Honus Wagner Trading Card

The unquestioned winner when it comes to collectible cards is the 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card. Collectors have been trying to make better trades for years in an effort to obtain this rarity. But don't expect to trade a few Milt Pappas or Johnny Estrada cards for this little baby. It last fetched a price of $2.8 million for a new mint to mint example for the hobby's most valuable card.

The original card was produced from 1909 to 1911 and placed as a premium in a pack of cigarettes. But when Wagner heard about the promotion, he demanded the company pull his card out of production. He did not want to promote the sale of tobacco products and was willing to take a stand. The other story is that Wagner did not consent to the card's production because he did not feel that he was being adequately compensated.

Still, if someone looking for a better trade was willing to seek out the Honus Wagner card, they would not find it easy to come by. It is estimated by industry insiders that less than 100 cards are in existence.

The card is smaller than today's modern baseball card. The card has Wagner's head and shoulders photo. He's wearing a gray Pittsburgh uniform with a blue collar. There is an orange background behind his head.

The most famous card was bought in 1985 by New York collector Bill Mastro for $25,000. Six years later it was purchased in a better trade by NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky and Bill McNalll for $451,000 from a Sotheby auction. Gretzky sold the card in 1994 to Trent Entertainment and Wal-Mart for $500,000 and it was used in a nationwide promotion.

The card was purchased in 1996 for $640,000 by Michael Gidwitz in an auction from the Wal-Mart prize winner who could not afford to pay taxes on the prized card. In 2000, Brian Seigel bought the card for $1.265 million; he sold it seven years later to a private collector for $2.35 million. It was last sold in a private sale through Sotheby's for $2.8 million.