T206 Honus Wagner Gets the Metallic Shine

Topps' online arm eTopps has released their T206 Tribute set. Available only for the week and initially as a complete set, it's a convergence of the old school hobby and new school technology. While I'm already pretty bored of the T206 design (I prefer the gold border T205 design), if these are anything like the eTopps Allen & Ginter cards as far as asthetics, they will be very nice.

The eTopps T206 Tribute set consists of 10 retired players. The photo selection is nice and the rainbow spin on the Wagner should be interesting. Sets are being offered for $69.99 and are limited to a maximum of 749 copies (I think it's a safe prediction that they're going to sell out). Cards are then placed in buyers' eTopps portfolios with an initial value of $7.00 each. If you just want a couple of singles you'll have to fight for them on eBay.

My guess is that a few of these will really take off. The T206 design is new to eTopps and the print run is quite low. The combination should keep most of these above their initial price offering (IPO). How much? I'm not sure. I do know I'm not willing to take the risk and will probably look for the Babe Ruth and the Nolan Ryan somewhere down the line on the secondary market.

Here's pictures of the complete set:

Here's the checklist:

1. Ernie Banks
2. Jackie Robinson
3. Babe Ruth
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Cy Young
6. Stan Musial
7. Mickey Mantle (who would have guessed he'd be #7)
8. Cal Ripken Jr.
9. Honus Wagner
10. Nolan Ryan

Topps to Produce Exclusive T206 100th Anniversary Set - Good Luck Getting One

Topps has announced they'll be producing a six-card set commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the classic T206 set. But there's a catch - it's only going to be handed out to attendees at the 24th Annual Hawaii Trade Show, which is ironically being held in Florida from April 19 - 23.  Each card will be the original T206 size and numbered /100. They will also be stamped with the show's logo on the back and labelled "100th Anniversary Edition."

Perhaps the biggest news in the release is that this is a taste of a full-on T206 100th Anniversary set that Topps will release in the fall.

Trader Crack's Book Club: The Card

When you're talking the Holy Grail of trading cards and sports memorabilia, the T206 Honus Wagner is it. And when you're talking about the Holy Grail of T206 Honus Wagners, the "Gretzky Wagner" is it.

Michael O'Keefe and Teri Thompson not only trace the history of Honus and the card that would become the first to sell for more than $1 million, but also raise some hard-to-ignore questions and observations about the darker side of the hobby. The book is a slick journalistic read filled with outlandish characters, strange happenings and an eye-opener for those looking to dabble in the high-end arena of sports collectibles.

The Card spends a lot of time building up the legend of the T206 Wagner, beginning with Bill Mastro buying it in the 1980s for $25,000 (with thousands of dollars worth of other rare cards thrown in) to PSA grading it an 8 to launch the company to Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall buying it to it being given away as a prize to three subsequent sales since. There's no denials about the beauty of the card, yet many questions are raised about the pedigree of the card. O'Keefe and Thompson make some reasonable claims about how the Wagner may have been a part of an uncut strip and then cut down to size. That would explain its sharp edges, lack of tobacco stains and how it survived some 90 years before being uncovered.

These claims and suspicions are backed up by plenty of experts.Ironically, they're the ones who are eager to speak in the book. Unfortunately these same people carry grudges with them against those who have profited from the card. This makes it a lot harder to fully trust any of these claims as it comes across at times like they just want to see their rivals fall.

Whether or not the claims about the Wagner card are true, The Card is an eye-opener into the lengths people go to make cash in the hobby. Anyone who's been in the hobby for any length of time knows that there's swindlers looking to take people for their money. They're all over eBay right now with the over-hyped auctions filled with wild claims and 1-of-1 labels, fake patches and forged signatures.

The number of card-related books that aren't checklists or price guides are slim in number. That alone should make The Card a must-read for hobbyists. The fact that it's a solid read, despite its sometimes questionable sources, should further entice collectors to pick a copy up.