Rare 1909 T206 Sherry Magee card tops Huggins & Scott auction

Sherry Magee’s 1909-1911 T206 White Border error card is one of the most scarce and sought-after cards in the hobby, and a must-have for collectors of the iconic T206 tobacco card set.

Magee was one of the best players of the Dead Ball era, finishing his 16-year career with a .291 batting average and 1,176 RBI. He led the National League in RBI four times and was among the lead leaders in home runs on multiple occasions, yet he is most famous for having his name misspelled (“Magie”) on his baseball card. Fittingly, his error card is far more valuable than the corrected version, with only 142 known to exist and a lone PSA 8 version (the highest known) selling for $660,000.

The hobby’s most valuable error card can even sell for five figures in a low grade.

Also See: Favorite cards of Home Run King Hank Aaron 

A PSA POOR 1 version just sold in the Huggins & Scott’s Spring Catalog Auction for $15,600, a record for the grade.

The auction, which generated total sales of nearly $1.9 million, also featured two big football card collections: a 503-card signed collection spanning 1953-1984 with 175 Hall of Famers, including five Johnny Unitas cards, that sold for $13,200; and a 1970s-2000s autographed collection (3,100-plus cards) with more than 275 Hall of Famers for $12,000.

Also See: Top-ranked 1968 Topps Baseball set highlights auction

Other card sets were also among the top sellers, including: a signed 1961 Topps near complete set (525/587); a high-grade 1973 Topps complete set (660) with 163 PSA MINT 9s; and an autographed 1980s-2000s basketball collection of more than 3,500 cards with 100-plus Hall of Famers. All three collections sold for $9,000 each.

Other top sellers included:

• 1917 E135 Collins-McCarthy #180 Honus (Hans) Wagner (PSA VG-EX 4): $12,600.

• 1934 World Wide Gum #28 Babe Ruth (PSA VG 3): $11,400.

• 1967 Topps Near Complete Set (607/609): $11,100.

• 1972 Comspec Basketball Wilt Chamberlain (PSA VG 3): $10,800.

• 1963 Jell-O #131 Frank Robinson Unfolded Full Box: $10,500.

• 1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie High Number (PSA VG 3): $10,200.

• 1948 Leaf #79 Jackie Robinson Rookie (PSA GOOD 2): $8,400.

• 1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron Rookie (PSA EX-MT 6): $8,100.

“This auction demonstrated the strong appetite for set-building along with the unwavering desire to acquire the true hobby classics,” said Ron Oser, vice president and director of consignments at Huggins & Scott.

Huggins & Scott’s next event will be its Summer Catalog Auction that opens on July 18.