When I got into collecting T206s in 2010, I remember thinking Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie were priced lower than I would have expected based on their status as all-time greats. It didn’t take too long for me to get acclimated to “the way it is” in the T206 marketplace, and I kind of forgot about that notion for a number of years.
It seems something interesting is happening with Collins’ T206 lately, at least in higher grade. Back in June, a PSA 5 Old Mill Eddie Collins sold for $1,302 in a PWCC auction. It caught my attention because I owned the same card not too long ago. I sold it back in December 2017, for $689. That’s a pretty big price jump in just six months. My price wasn’t crazy low either. I think the card sat in my eBay store for three or four months before it sold. A similar (and arguably nicer) PSA 5 Old Mill sold for $700 on eBay in February 2017.
A similar thing happened with a Collins Sovereign 350. On August 12, 2018 a PSA 5 sold for $1,327, also via PWCC auction. Back in November of 2016, Heritage sold a different PSA 5 Sovereign 350 for just $454. In my opinion both cards are equally nice.
Obviously, two cards selling for surprisingly high prices doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend. However, it does appear that some Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backed examples have followed, at least to some extent. Back in April 2018, a PSA 5 Piedmont 350 sold via Buy It Now on eBay for $850, which is $183 more than the closest sale I could find on VCP. A PSA 3.5 Piedmont 350 sold for $390 on eBay three weeks ago. There’s no recorded sale on VCP that comes close.
So, is this a legitimate trend, or something else? I’m skeptical of the recent PSA 5 Sovereign 350 and Old Mill sale prices, but I do think we’re seeing an increase in value that is long overdue and likely to become the new “way it is” for Collins.
