An ultra-rare Honus Wagner card was sold recently at auction for $3.7 million to real estate mogul Kurt Rappaport, according to TMZ Sports.
The sale of the card, which is among the most desired by collectors, was handled by Heritage Auctions. The $3.7 million price tag trails only the $3.9 million spent on a Mike Trout rookie card earlier this year that broke the record of $3.12 million set by a T206 Honus Wagner card in 2016.
The card purchased by Rappaport at auction is a T206 as well from 1909-11. The real estate mogul justified the price by referring to his purchase as “the HOLY GRAIL — the rarest and most desired of all sports cards.”
Memorabilia experts estimate there are approximately 60 Wagner cards of its kind in existence, and the one purchased by Rappoport is in remarkably good condition for its age and was graded as a 3 by Professional Sports Authenticator.
“Just to put it into perspective, 3 means very good condition,” Rappaport told the guys on “TMZ Live.”
“The 50 or 60 that exist in the world, this is one of the Top 5. There’s only 4 other cards that have graded any higher than this. These don’t come up to sale and I had the opportunity to buy it and I did.”
A generous amount of fanfare breaks out every time a Wagner card is sold at auction, and rightfully so given the rarity and how each one in existence is so coveted by the richest and most passionate collectors.
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