The Just Collect Blog

Newly Discovered 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner Up for Auction

Written by Monte Jennings | Dec 29, 2025 10:59:41 PM

The Holy Grail of cards, a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner, has just been discovered after being secretly held in the same family for 116 years! The card now heads to auction and the starting bid is ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

If you have never owned a baseball card in your life, you're probably still aware of the most famous card of all-time: 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner. From the T206 tobacco set, every example of the Wagner card has been known and well-documented in our hobby - until now.

Ken Goldin, owner of Goldin Auctions, has a Netflix show called King of Collectables. The third season just dropped the week of Christmas, and the big reveal was a fresh find of THE card of cards. According to GoldinMorton Bertstein was the original owner of the Wagner. Bertstein framed his collection of cards and this was passed down to his grandchildren. The grandkids kept the card as they loved their grandfather, but neither family member is a card collector; the family chose to auction the card through Goldin Auctions.You can see the auction HERE.

Only 50 to 60 1909-11 T206 Wagner cards are known to exist, and for the first time in YEARS, a new example has become publicly known! The big question is - how much is this Wagner valued at? This card is graded a PSA 1. The last Wagner PSA 1 was sold at auction in 2022 for 3.1 million dollars! The story of that Wagner sale is worth a read; the card was once stolen from Charlie Sheen! You can read about the Sheen Wagner HERE.

We're excited to see the what the final auction price of this T206 Wagner will be! Do you think this card will be worth more than a high-grade 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card?

The Wagner photo above is one we took at the National and not of the Wagner discovered by Goldin.

Did you know our owner, Leighton, discovered a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wanger?

The owner of Just Collect, Leighton Sheldon, has brokered a deal for a 1909 T206 Wagner previously! You can hear Leighton talk about the T206 Honus Wagner card he was involved with here:

 

The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections like a Honus Wanger or T206 cards. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards. Not only did Leighton previously discover a T206 Wagner, but Leighton also discovered a very rare T206 Eddie Plank card that you can read about in The Fairy Godmother Find. If you have vintage cards, especially T206 cards - ESPECIALLY an Honus Wagner, we are always buying! Read below to see how you can get a today.

Love this story? Check out other blogs featuring incredible collections such as: 

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WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:

We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

  • Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here

  • Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending.  Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

  • Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

  • Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.

  • SHIP your collection 

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us!  We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!  

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

CONTACT US ANY TIME

Whether you have vintage cards or modern wax you want to sell, you can reach out to us any time!