The world’s most expensive baseball card has hit the auction block, and sports fans in Manhattan scored a peek at it Friday.
The extremely rare 1909 Honus Wagner — which experts have called the “Holy Grail” of sports memorabilia — is expected to fetch up to $5 million in an online auction ending Oct 1, said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions.
“In the world of sports, it is the single most well-known, iconic symbol in the industry. He was the greatest shortstop of all time,” said Goldin, who put the card on display at the Yankees-themed restaurant NYY Steak in Midtown on Friday.
Only about 50 copies of the uniquely shaped and textured card featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates player were ever printed, Goldin and other experts have said.
In 1911, Wagner demanded that production of the card be halted because it was printed by the American Tobacco Company and sold in cigarette packs, which Wagner thought was bad for kids, Goldin said.
“On the back of the card was a big ad that said ‘tobacco.’ He didn’t want to promote tobacco,” Goldin said.
Few of the cards, which feature a white border and an orange background, are in good condition now, said Doug Drotman, a Goldin spokesman.
“Now 47 of the 50 cards look like a dog chewed them up. This is the second-highest-graded one, in terms of condition,” Drotman said.
A smaller version of the card was once owned by NHL hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick.
The type of card now on the block, known as the “Jumbo Wagner,” last sold for $2.1 million in 2013, Drotman said. The highest bid on the card Friday was $1.8 million.
“It’s a really great time to invest in baseball cards. Values have been escalating rapidly,” he said.
Wagner played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The speedster was erroneously nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman.” He was German, not Dutch.