Random Card of the Day |
Monday, January 14, 2008Year: 1909-11 Set: American Tobacco Company T206 White Border (Rate) Ok, well first a confession... Although this section is called “Random Card of the Day”, this card was actually not selected at random. No, we're not trying to pull a fast one. It just seemed only proper that the first card chosen for this segment be the granddaddy of them all – the legendary Honus Wagner T206 card. This card saw a whole lot of action last year. The most famous version of the card (dubbed the Gretzky T206 Wagner because it was once partially owned by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky) was sold in February 2007 for a record $2.35 million. The same card was sold 7 years earlier for $1.27 million. Nice investment return. Then in September 2007, the card changed hands again, as it was sold for $2.8 million. What makes this card so special? Well, Mr. Wagner is certainly a legend in his own right. Widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players to ever live - elected into the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, but the real appeal of this card comes in its scarcity. The card, appearing in cigarette packs from various brands between 1909 and 1911, saw a limited production run, as it was pulled at the request of Honus Wagner himself. There are several theories as to why this is this is so, ranging from the humanitarian - that being a non-smoker, he didn't want to be associated with tobacco products or have children buying cigarette packs to get his card, to the monetary - that he wasn’t happy with the amount of the cut he was getting from the tobacco company. Well, whatever the reason, this card remains the most valuable card of cards and an icon of the card collecting hobby and will undoubtedly continue to break records and make headlines for years to come. We will return next time with an actual “random” card. For real this time. |
