A century-old Honus Wagner baseball card that belonged to Charlie Sheen is up for auction
Honus Wagner card
Courtesy of Mile High Card Company
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A rare, century-old Hogus Wagner baseball card belonging to actor Charlie Sheen will be auctioned later this month for an estimated $3 million, according to Mile High Card Company, a card auction house sports and memorabilia based in Colorado.
The Honus Wagner card was loaned by Sheen for display at the official All Star Cafe in New York’s Times Square, which opened in 1995. Investors in the restaurant included sports celebrities Andre Agassi, Wayne Gretzky, Ken Griffey Jr. , Joe Montana, Shaquille O’Neal and Tiger Woods, according to the auction house.
Sheen’s card was traded by restaurant employees for a fake one in 1998. A few years later it was recovered by the FBI and Sheen resold it in 2001 for US$75,000, a world record price. era for a Wagner card in this condition, the auction house says.
The card is certified authentic by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and rated Poor-Fair PSA1 (on a 1-10 rating scale).
“Despite its well-worn condition, it is valued in the millions as the legendary Wagner T206 series cards are considered ‘the holy grail’ of baseball cards,” Brian Drent, president of Mile High Card Company, said in a statement. “Less than 80 are known to exist, and this one has an incredible history of celebrity ownership, theft and recuperation.”
The current owner, an Oklahoma business executive, acquired the card over a decade ago for US$400,000. It is estimated to fetch over US$3 million at the online auction from March 10-31.
“The sender, who wishes to remain anonymous, will donate all proceeds to an Oklahoma Boys and Girls Club,” Drent said.
Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman” because of his superb speed and German heritage, Wagner played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917 and won his eighth and final batting title in 1911, a record that stands always. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
Wagner baseball cards are among the rarest and most valuable cards in existence. A Wagner T206 baseball card sold for US$6.6 million at auction via New Jersey-based Robert Edward Auctions in August 2021, becoming the most expensive sports card ever sold at auction.