a 1995 promotional sale of baseball cards through Wal-Mart, a woman named Patricia Gibbs won the card. She auctioned it, and Gidwitz bought it.

What makes this card valuable
The highest price ever paid for a collectible baseball card was announced February 26, 2007 after a Laguna Niguel man and an anonymous partner who lives in Orange County bought it from a former Tustin resident for $2.35 million. The card, showing turn-of-the-century star Honus Wagner, is about the size of an adult's thumb. It was printed on cardboard and issued by a cigarette maker in 1909.

Why the card is so valuable
Excellent condition -- Though a century old, it is mostly unmarked by time or use. Professional graders rate it twice as good as the next best Wagner card of the time.

Comparative scarcity -- Wagner limited the number of cards with his picture. Legends about the reason for this vary. He may have had second thoughts about promoting smoking, or he may have been angry about getting too little money from the manufacturer.

Player's status -- In 1936, Wagner was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Fullerton-raised Walter Johnson.

Expanding market -- The number of wealthy collectors has grown, so this Honus Wagner T-206 card – unique in its pristine condition – is considered the most desirable baseball card ever printed.