You've heard the expression “buy the card, not the holder”? We had a perfect example of that in our eBay auctions that closed Sunday night. We were offering a T205 Walter Johnson that we thought was one of the best we’d ever seen. We were right!
While its technical grade of SGC 80 was one of only seven graded at that level, it’s not the highest graded of all time. Still, you’d be hard pressed to find another one that looked any closer to what the cards looked like when smokers pulled them from packs a century ago. “Aesthetically pleasing” really didn't do it enough justice. Our card was beautifully centered on the front, featured absolutely gorgeous colors that popped out, a wonderful, untouched gold frame border and a back that was as white as the day it was issued. Even the blue text on the back was bright and bold. Three corners had virtually no wear and one had just a touch. The back centering wasn't perfect but that was about the only thing holding it back from being one of the best T205 cards in any collection. We all know that Walter Johnson was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time. Several of his records still stand, decades after he threw his last pitch. “The Big Train” would have been highly coveted no matter if his cards were collected by adults or kids back in the early part of the 20 th century. When you combine a baseball legend with a popular and attractive issue and find a card from the set that shows off its greatness, you have a winner. Our T205 Walter Johnson SGC 80 sold for $3,261, setting a new record for a card of this grade, regardless of grading company. That’s why we often tell collectors to appreciate the cards in their collection and not get quite so hung up on the grade, especially when it comes to Pre-War cards.