According to Dan Good of the the New York Post, Honus Wagner's rare T206 baseball card sold for $2.1 million at an auction Saturday morning to an unknown buyer.
That's a new record price tag for a card at a public sale, besting the $1.6 million for the same card back in 2008. The same year, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick bought the Wagner card for $2.8 million from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky at a private sale.
Indeed, that's a lot greenbacks for a baseball card, but as our own Kevin Kaduk said when the card sold for a relative bargain $1.2 million last April, it's the "Holy Grail" of baseball cards. Perhaps the rarest you'll find. And each time one hits the market the demands seems to only get higher.
Here's Good explaining the card's significance a little further in his report:
The card's story contributes to its legacy. T206 series cards were featured in cigarette packs, a precursor to bubble gum cards and today's high-gloss, high-end releases.
For some reason, Wagner's cards were pulled from packaging. Legend persists that Wagner railed against his card being included with cigarettes (he didn't want to encourage children to smoke) - but he may have also been miffed over his compensation from card manufacturer American Tobacco Company.
Good specifies that he believes only 50 to 100 copies of the card exist in different variations. The one sold on Saturday is considered a "Jumbo" because the edges are 1/16 inches larger than standard cards. That likely makes the card a little more rare, though it's not said how many of each variation are believed to exist.
Regardless, the T206 was the main event of the items up for sale at Goldin Auctions' April 5 sale. You can check out some of the other items, including a baseball signed by Honus Wagner, by visiting their website.
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