One of the most underrated issues of the early 20 th century has to be the 1906 Fan Craze set. Aside from the fact that it is now 106 years-old, Fan Craze offers what are some of the best portrait poses of baseball players from the era. This week, we have the cream of the crop: a Fan Craze Honus Wagner card graded MINT 9 by PSA. It’s one of only four cards at this level in the PSA Population Report. Fan Craze was a Cincinnati company that created them as part of a game it marketed to fans. Of the 52 playing cards created for the game, 14 of them feature Hall of Famers including the Wagner. However, some of the players don’t appear in any other set, making it rather important in the annals of early card collecting. The cards feature a black and white image with the player’s name below the photo and the team name at the bottom. A baseball play is printed at the top of the card. Blue-backed cards feature American League players while red backs have National Leaguers. The condition of Fan Craze cards depends largely on how much the game was actually used at the time. Generally, they were stored and only taken out when the game was played. While that’s good news for collectors, it’s still very rare to find such a high grade example. To put it in perspective, the card was issued three years before the T206 set which contains the hobby’s ‘Holy Grail’ Honus Wagner card. While these aren’t nearly as rare, it’s a special card and at a level that attracts both collectors and investors. Of the 1134 Fan Craze National Leaguers appearing on the Pop Report, only 234 have been graded 9. To say you own one of the four best PSA-graded Wagner cards from this unique-- and downright cool—would be quite an accomplishment. Bidding closes Sunday night, and we’re anxious to see where this one closes.
