Tag: SGC A

The Nuns’ T206 Honus Wagner

In 2009, the School Sisters of Notre Dame received a most unexpected donation.  The School Sisters are a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic Sisters.  On February 3rd, 2009, a man (who’s name the nuns have decided to keep confidential) with close ties to the organization passed away at the age of  85 and bequeathed his estate to the order.  The nuns were not surprised to be benefactors of the man’s will.  His sister had belonged to the order, and he had never married or had children.  Besides leaving his home to the nuns, he also willed the contents of his safe deposit box.

When the nuns opened the box, they were surprised to find this T206 Wagner with an attached typewritten note that said,

“Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!”

After picking up the baseball card, Sister Virginia Muller, the order’s former treasurer, searched the Internet to determine its worth. When she saw the value of other Wagner cards, her jaw dropped.

“I very carefully put it into the back of my files,” she said, laughing. “Then quickly insured it.”

-New York Times January 31, 2011

All of the news stories written about the card at the time have noted that the man acquired the card in 1936, though there is no mention of how that was ascertained.  There is also no mention of him owning any other sports cards or collectibles.

“I wish I knew more of the story, like where he got the card or why he kept it, But I guess it will remain a mystery.”

-Sister Virginia Muller in the January 31st 2011 issue of the New York Times

When the nuns were ready to sell the Wagner, they chose Heritage Auctions to handle the sale.  The card was featured in Heritage’s “November 2010 Signature Collectibles Auction” which closed over a two-day period on November 4th and 5th.  When the auction clocked ticked down the zero, the winning bid (including the juice) was $262,900.  Unfortunately, the winning bidder never paid for the card.

Heritage reached out to collector Dr. Nicholas DePace, who agreed to buy the card for $220,000.  According to the New York Times story, Heritage declined to take a commission on the sale, sending all $220,000 to the School Sisters of Notre Dame.  I don’t know whether or not Heritage was able to collect a full or partial commission from the winning bidder, but regardless it was a really classy move by Heritage to send the full $220,000 to the charitable group.

Dr. DePace

The story doesn’t quite end there.  Two days later, Dr. DePace received a call from someone at Heritage asking him if he’d like to make a quick $60,000 profit by selling the card to another interested party.

“I said, ‘What’s the matter with you guys?  It’s no longer just a baseball card; it’s become a religious relic, a St. Jude of memorabilia. I’m keeping it.”

-Dr. Nichlas DePace in the January 31st 2011 issue of the New York Times

Dr. DePace said he intended to feature the card in a non-profit sports museum he planned to open in Collingwood, New Jersey.

Sources:

Why Don’t T206 Collectors Care About Hand-Cut Cards?

Ever since I started collecting T206s, I’ve always been intrigued by cards that are clearly hand-cut.  Oftentimes such cards also have blank backs or are missing colors, but sometimes they look pretty normal.  This Stovall above is a good example of a card that clearly was cut from a sheet by hand (the bottom border is much wider than any factory-cut cards), but looks just like any other Stovall portrait otherwise.

I’ve always been drawn to these cards and I don’t really understand why collectors don’t seem to care for them.  Though the market has been down recently, collectors still clearly covet Blank Backs and cards that are missing multiple colors passes.  It makes sense that the most unique examples of Printer’s Scrap would be the most valuable.  However, there is a ton of demand for other semi-scarce T206s, so the lack of demand for cards like my Stovall seems odd.  For example, a PSA 3 Snodgrass with Tolstoi back just sold for $106 via ebay auction.  Between PSA and SGC there are 14 copies of this front/back combo graded.  A PSA 3 with Piedmont back would probably sell for about $40, so the Tolstoi back was worth for a 2.5x premium.  This Stovall might be the only copy that was hand-cut, and I’d probably struggle to sell it for $30.

I can hypothesize a few reasons for the lack of demand.  Maybe the fact that you can’t really “prove” these cards were hand-cut plays a role in the tepid response from collectors.  Perhaps people find the wavy borders distracting.  And maybe there just isn’t enough variation visually between a factory-cut copy and my Stovall for people to take notice.  I do find it odd that T206 collectors hunt scarcity and perceived scarcity in many different ways, but will show little or no interest in certain scarce cards or variations.  I believe that a lack of interest in a certain T206 niche will often breed more disinterest.  It’s fun to show off your new cards and share new pickups with friends.  When you’re the only person collecting a certain thing, it can feel pretty lonely after awhile.

What do you think about hand-cut cards?  Do you like them?  Would you pay a premium for them?  Would you rather have the Leifield above, or a normal looking Leifield batting with a semi-tough back like Old Mill?  Please leave a comment and join in the conversation.