T206 Honus Wagner Card In Poor Condition Sells For $1.4 Million

Need further proof that the sports collectible card market is blazing hot right now? A rare T206 Honus Wagner in poor condition sold at auction Monday for $1,426,800. The sale price set a record for a Wagner card rated PR-FR 1, which is at the bottom of the PSA card grading scale.

As of 2015, there were just 57 Wagner T206 cards known to exist. It's believed that between 60 and 200 Wagner cards were produced between 1909 and 1911.

"Production of the card was cut short due to a dispute between Wagner and American Tobacco," Khristi Zimmeth reported in 2015. "The exact reason for this has become something of legend, but it has been widely accepted to be one of two scenarios. The first suggests that Wagner, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, didn’t want his likeness used to market tobacco. He didn't like the idea of how it might encourage kids to use tobacco. The second, and more probable, is that Wagner felt entitled to compensation from the American Tobacco Company for the use of his name and likeness to market their product."

Goldin Auctions, which held the Wagner auction, reported 1,900 lots were sold in its October Legends Auction, bringing in over $16 million in sales.