Heritage Auctions Stops By With Valuable Collectibles Including a Honus Wagner Card

**Craig Carton** (0:00)
I said to my son, the real producer of the show, what's this guy got? And he goes, oh, I don't know. How about the most expensive baseball card of all time?
The Honus Wagner card, which I hold in my hands right here. First, this is Mike, right?

**Mike Provincial** (0:16)
Right.

**Craig Carton** (0:16)
Mike Provincial.

**Mike Provincial** (0:18)
Nailed it.

**Craig Carton** (0:18)
Did I get it right?

**Mike Provincial** (0:19)
You did.

**Craig Carton** (0:19)
Because I'm Italian, I know what's up. So first off, what's the name of your company? Is it just Mike Provincial?

**Mike Provincial** (0:25)
No, I work for Heritage Auctions.

**Craig Carton** (0:27)
Heritage Auctions. Heritage is like the big time auction company. There's only like two or three of you guys, one of the big boys.

**Mike Provincial** (0:34)
We're the largest collectibles, auction house in the world.

**Craig Carton** (0:36)
In sports, you guys are number one.

**Mike Provincial** (0:37)
That's correct.

**Craig Carton** (0:38)
All right, so I'm holding in my hands, 1909 Piedmont cigarettes, the T206, Honus Wagner card, which looks to me, I'm not a collector, in really good condition, considering it's almost 130 years old. How much money am I holding in my hand right now?

**Mike Provincial** (0:56)
That's four million plus.

**Craig Carton** (0:58)
Shut your mouth.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:59)
Four million plus.

**Craig Carton** (1:01)
Four million. What? The last time it's sold, how much did it sell for?

**Mike Provincial** (1:04)
We've sold a few for three and a half million. It's something that just keeps going up. That's the face of card collectors.

**Craig Carton** (1:11)
This is the Holy Grail.

**Mike Provincial** (1:12)
That's the card every collector wants. There's less than 60 known. If you own one, it's like a little club, so they rarely change hands.
Honus, the story is that he didn't want his likeness used to promote cigarettes to kids. Some people believe he wanted to be compensated for it, but that's why there's so few.

**Craig Carton** (1:34)
Not a handsome man, by the way.
Not the best-looking guy I've ever seen. So let me ask you a weird question. Because it's only worth what someone's really willing to pay for it in a lot of ways. Can you get that insured?

**Mike Provincial** (1:47)
Sure, people insure.

**Craig Carton** (1:48)
There are like Lloyd to London will say, well, you can insure.

**Mike Provincial** (1:51)
And I recommend it if you have something.

**Craig Carton** (1:52)
Yeah, I agree. So that's that card. That is the Holy Grail of cards.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:56)
And I'm starting to interrupt, but I'm just curious, because you said there's 60 known. When was the last time a new one popped up?

**Mike Provincial** (2:03)
Last year.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:03)
Last year a new one popped up.

**Mike Provincial** (2:04)
But that's the first one in decades.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:07)
Really?

**Craig Carton** (2:08)
When people sell them, in your experience, do you sell a card like that because, sadly, you're in a spot where now you need the money? Or because you don't have any kids to leave it to, and you want to be in the hands of someone who will respect it?

**Mike Provincial** (2:22)
That's a good point. That happens a lot. People collect them, they get older, their kids aren't into it. You know, you have kids and they aren't into what you're into. They want to make sure their kids don't get ripped off. So you come to an incredible place to sell it. Or they want to buy something else.

**Craig Carton** (2:36)
So they flip that to go buy the next. Got it. All right. Right in front of you is a semi-deflated soccer ball.
I was told that might be the Hand of God ball.

**Mike Provincial** (2:47)
No might about it. This is the Hand of God ball.

**Craig Carton** (2:50)
For those of you who don't know, and just to show you that I am the soccer guy here, the Hand of God ball is not even arguably the greatest, most controversial goal in World Cup history. 1986, if I remember correctly, Diego Matadona, one of the four greatest soccer players of all time, jumps up to try to head the ball to the goal in a World Cup final.

**Mike Provincial** (3:11)
The quarterfinals.

**Craig Carton** (3:13)
And as he goes to head the ball, a lot of guys are taught to hold your fist on both sides of your head to get more thrust when you go to head the ball.
He goes to head the ball, but he winds up actually punching the ball into the net for a game winning goal. But the refs didn't see it, nor did they call it. Thus, it became known as the Hand of God goal.