BVG 1 Wagner Eclipses $317K
torc
Posts: 341
Story link
or if you don't want to click the link, here is the complete story
The legendary T-206 Honus Wagner card once again flexed its considerable muscle this weekend when the BVG 1 example from the "Beckett T-206 Find" commanded top dollar at a Robert Edward Auction that concluded Saturday night.
The Wagner, the cornerstone card of the 546-card T-206 find, sold for a staggering $317,250 – the highest price ever realized for a low-grade card example (besting the previous record by nearly $125,000). The sale also beat the record for a Grade 2 Wagner, which had previously been $294,337 in December 2006.
"Last year a Grade 8 Wagner sold for $2.8 million – that's more than the salary of any player on this year's Florida Marlins," said Beckett Media president Peter Gudmundsson. "The fact that a card on the low side of the grading spectrum still earned over a quarter of a million dollars is remarkable. The card continues to grow in value, no matter what. The Wagner card is a true piece of Americana that seems completely impervious to economic whims."
In 1979, when Beckett published its first Baseball Price Guide, the Wagner card in Mint Condition was valued at $4,800. A low-grade card would have been valued at approximately $900. The value of the card has steadily climbed in the three decades since, never once posting a decrease in value in recorded sales or in the annual Price Guide.
"The T-206 doesn't mark the birth of the sports trading card, but it comes close" said Dave Sliepka, manager of Beckett Select Auctions, who oversaw Saturday's auction on behalf of the seller. "Baseball cards date back to the 1880s. But the T-206 set has become the iconic set of those early years – and it can be argued that it really launched the mainstream sports trading card hobby. Combine that with scarcity -- there are only 50-60 known Wagner cards on the planet -- and the set has become strangely mythical."
According to Sliepka, the Wagner card that sold on Saturday has an especially unique backstory. It was among a new find of 546 T206 cards which the owner, a non-collector, had brought into Beckett Grading Services' Dallas headquarters in December 2007. Since the seller wishes to remain anonymous, the collection has come to be known as "The Beckett T206 Find."
The cards had originally belonged to the grandfather of the seller. The seller had inherited the cards from his father 20 years ago, who had in turn inherited the collection from his father 15 years prior. He was searching his house for things to sell, as he had fallen on hard times, when he remembered his grandfather's baseball cards, which had been stored in a box in the attic of his home, untouched for decades. Throughout all these years, no one in the family had given the cards any thought, especially with reference to value, and they remained all but forgotten. After the cards were submitted for authentication and grading, Beckett Grading Services immediately made him very aware of the great significance and value of the find.
or if you don't want to click the link, here is the complete story
The legendary T-206 Honus Wagner card once again flexed its considerable muscle this weekend when the BVG 1 example from the "Beckett T-206 Find" commanded top dollar at a Robert Edward Auction that concluded Saturday night.
The Wagner, the cornerstone card of the 546-card T-206 find, sold for a staggering $317,250 – the highest price ever realized for a low-grade card example (besting the previous record by nearly $125,000). The sale also beat the record for a Grade 2 Wagner, which had previously been $294,337 in December 2006.
"Last year a Grade 8 Wagner sold for $2.8 million – that's more than the salary of any player on this year's Florida Marlins," said Beckett Media president Peter Gudmundsson. "The fact that a card on the low side of the grading spectrum still earned over a quarter of a million dollars is remarkable. The card continues to grow in value, no matter what. The Wagner card is a true piece of Americana that seems completely impervious to economic whims."
In 1979, when Beckett published its first Baseball Price Guide, the Wagner card in Mint Condition was valued at $4,800. A low-grade card would have been valued at approximately $900. The value of the card has steadily climbed in the three decades since, never once posting a decrease in value in recorded sales or in the annual Price Guide.
"The T-206 doesn't mark the birth of the sports trading card, but it comes close" said Dave Sliepka, manager of Beckett Select Auctions, who oversaw Saturday's auction on behalf of the seller. "Baseball cards date back to the 1880s. But the T-206 set has become the iconic set of those early years – and it can be argued that it really launched the mainstream sports trading card hobby. Combine that with scarcity -- there are only 50-60 known Wagner cards on the planet -- and the set has become strangely mythical."
According to Sliepka, the Wagner card that sold on Saturday has an especially unique backstory. It was among a new find of 546 T206 cards which the owner, a non-collector, had brought into Beckett Grading Services' Dallas headquarters in December 2007. Since the seller wishes to remain anonymous, the collection has come to be known as "The Beckett T206 Find."
The cards had originally belonged to the grandfather of the seller. The seller had inherited the cards from his father 20 years ago, who had in turn inherited the collection from his father 15 years prior. He was searching his house for things to sell, as he had fallen on hard times, when he remembered his grandfather's baseball cards, which had been stored in a box in the attic of his home, untouched for decades. Throughout all these years, no one in the family had given the cards any thought, especially with reference to value, and they remained all but forgotten. After the cards were submitted for authentication and grading, Beckett Grading Services immediately made him very aware of the great significance and value of the find.
0
Comments
Also kind of cute that the card was his grandfathers and he found it in the attic.
<< <i>
The cards had originally belonged to the grandfather of the seller. The seller had inherited the cards from his father 20 years ago, who had in turn inherited the collection from his father 15 years prior. He was searching his house for things to sell, as he had fallen on hard times, when he remembered his grandfather's baseball cards, which had been stored in a box in the attic of his home, untouched for decades. Throughout all these years, no one in the family had given the cards any thought, especially with reference to value, and they remained all but forgotten. After the cards were submitted for authentication and grading, Beckett Grading Services immediately made him very aware of the great significance and value of the find. >>
If somebody came on this board and posted that story, they'd get chewed up and spit out, and rightfully so.
I guess the bidders of that card don't read this board.
Part of me is suspicious of this card based on a story like that.
<< <i>Hatters >>
What exactly is a hatter?
<< <i>Hatters >>
I hatt it because it's not mine.
What collectors dont know is the T206 is actually one of Wagner's more common cards from his playing days with an est. 50-65 known examples survive today.
<< <i>
<< <i>Hatters >>
What exactly is a hatter? >>
Do a search.
There is no denying that .
I'm going to find oldie that is going to give me that card like that one day . . . or even better !
I have this vision in my head and it never goes away , so it must ne true
<< <i>It is amazing .
There is no denying that .
I'm going to find oldie that is going to give me that card like that one day . . . or even better !
I have this vision in my head and it never goes away , so it must ne true
Chances are good there are probably some stashed away in long forgotten crevices in the attics of old houses. Some will be found, and some will never be found.
John
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
<< <i>What is there to be 'suspicious' about? You see the card.
John >>
It was graded by BVG instead of PSA, and it comes with the familiar "grandfather" story that we read about all the time on Ebay.
It'll fit right in with the rest of my collection.
I wish...
"I have this vision in my head and it never goes away , so it must ne true " >>
"Chances are good there are probably some stashed away in long forgotten crevices in the attics of old houses. Some will be found, and some will never be found."
True indeed , there has to be at least a few more undiscovered collections out there , some as you say though will never be found , they will be thrown away as just some old pictures by people that are looking for green or gold and that is it .
I don't think Beckett would risk their rep without making sure this is legit. This is a high profile auction and everyone would know if they goofed.
Considering when these cards were produced, someone's grandfather must have these cards.
<< Hatters >>
What exactly is a hatter? >>
Do a search.
Don't know what Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter have to do with a Wagner, but here he is.
<< <i><< Hatters >>
What exactly is a hatter? >>
Do a search.
Don't know what Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter have to do with a Wagner, but here he is. >>
Obviously nothing.. Gio had spelled it this way awhile back and since a few people used the word to be funny if you will. when I said do a search I meant within the CU forum. Sorry for any misunderstandings.
Nice eye appeal and great color.
Kinda makes you ignore all the other flaws.
Everyone knows Beckett is for new stuff.......... SGC is for old stuff............. PSA is for the set registry clowns who collect slabs and flips
<< <i>PSA graded the Wagner that all the hobby experts agree was trimmed or cut from a strip. >>
All hobby experts? I mean, I know there's some consipracy theories going on regarding those allegations but is there any hard evidence supporting that claim? Sort of like all the left-wingers or other enviromentalists who try to claim that all the scientists agree that global warming is our fault and we're doomed (remember the tropical rain forest and ozone hole scares in the early 90s?). My point is that I'm quite skeptical at most any claim that says "all" are in agreement, because it probably is not true.
D's: 50P,49S,45D+S,43D,41S,40D,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 241,435,610,654 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
95 Ultra GM Sets: Golden Prospects,HR Kings,On-Base Leaders,Power Plus,RBI Kings