News

There’s a certain electricity in the air when a T206 Honus Wagner surfaces at auction. It’s not just a baseball card—it’s the baseball card. And once again, Mile High Card Company is putting hobby royalty on the auction block, kicking off its April event with a fresh offering of the most iconic sliver of cardboard the sports world has ever known.

For those who don’t track these things religiously, this is the first public sale of a T206 Wagner since late 2023. That may sound recent, but when you’re talking about a card with fewer than 60 known copies, every appearance feels like a comet sighting. This isn’t Mile High’s first dance with the Wagner, though—they’ve had the honor of selling one six times in the past five years. At this point, they might as well have one on speed dial.

This particular specimen entered the auction with an opening bid of $300,000—a number that most collectors wouldn’t dare say out loud, let alone drop into an online form. By Thursday night, it had already doubled to $600,000, and that’s just a warm-up. With the auction running until later this month, it’s not a matter of if it’ll break into seven figures—it’s a matter of how far it’ll go.

Of course, the Wagner doesn’t show up alone. The auction also features a jaw-dropping lineup of vintage heat, including a fully graded 1952 Topps set. That means a Mickey Mantle rookie, in all its bubble-gum glory, is also lurking among the listings. Rookies, high-grade rarities, complete sets—this auction isn’t pulling any punches.

Now, for a quick detour through history: the T206 Honus Wagner was issued between 1909 and 1911 by the American Tobacco Company as part of its landmark T206 set. Wagner, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, reportedly didn’t want his face hawking tobacco—either due to personal beliefs or a dispute over compensation, depending on which tale you believe. Whatever the reason, production was cut short, and collectors have been chasing ghosts ever since. The card has reached near-mythical status, routinely setting records whenever one appears on the open market.

So, when a Wagner shows up in the wild, it’s not just news—it’s an event. And with Mile High opening the gates once again, the spotlight is firmly back on one of baseball’s most legendary pieces of printed history. Whether you’re bidding or just window shopping, this is a moment worth watching.