The advertising back identifies a brand of tobacco that can be Piedmont, Sweet Caporal or 14 other varieties. The views are not numbered but the cumulative number of the announced subjects allows to establish a chronology of the impressions : 150 subjects then 350 and 460, then 'Large Assortment' for the last runs. The Major League offers a very good coverage with 390 cards, the greatest champions like Ty Cobb having several varieties. 134 cards are displaying to players from minor leagues.
Collectors search for rarities in the best possible condition. The rarest figure is Wagner, Pittsburgh. The hierarchy of sports skills is respected in his case, because Honus Wagner was one of the best players of all time. His card was withdrawn as a result of a financial or ethical dispute between the player and the tobacco company.
On September 20 online from Dallas, Heritage is dedicating an entire auction to the dispersion of a highly remarkable collection of T206 in NM7 or better condition. The cards will be sold individually. Wagner is not there. The sale includes no less than 9 of the 13 cards graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA out of a total population of 225,000 T206 certified by this organization.
Lot 50391, estimated $ 400K, is a Plank, Phila. Amer. graded NM7 by PSA, with a back of the second issue at 350 subjects. Eddie Plank was a good Major League player, still recognized today as one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball history. His card is known to PSA in 72 copies, including 1 NM-MT8 and 3 NM7. The reason for this rarity is not known, perhaps the breakage of its printing plate.
Lot 50292, estimated $ 200K, is a Magie, Phila. Nat'l, with a back of the first issue at 150 subjects. It is the best card of this variant, graded NM-MT8 by PSA and the only one in this rank. Its rarity is due to a spelling mistake in the name of Sherry Magee, corrected for subsequent impressions. This Major League player owes his posthumous fame to a typographical error.
RESULTS including premium :
Plank : $ 690K
Magie : $ 660K
Gettysburg Eddie's T206 card shares with the fabled Honus Wagner both a maddening elusiveness and an apocryphal tale accounting for his rarity. This spectacular representation is one of just three reaching PSA NM 7, a rating exceeded just a single timehttps://t.co/zjImIIQKWQ pic.twitter.com/ZixUcR5Dx8
— Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) September 19, 2018
It's the most celebrated "error card" in the hobby, a handful were printed with the surname "Magie" instead of "Magee" elevating a solid player from obscurity to T206 immortality with Wagner & Plank. This NM-MT 8 is the finest known example of this rarityhttps://t.co/8TkzwPI8hM pic.twitter.com/JhKS1uRjmM
— Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) August 27, 2018