Is a Honus Wagner baseball card really the most valuable card in the world?

Answer 1

Brian Seigel bought a Honus Wagner card in 2000 for $1,265,000 and sold it in February, 2007, for $2,350,000.

AnswerActually, Honus Wagner is not the most valuable Baseball card because a few weeks ago ( right now it's December 19 2007 ) a family found an authentic Babe Ruth rookie card, and I am not talking about the ones on eBay that ARE fake. The family sold the Babe Ruth rookie card for $3,000,000.

Answer 2

This will COMPLETELY depend on WHICH Wagner card you're referring to. For example, the most valuable and rare (possibly) card in rare baseball card existance is the 1909-1911 T-206 tobacco card of Wagner, which is so rare since Honus was against smoking, and he basically had the plate destroyed (I think, unless that was Eddie Plank, but I thought that was the printing plate that broke).

Those particular super-rare cards have sold indeed in the MILLIONS of U.S. dollar-ranges. I'm not sure as to how many millions, but the ones getting THAT MUCH have also been 100% authenticated, graded professionally, and have usually also been a part of a noteworthy (very WEALTHY man's) person's (lifetime) collection. Many times, at the auction, usually held by a company such as Christie's, a high-dollar, reputable, and "expensive" but VERY popular auction-"house" (auctioneers), the Wagner (or another high-dollar and rare, valuable sports card, etc) will be accompanied with the name and information of the collection in which it came from, thus giving it slightly more of a value in some peoples' minds. I think of it as more of a way to see where the card came from last, and to be able to possibly track it back even further before that collector owned it. And I also think of it as a kind-of "snooty-rich-person's way of almost "branding" it"...but hey, whatever works!

The LESSER-quality Honus Wagner T-206 tobacco cards still get probably near what the Beckett Baseball Monthly price guide will suggest it should get, and I believe Beckett now lists this card, with a notation that it won't be in even "near-Mint" (likely for about "Excellent condition" and no better) at around $250,000. That's in the "high" column, meant for Dealers to consider pricing their inventory at,while the "low" column is also for Dealers but is about 1/2 or less the "high" column and is basically meant to say not to pay more than that amount if you want to still make a profit and stay in business. This is especially true since nowadays, sports cards have taken a HUGE DIVE in their value and even collectibility (to some extent, anyhow.... and the collectibility might just "pop" back up, especially if the economy does any progressing on a BIG scale! After all, collecting sports cards, or anything else of value or not, is a LUXURY, and most luxuries, for the MASS of people, are the first thing to "go" in a bad recession! ...Just like jewelry and items of that kind...)

Lastly, as for any other Honus Wagner card, such as what I believe there is, which COULD BE the/a 19, what, 12, "T-205" tobacco cards with the gold borders and such-- that card, if it exists since Honus didn't want to be featured on cigarette/tobacco products/cards, could be valued in the hundreds of dollars or even thousands if it were in a top-notch condition like anything above "Excellent", especially.

Again, these cards would "need" to be graded, and the best of the graders are probably Beckett (BCCG, BGS, BCGS) & PSA (Professional Sports). And, with a GOOD grade (i.e. "EX" or "Near-Mint"++), they can EASILY get, at auction, or even retail, MORE THAN THE LISTED VALUE IN BECKETT. Beckett's prices usually reflect what the previous month's sales prices were for any particular card, and they usually host some 1.5 million prices! Many prices cannot really be taken with anyhting other than a grain of salt since they may be cards that are listed at a buck or two, and there's almost no way someone will pay even 15% of that, AT AUCTION, usually (MAYBE at retail, but not even have I gotten those kind of prices at MY little retail place! It's TOUGH & COMPETITIVE!! ...but still sortof fun!).

Any other Honus Wagner card that's OLD- meaning "original", might actually be in the 1914 Cracker Jack set, which is a VERY nice, rare, and VALUABLE set, with the "common cards" (unlisted) usually still having a general value ("high" book) of like $400. So, naturally, the Wagner, if it's in that set, or sets similar to that one, will command a price in the hundreds to thousands of dollars, all depending on the condition. All of Wagner's cards can be sort-of considered "rare" or at least "scarce", but indeed, the 1909-11 T-206 tobacco card is the RAREST BASEBALL CARD TODAY (as far as I know, and I'm pretty sure!).

Hope that helps...

BTW, a "newer" honus Wagner card, maybe like the one produced by Fleer in 2004 in Fleer's "Greatest" (similar to the 1960 set, which DOES feature a Honus Wagner, which IS actually affordable, maybe at $20-$75 or more, depending all on condition of course!), will STILL command a "decent" price, such as say, $4 to $6. That's just because after all, Honus Wagner WAS a GREAT baseball player! He's in the HOF, and will always be a HUGE name in the game!

Answer 3

george herman ruth