One of the most famous and valuable baseball cards is the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card. Produced between 1909-1911 as part of American Tobacco Company’s trademark cigarette series known as T206, it is widely considered the rarest and most coveted card in the sport. What makes the Honus Wagner card so rare is that Wagner demanded his card be removed from production because he did not want to promote tobacco to children. Only a small number had been printed before being pulled, estimating production between 50-200 copies in existence today. In recent years, examples that have received high grades from reputable grading services like PSA or BGS have sold for record prices. In 2016, a PSA NM-MT 8 copy sold for $3.12 million, setting a new record. In 2021, a PSA Gem Mint 9.5 graded card was auctioned off by Heritage Auctions for $6.6 million, making it the most valuable baseball card ever sold.

Besides the Honus Wagner T206 card, other early 20th century tobacco era cards that have cracked the million dollar mark include a 1909-11 T206 card of pitcher Walter Johnson. Considered the top left-hander of his era alongside Wagner, a high-grade PSA 8 Johnson sold in 2007 for $996,000, setting a record for any non-Wagner T206 at the time. Other T206 cards that have sold over $1 million are ones featuring pitcher Christy Mathewson and outfielder Sherry Magee. For non-T206 cards, a rare 1909 Erie Caramel E80 card of Ty Cobb became the first pre-war card to break $1 million when one graded PSA 8 sold in 2016 for $1.32 million.

Moving into the modern post-war era, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is one of the most iconic rookie cards of all-time. Mickey Mantle went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees and is still revered as one of the game’s all-time great switch hitters and sluggers. The ’52 Topps Mantle rookie has risen to be the most valuable post-war card as high grades have commanded huge prices. In 2021, a PSA 9 copy shattered records when it sold for $5.2 million. Just a year prior, another PSA 9 Mantle rookie brought in $4.2 million at auction in January 2020. Those sales eclipsed the previous high mark of $3.12 million paid for a PSA 10 ‘Mantle rookie in 2016, showing the steady rise in value.

Aside from the Mickey Mantle, other post-war rookie cards that have eclipsed the million dollar threshold include the 1958 Topps rookie of Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. Considered one of the greatest left-handed pitchers ever, a high-grade PSA 9 of his rookie sold for $1.29 million in 2020. The 1952 Topps rookie card of Duke Snider, a legendary Brooklyn Dodgers center fielder, has also cracked seven figures before. A PSA 8.5 grade copy sold at auction in 2018 for $1.01 million. The 1933 Goudey Sport Kings rookie of Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, famous for his screwball pitching, hit $1.47 million when a PSA 7 copy sold in 2012. The 1957 Topps rookie of Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson achieved $1.08 million for a PSA 9 copy back in 2018.

As you can clearly see from the prices achieved, the rarest and highest graded examples from the earliest baseball card sets like T206 tobacco issue as well as prestigious rookie cards of all-time great players tend to be the ones that shatter records and consistently rank as the most valuable baseball cards in the collecting hobby. Whether its the ultra-rare Honus Wagner, the iconic Mantle rookie, or significant cards of other legends like Cobb, Koufax and Snider, condition sensitive vintage and antique cards are where the big money resides in the 7-figure realm. As long as there is demand from wealthy collectors, prices for the best conditioned and hardest to acquire specimens will likely continue appreciating substantially over time like seen with these record sales.