honus wagner

Honus Wagner Card Earns Thousands For Nuns' Good Works

Last month we learned that a rare Honus Wagner baseball card was up for sale. The Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame put the card up for sale. The card is part of the T206 series, produced between 1909 and 1911. The T206 Honus Wagner, was made by the American Tobacco Company in 1909. Part of the mythology surrounding this legendary collectible is that Honus Wagner himself didn't want his image to be used to sell tobacco and stopped production of his card.

The card that the Roman Catholic nuns were auctioning off through Heritage Auctions was in poor condition and only expected to bring in between $150,000 and $200,000. The card sold for $262,900. Antiques Trader reports that the winning bidder is a card shop owner who was touched by the story and bought the card even though the total price was probably more than the damaged card was worth. Heritage Auctions also donated its standard 15 percent seller's commission to the cause, as well. Money earned will benefit the nuns' ministries in 35 countries around the world.

The nuns came into possession of the card because the brother of a nun who died in 1999 left all his possessions to the order when he died earlier this year. The man's lawyer told the nuns that he had a Honus Wagner card in a safe-deposit box. Inside the box they found the card along with a note that said: "Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!" The man had owned the card since 1936. In February 2007, a 'near mint-mint' Honus Wagner sold for $2.8 million.

The Heritage Auctions' Signature Sports Collectibles Auction on November 4 and 5 also included the sale of a New York Yankees home jersey worn by Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig during his first MVP season. It sold for $717,000, the highest price ever paid at auction for New York Yankees pinstripes.

Tags: baseball collectibles, baseball memorabilia, Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, new york, New York Yankees, sports memorabilia

Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card Is A Boon For Nuns

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Sports

Whenever a Honus Wagner baseball card comes up for sale it always makes news. This time the sale of a version of the rare card is even more intriguing because of who is selling, the Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame. In February 2007, a 'near mint-mint' Honus Wagner sold for $2.8 million. The card that the Roman Catholic nuns are auctioning off is in poor condition and so it is only expected to bring in between $150,000 and $200,000. Money earned will benefit their ministries in 35 countries around the world.

The card is part of the T206 series, produced between 1909 and 1911 and only around 60 Wagner cards. The T206 Honus Wagner, was made by the American Tobacco Company in 1909. Part of the mythology surrounding this legendary collectible is that Honus Wagner himself didn't want his image to be used to sell tobacco and stopped production of his card.

The nuns came into possession of the card because the brother of a nun who died in 1999 left all his possessions to the order when he died earlier this year. The man's lawyer told the nuns that he had a Honus Wagner card in a safe-deposit box. Inside the box they found the card along with a note that said: "Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!" The man had owned the card since 1936.

The card has a large crease in the upper right-hand corner, and three of the white borders have been cut off. The card was also laminated. But even in this condition the card will be very attractive to sports memorabilia collectors. Wagner played for 21 seasons, 18 of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was one of the five original inductees into baseball's Hall of Fame.

As the stories of the nuns and their find have circulated around the internet over the last few days, the bids on the auction have steadily climbed. As of Wednesday afternoon, bidding at Heritage Auction Galleries was up to $160,000. The card is up for auction on November 4 and it is looking like it may sell for above the estimate.

Tags: baseball cards, honus wagner, rare baseball card

The World of Rare Baseball Cards: Honus Wagner Still Highest Priced

by Amey Stone (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Wikipedia still reports it as one of the seminal moments in the trading card collecting field: In February, 2007, a 'near mint-mint' Honus Wagner sold for $2.3 million. At that point it was probably the highest sale a baseball card in history.

Then, in September last year, the same card was sold again. This time it went for $2.8 million to a private collector.

The card in question, a T206 Honus Wagner, was made by the American Tobacco Company in 1909. There are estimated to be fewer than 100 in existence. This card was once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky and has been called the 'Mona Lisa of Baseball cards.' It may be so rare because Honus Wagner himself didn't want his image to be used to sell tobacco and stopped production of the his card, or at least that's part of the mythology surrounding the famous card.

Honus Wagner was a shortstop who played in the major leagues from 1897 to 1917. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, receiving more votes than Babe Ruth. He is considered by many baseball historians to be the greatest shortstop of all time.

Tags: baseball, Honus Wagner, HonusWagner, Rarest, trading cards, TradingCards