After a period with few public sale opportunities, 2026 has begun strongly for collectors of the famed T206 Honus Wagner baseball card. Following a recent sale by Goldin Auctions, Heritage Auctions sold the SGC Authentic 'Garagiola' Wagner early Sunday morning for $3.6 million.
The card, named for its former owner, baseball player and broadcaster Joe Garagiola, had only been sold publicly once before, in 2021 for $2.52 million. Garagiola's son, who consigned the card, stated his father traded his 1954 New York Giants World Series uniform and other items for the card decades ago.
The final price exceeded the $3 million pre-auction estimate. For one of the hobby's most iconic and rarest cards, comparisons are difficult, but the estimate was reasonable and proved conservative given market growth since 2021 and the premium for non-restored copies.