T206 Honus Wagner Uncut Proof
This unique uncut proof strip of T206 cards is one of card
collecting's greatest prizes, as the
strip includes the famous T206 Honus Wagner card. The five
cards on the strip, from left to right, are: Mordecai Brown,
Honus Wagner, Frank Bowerman, Cy Young, and Johnny Kling.
The T206 Wagner is legendary not only for its rarity, but also
because of the story surrounding the card's origins. Reports have
been published claiming that there are as few as eight, or as
many as several hundred T206 Wagners. In fact, there are
approximately fifty known authentic examples of the card.
Honus Wagner refused to allow the tobacco companies to include
him in the set because he specifically did not want his
picture to be packaged with cigarettes. This famous legend is
actually verified by period documentation, including an
article that appeared in the October 24,1912 edition of The
Sporting News detailing the circumstances of Wagner's refusal
to be included in the set. The T206 Wagner card has been
revered as the most desirable baseball card in the world since
the beginning of organized collecting.
When the American Card Catalogue was first
published in the 1930's, it listed the value of the other cards from
the T206 set as thirty-five cents, but even at that time it listed the
T206 Honus Wagner card at fifty dollars. The hobby's second most
valuable card, the 1933 Lajoie #106, listed for one dollar in the
same guide. The famous Copeland / Gretzky-McNall / Gidwitz Wagner, the
only example in mint condition, holds the sale record for a
baseball card, last selling at auction in 1996 for $640,500. This
is the only proof strip of T206 cards known to exist. Of special
note is the fact that this strip of cards was actually found many
years ago in the attic of Honus Wagner's old house by the new
owners, along with various personal effects, including
correspondence and uniforms. It is likely that the tobacco
companies sent this strip to Honus in a special effort to try to
convince him to cooperate with their plans to include him in the
T206 set. The strip has printers proof marks on the borders of
each card, and a blank reverse, in fair condition due to numerous heavy
creases.
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Periodical - Honus Wagner T206 Proof Strip Won By 15 Years Old
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