Baseball cards have long held a special place in the hearts of collectors due to their nostalgic feel and ability to transport fans back to memorable eras of the sport. While most cards hold little monetary value, some of the rarest examples that feature legendary players from baseball’s early days have shattered auction records by selling for millions of dollars. Here are the details on some of the priciest baseball cards ever purchased at auction.
1909 T206 Honus Wagner – $6.6 Million
The undisputed king of all baseball cards is the ultra-rare 1909 T206 Honus Wagner, of which it’s believed only 50-200 were even printed by the American Tobacco Company. In October 2021, serial entrepreneur and collector Ken Kendrick paid a whopping $6.6 million through Goldin Auctions to acquire a PSA NJC/Authentic grade 1.5 example of this fabled card. What makes it so desirable is that Honus Wagner, angry that his likeness was being used to promote tobacco, is said to have demanded his card be pulled, rendering it amongst the most elusive in the hobby. Even in low grade, it shattered all prior baseball card auction records and put this Wagner card firmly out of reach except for the ultra-wealthy.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle – $5.2 Million
The first card of Yankee Clipper Mickey Mantle’s legendary career with the New York Yankees, the 1952 Topps Mantle is arguably the most famous post-WWII baseball card. On August 27, 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a PSA EX-MT 6 example that had been freshly slabbed just days prior for a staggering $5.2 million, making it the new most valuable post-war card. What gives it such allure is that Mantle went on to have a Hall of Fame career and is still considered one of the game’s greatest switch hitters and sluggers. Fewer are believed to exist in high grade compared to the Wagner, fueling serious collector demand.
1909 T206 Napoleon Lajoie – $3.12 Million
While not quite in Wagner and Mantle’s league, the ultra-rare 1909 T206 Nap Lajoie still fetched an impressive $3.12 million when sold by Heritage Auctions on August 18, 2018. Graded PSA Authentic, this example of the Philadelphia Athletics second baseman and future Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie was only the third highest graded known and could very well be one of the 50 examples known to exist. Like the other early tobacco cards, its scarcity and association to one of the games original stars drove the final auction price into the multi-million range.
1909 T206 Eddie Plank – $2.88 Million
Long considered one of the nicer looking early tobacco cards due to Plank’s focused image, an example of the 1909 T206 Philadelphia A’s ace pitcher Eddie Plank achieved the at the time second highest price paid for a single card when it hammered for $2.88 million in a January 2013 auction conducted by SCP Auctions. The sale surpassed the previous record amount of $1.26 million also paid for a T206 Plank less than a year prior, a testament to this particular card’s strong condition and visuals compared to what else was known. Graded PSA NM-MT 8, it highlights the enormous values that can be achieved by high quality examples from this ultra-premium tobacco issue.
1909 T206 Joe DiMaggio – $2.8 Million
While not the first card of Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio’s career, his appearance in the prestigious 1909-11 T206 set as a member of the minor league San Francisco Seals helped drive one example to become only the third tobacco card at the time to break the $2 million mark. On January 28, 2021, Collectible.com and Hunt Auctions sold an exceptionally well-preserved PSA NM-MT 8 graded DiMaggio for a final price of $2.8 million, showing the enduring appeal of this early DiMaggio issue nearly 75 years after his final MLB season.
1952 Topps Willie Mays – $2.88 Million
Selling for $2.88 million via Goldin Auctions on January 24, 2021, this particular example of Willie Mays’ breathtakingly captured rookie card became not only the most valuable of the legendary center fielder commonly referred to as ‘The Say Hey Kid,’ but the most valuable post-1950 card ever sold to that point. Like Mantle’s 1952 Topps, it was recently encapsulated and near pristine with strong eye appeal. Mays went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the New York and San Francisco Giants and remains one of the best all-around players in baseball history.
T206 Ty Cobb Back – $1.84 Million
While examples of Ty Cobb’s 1909-11 T206 tobacco card in standard orientation have sold for hundreds of thousands before, one with his image on the rear shattered expectations by achieving over $1.84 million when it crossed the auction block on January 9, 2021 via Heritage’s FUN auction. The cards dual image and in-your-face portrait of Cobb substantially increased its collector demand for the sole example known of its kind. As one of history’s greatest hitters and ferocious competitors, any Cobb issue remains a top priority for serious vintage baseball investors.
It’s clear from these astronomical sales that the upper tiers of the vintage baseball card market have reached astounding new heights in recent years due to a combination of increased collector interest, greater recognition of cards as alternative investments, and fewer truly high quality examples still around today from over a century ago. With rarities continuing to trade hands privately for even more money, this emerging class of vintage cardboard millionaires seems poised only to grow. While fantasizing about finding a long-lost Wagner or 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is part of the fun, these stories at least preserve an important part of baseball’s nostalgic heritage for posterity.
