While the Honus card may be the most visible and recognizable element among T206 cards, Mr.
Wagner is far from the "be all and end all" of this century-old work of art.
T206 baseball cards really are works of art, too.
Even today, they're considered among the most colorful cards ever printed, a fascinating study of baseball history, printing, photography and design.
Kids and even some adults clamored for them a century ago and collectors today swoon at owning some of the better cards in the set.
The Honus Wagner card is the most famous of the 504 cards issued.
It's long been considered the premier baseball card of all time because of its scarcity--less than 100 are believed to exist--and the story behind it.
Wagner, it's believed, didn't want anyone to have to pay for his picture, and asked for the card to be removed from production.
The American Tobacco Company complied and the result is an extremely scarce card.
Wagner cards, even in poor condition, sell for over six figures today.
Usually, a couple are sold in major auctions each year.
A mid-grade example brought $1.
62 million recently.
However, the T206 Doyle error is far more rare than the Honus card.
The initial print run had this member of New York's American League franchise as a member of the NL Giants.
Under Doyle's name, the card reads "NY Nat'l".
The error was quickly discovered and corrected.
It's thought that less than ten "NY Nat'l" Doyle cards have survived to this day.
A Doyle card recently sold for nearly $200,000.
Numerous fakes of this particular card have been produced and some are thought to reside in otherwise prominent collections.
Two other difficult T206 baseball cards are the Sherry "Magee" error card and the Eddie Plank.
While one can consider his set complete without the "Magee" card, owning a Plank is really vital if you're to consider your set complete.
They sell for several thousand dollars even in low grade, however.
Of course, the value of the Honus Wagner card is due in part to his status as a baseball Hall of Famer but there are numerous other superstar players from the 1909-11 era included in this set.
Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson are just some of those that were issued--including different poses, color backgrounds and advertising backs.
Cubs fans will love the inclusion of the famous double play combination of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance.
They're all here...
and all relatively inexpensive.
Even the third baseman from that team, Harry Steinfeldt, has a T206 baseball card.
Cost conscious collectors might gravitate toward the lesser known players in the set.
So many were printed, it's not impossible to start a decent sized collection of T206 cards for just a few hundred dollars as long as you're willing to accept them in lower grade.
How you collect T206 baseball cards is up to you and that's part of the fun.
Building a complete set will likely take years but it's tremendous fun even if you never really complete the journey.
Owning a handful of cards or a couple of Hall of Famers to display in your home is a great way to connect with baseball's past.
Wagner is far from the "be all and end all" of this century-old work of art.
T206 baseball cards really are works of art, too.
Even today, they're considered among the most colorful cards ever printed, a fascinating study of baseball history, printing, photography and design.
Kids and even some adults clamored for them a century ago and collectors today swoon at owning some of the better cards in the set.
The Honus Wagner card is the most famous of the 504 cards issued.
It's long been considered the premier baseball card of all time because of its scarcity--less than 100 are believed to exist--and the story behind it.
Wagner, it's believed, didn't want anyone to have to pay for his picture, and asked for the card to be removed from production.
The American Tobacco Company complied and the result is an extremely scarce card.
Wagner cards, even in poor condition, sell for over six figures today.
Usually, a couple are sold in major auctions each year.
A mid-grade example brought $1.
62 million recently.
However, the T206 Doyle error is far more rare than the Honus card.
The initial print run had this member of New York's American League franchise as a member of the NL Giants.
Under Doyle's name, the card reads "NY Nat'l".
The error was quickly discovered and corrected.
It's thought that less than ten "NY Nat'l" Doyle cards have survived to this day.
A Doyle card recently sold for nearly $200,000.
Numerous fakes of this particular card have been produced and some are thought to reside in otherwise prominent collections.
Two other difficult T206 baseball cards are the Sherry "Magee" error card and the Eddie Plank.
While one can consider his set complete without the "Magee" card, owning a Plank is really vital if you're to consider your set complete.
They sell for several thousand dollars even in low grade, however.
Of course, the value of the Honus Wagner card is due in part to his status as a baseball Hall of Famer but there are numerous other superstar players from the 1909-11 era included in this set.
Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson are just some of those that were issued--including different poses, color backgrounds and advertising backs.
Cubs fans will love the inclusion of the famous double play combination of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance.
They're all here...
and all relatively inexpensive.
Even the third baseman from that team, Harry Steinfeldt, has a T206 baseball card.
Cost conscious collectors might gravitate toward the lesser known players in the set.
So many were printed, it's not impossible to start a decent sized collection of T206 cards for just a few hundred dollars as long as you're willing to accept them in lower grade.
How you collect T206 baseball cards is up to you and that's part of the fun.
Building a complete set will likely take years but it's tremendous fun even if you never really complete the journey.
Owning a handful of cards or a couple of Hall of Famers to display in your home is a great way to connect with baseball's past.
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