A rare trading card of Pirates legend Honus Wagner was purchased for a record-shattering price.
The 1909-1911 T206 Wagner card sold for $7.25 million, Goldin Auctions said Thursday after the private transaction took place, setting a record for a trading card. The old record was $6.6 million, another T206 Wagner that sold in August 2021.
The card is considered the rarest baseball card in the world, USA Today reports.
“It’s the flag-bearer for the industry, especially for cards,” Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions told USA Today. “Anybody that gets into the hobby and has money, it’s a status symbol.”
The buyer and seller chose to stay anonymous, USA Today reported.
???? BREAKING: Goldin Shatters Record for Most Expensive Trading Card Ever With $7.25 Million Private Sale of Honus Wagner T-206 Card ????
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) August 4, 2022
The T-206 Wagner is one of the undisputed pinnacles of trading cards, with fewer than 50 authenticated copies on earth.https://t.co/0UwSHKLSFx pic.twitter.com/bs4WpAJqq9
There are fewer than 50 authenticated T206 Wagner cards, often referred to as the Mona Lisa of trading cards, in the world.
Wagner's was among the first of hundreds of cards of MLB players produced by the American Tobacco Co. and included in packages of cigarettes. Unlike other players, however, Wagner quickly demanded that his card be withdrawn. Theories vary as to why, including that he was adamantly opposed to smoking. Another theory was that he didn't believe American Tobacco paid him enough.
Before the back-to-back records set by the Wagner cards, a Mickey Mantle Topps card from 1952 and in mint condition had the record for price, selling for $5.2 million in January 2021.
First Published: August 5, 2022, 10:59 a.m.
