{
 "id": "sports/baseball/1909-t206-white-border-honus-wagner",
 "url": "https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1909-t206-white-border-honus-wagner/",
 "markdown_url": "https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1909-t206-white-border-honus-wagner/index.md",
 "name": "Honus Wagner",
 "title": "1909 T206 White Border Honus Wagner",
 "category": "sports",
 "category_name": "Sports cards",
 "set": "T206 White Border",
 "number": null,
 "year": 1909,
 "language": "English",
 "rarity": "short-printed tobacco issue key card",
 "artist": "Unknown",
 "publisher": "American Tobacco Company",
 "flagship": true,
 "updated": "2026-09-27",
 "as_of": "2026-09-27",
 "summary": "The T206 Honus Wagner is the short-printed tobacco-era baseball card most collectors use as shorthand for the top end of prewar cards. Collectors search for it because each authenticated copy has its own back brand, provenance, condition, and sale history.",
 "key_facts": [
  "CardVolume lists 3 verified sales of the 1909 T206 White Border Honus Wagner as of September 27, 2026.",
  "No grade has the 5 verified sales in 90 days needed for a market price; the most recent verified sale was $5,856,000 for a Piedmont back SGC Authentic on August 21, 2026 at Heritage Auctions.",
  "The highest verified sale on record is $7,250,000 for a Sweet Caporal back SGC 2 on August 3, 2022 at Goldin."
 ],
 "versions": [
  {
   "key": "sweet-caporal-back",
   "label": "Sweet Caporal back",
   "how_to_identify": "Front shows Wagner batting in a Pittsburgh uniform; reverse carries Sweet Caporal cigarette advertising. Keep this separate from Piedmont-backed copies."
  },
  {
   "key": "piedmont-back",
   "label": "Piedmont back",
   "how_to_identify": "Front is the T206 Wagner image; reverse carries Piedmont advertising. Heritage described the 2026 SGC Authentic example as one of three known Piedmont-backed Wagners."
  },
  {
   "key": "authenticated-graded-example",
   "label": "Authenticated or numerically graded example",
   "how_to_identify": "Use the slab label, cert, back brand, alteration notes, and grade together. Authentic-only, restored, and numeric grades are not interchangeable comps."
  }
 ],
 "grades": [
  {
   "version": "Piedmont back",
   "version_key": "piedmont-back",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "Authentic",
   "label": "SGC Authentic",
   "market_price_usd": null,
   "market_sales_n": 1,
   "market_window": null,
   "verified_sales": 1,
   "last_verified_sale": {
    "date": "2026-08-21",
    "price_usd": 5856000,
    "venue": "Heritage Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/singles-pre-1930-/1909-11-t206-piedmont-honus-wagner-sgc-authentic-one-of-three-piedmonts-known-/a/50087-80003.s?Type=social-sports-twitter-T206Wagner-072626"
   },
   "record_sale": {
    "date": "2026-08-21",
    "price_usd": 5856000,
    "venue": "Heritage Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/singles-pre-1930-/1909-11-t206-piedmont-honus-wagner-sgc-authentic-one-of-three-piedmonts-known-/a/50087-80003.s?Type=social-sports-twitter-T206Wagner-072626"
   },
   "population": null,
   "graded_market_value_usd": null
  },
  {
   "version": "Sweet Caporal back",
   "version_key": "sweet-caporal-back",
   "grader": "CGC",
   "grade": "Authentic-Restored",
   "label": "CGC Authentic-Restored",
   "market_price_usd": null,
   "market_sales_n": 1,
   "market_window": null,
   "verified_sales": 1,
   "last_verified_sale": {
    "date": "2026-08-08",
    "price_usd": 1337263.2,
    "venue": "Love of the Game Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=46502"
   },
   "record_sale": {
    "date": "2026-08-08",
    "price_usd": 1337263.2,
    "venue": "Love of the Game Auctions",
    "buyer_premium_included": true,
    "source_url": "https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=46502"
   },
   "population": null,
   "graded_market_value_usd": null
  },
  {
   "version": "Sweet Caporal back",
   "version_key": "sweet-caporal-back",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "2",
   "label": "SGC 2",
   "market_price_usd": null,
   "market_sales_n": 0,
   "market_window": null,
   "verified_sales": 1,
   "last_verified_sale": {
    "date": "2022-08-03",
    "price_usd": 7250000,
    "venue": "Goldin",
    "buyer_premium_included": false,
    "source_url": "https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/111537-most-expensive-sports-trading-card-sold-at-a-private-sale"
   },
   "record_sale": {
    "date": "2022-08-03",
    "price_usd": 7250000,
    "venue": "Goldin",
    "buyer_premium_included": false,
    "source_url": "https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/111537-most-expensive-sports-trading-card-sold-at-a-private-sale"
   },
   "population": null,
   "graded_market_value_usd": null
  }
 ],
 "verified_sales": [
  {
   "date": "2026-08-21",
   "version": "Piedmont back",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "Authentic",
   "price_usd": 5856000,
   "price": 5856000,
   "currency": "USD",
   "buyer_premium_included": true,
   "venue": "Heritage Auctions",
   "sale_type": "auction",
   "cert": null,
   "source_url": "https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/singles-pre-1930-/1909-11-t206-piedmont-honus-wagner-sgc-authentic-one-of-three-piedmonts-known-/a/50087-80003.s?Type=social-sports-twitter-T206Wagner-072626",
   "status": "cross_checked"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-08-08",
   "version": "Sweet Caporal back",
   "grader": "CGC",
   "grade": "Authentic-Restored",
   "price_usd": 1337263.2,
   "price": 1337263.2,
   "currency": "USD",
   "buyer_premium_included": true,
   "venue": "Love of the Game Auctions",
   "sale_type": "auction",
   "cert": null,
   "source_url": "https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=46502",
   "status": "cross_checked"
  },
  {
   "date": "2022-08-03",
   "version": "Sweet Caporal back",
   "grader": "SGC",
   "grade": "2",
   "price_usd": 7250000,
   "price": 7250000,
   "currency": "USD",
   "buyer_premium_included": false,
   "venue": "Goldin",
   "sale_type": "private",
   "cert": null,
   "source_url": "https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/111537-most-expensive-sports-trading-card-sold-at-a-private-sale",
   "status": "verified"
  }
 ],
 "graded_market_value_usd": null,
 "faq": [
  {
   "q": "How much did the SGC 2 Sweet Caporal T206 Honus Wagner sell for?",
   "a": "The SGC 2 Sweet Caporal example sold for $7,250,000 in a Goldin-brokered private sale on 2022-08-03, with no buyer's premium stated because the reported transaction was private [2,3].",
   "source_ids": [
    2,
    3
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "How much did the Piedmont-backed T206 Honus Wagner sell for at Heritage?",
   "a": "The SGC Authentic Piedmont-backed example sold for $5,856,000 at Heritage on 2026-08-21, and the Heritage lot page lists a buyer's premium schedule [1].",
   "source_ids": [
    1
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "Is the T206 Honus Wagner a 1909 card or a 1909-11 card?",
   "a": "Use 1909-11 T206 White Border unless a source page for a particular slab or catalog entry states a narrower label [1,3].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    3
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "How do I tell Sweet Caporal from Piedmont?",
   "a": "Look at the advertising back: Sweet Caporal and Piedmont are different reverse advertisements and should be logged as separate variants [1,3].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    3
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "How many T206 Honus Wagner cards exist?",
   "a": "The exact total is not established here; ESPN reported a 50-to-60-copy estimate in 2022, while Guinness described fewer than 50 authenticated copies, so CardVolume should avoid treating either as a formal population count [2,3].",
   "source_ids": [
    2,
    3
   ]
  },
  {
   "q": "Does an Authentic-only Wagner comp equal a numbered-grade Wagner comp?",
   "a": "No; Authentic-only, restored, altered, and numerical grades must be separated because they describe different condition and grading outcomes [1,4].",
   "source_ids": [
    1,
    4
   ]
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  {
   "title": "1909-11 T206 Piedmont Honus Wagner SGC Authentic - One of Three Piedmonts Known",
   "url": "https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-cards/singles-pre-1930-/1909-11-t206-piedmont-honus-wagner-sgc-authentic-one-of-three-piedmonts-known-/a/50087-80003.s?Type=social-sports-twitter-T206Wagner-072626",
   "publisher": "Heritage Auctions"
  },
  {
   "title": "Most expensive sports trading card sold at a private sale",
   "url": "https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/111537-most-expensive-sports-trading-card-sold-at-a-private-sale",
   "publisher": "Guinness World Records"
  },
  {
   "title": "Honus Wagner 1909-11 T206 Brings Over $7M in Private Sale",
   "url": "https://www.radicards.com/baseball/honus-wagner-1909-11-t206-brings-over-7m-in-private-sale/",
   "publisher": "Radicards"
  },
  {
   "title": "PSA Grading Standards",
   "url": "https://www.psacard.com/gradingstandards",
   "publisher": "PSA"
  },
  {
   "title": "PSA Cert Verification",
   "url": "https://www.psacard.com/cert",
   "publisher": "PSA"
  }
 ],
 "methodology": "https://cardvolume.com/methodology/",
 "cite_as": "1909 T206 White Border Honus Wagner. CardVolume, https://cardvolume.com/sports/baseball/1909-t206-white-border-honus-wagner/ (accessed 2026-09-27)."
}