T206 Honus Wagner PSA 2 card sells for $600,000 Memory Lane auction

One of only several dozen surviving examples of the world’s most famous baseball card was sold when Memory Lane closed out its ‘Holy Grail’ Auction.

The $600,000 price fetched for a PSA 2 T206 Honus Wagner was just the beginning, though. When the final bids were entered in the early morning hours Sunday, May 7, the auction had generated more than $5.2 million, smashing the 18-year-old company’s all-time sales record by more than $2 million.

The auction included the breakup of a virtually complete T206 set that, in addition to the Wagner, included the elusive Eddie Plank, a PSA 4, which sold for $76,800, while a Sherry “Magie” error card graded EX sold for $40,800.

The second highest price in the auction went to a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 8, which sold for $462,000.

Late bidding action resulted in record prices for low pop, high-grade icons.

The only PSA 10 1948 Bowman Stan Musial rookie card, which last sold at auction for $129,851 in 2012, soared to $360,000. A ’48 Bowman Yogi Berra PSA 10 that sold for $33,582 back in 2006 rocketed to $192,000 in this auction.

One of just 11 PSA 9 1954 Bowman Mantle cards also saw a flurry of bids as the auction drew to a close, finally ending at a record $204,000, obliterating the old mark of $57,000 set in 2013.

The hobby’s best graded example of the 1951 Toleteros Josh Gibson rookie card, a PSA 8, was also among the highlights, realizing $91,200.

In all, 13 lots in the auction sold for more than $50,000.

Other vintage cards generating strong prices included a PSA 9 1957 Topps Frank Robinson rookie that jumped to $48,000, a 1955 Topps Harmon Killebrew rookie that hit $38,976, a 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith graded PSA 10 that sold for $38,976, and a 1962 Topps Willie Mays graded PSA 9, off to a new home for $28,180.

The auction included the William Toppi Wax Pack Collection, which included dozens of vintage packs from every sport including a 1952 Topps baseball pack. Graded 8 by PSA, it sold for a $62,400. Other packs and boxes sold included:

1948 Bowman Basketball PSA 8 – $55,200

1955 Topps All-American Football (Otto Graham back) – $49,780

1956 Topps Baseball GAI 8 – $29,248

1958 Topps Baseball PSA 8 – $23,380

1972 Topps Baseball Third Series Box – $13,135

The auction included numerous highly sought after modern era cards as well including a 1993 Upper Deck SP Derek Jeter rookie that hit $54,576 and a 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James rookie graded BVG 9, which climbed to $45,734.

The photo used for Lou Gehrig’s 1932 DeLong baseball card headlined the memorabilia items sold in the auction. The PSA Type 1 image sold for $23,935.