(LOT 178)
1909 E92 Dockman & Sons Honus Wagner Throwing PSA 5 EX – POP 3!
MID-GRADE HONUS!!! Locating an over a century-old baseball candy "E" card exhibiting many of its original factory-issued attributes is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. That said, this outstanding and rare for the grade PSA 5 EX 1909 E92 Dockman & Sons Honus Wagner Throwing heirloom has rightfully earned its seldom-surfacing assessment. A bona fide POP 3 offering, it has only been bested by a paltry four examples on the combined PSA and SGC census reports, a grand testament to its irrefutable paucity level at the highly coveted mid-grade plateau! Tantamount to the immortal Wagner's undisputed title as baseball's greatest all-time shortstop is this time-defying marvel that, at a quick glance, proudly boasts aesthetics beyond its already esteemed technical assessment.

While there are a reasonable number of high-grade "T" tobacco cards in circulation (since these cards were handled by adults purchasing cigarettes), the quantity of high-grade "E" caramel subjects is few and far between as a result of youths handling these cards purchased at local mom and pop stores. This in itself ultimately led to the conundrum of the hobby's most meticulous collectors floundering in a seemingly endless search for the scant supply of existing "E" cards reflecting 5 EX or better assessments. Historically speaking, the John Dockman & Sons Gum Co. included 50 different baseball card subjects with their brand product issued during the 1909 season. This would be the year that the incomparable Wagner would win his first and only world championship, besting Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers in a tightly contested seven-game series. By 1909, Honus Wagner had established himself as our National Pastime's greatest player, and while a young Ty Cobb was quickly narrowing the gap, it was the Flying Dutchman who still ruled the grand old game.

Going into the 1909 season, Wagner had already compiled six NL batting titles, with his .339 average in 1909 good enough to once again pace the Senior Circuit and lead Pittsburgh to their inaugural World Series title. Hans would win his still NL record eight batting title two years later (tied with Tony Gwynn), eventually retiring with a stellar .328 mark and the undisputed title of "baseball's greatest all-time shortstop." Similar to that distinction is this unprecedented masterpiece that has outdistanced most of its inferior peers. The revered Wagner throwing pose reveals a sparkling array of blue, orange, green and yellow hues that bring the Honus illustration to life. You can literally feel Wagner's intensity as he completes a throw across the infield via his mighty right arm, with the classic image favoring the right edge between four somewhat toned borders. No obtrusive surface flaws are evident, and preventing a higher assessment is even corner wear as well as what appears to be some factory-issued diminutive print marks along the upper border.

The final exclamation point is the critical "JOHN H. DOCKMAN & SONS" ad back, with a majority of the superb technical attributes defying the past 115 years. It was only a matter of time before the recent pricing escalation of Wagner cards took the hobby by storm, with his cards extremely undervalued for the longest time. Justifying that notion is a PSA 7 NM E92 Dockman & Sons Wagner fetched a staggering $101K in a Memory Lane Spring 2023 auction, with the iconic Steel City shortstop's candy cards obviously knowing no bounds. Indeed, all rare for the grade candy card treats of baseball's greatest immortals are currently experiencing an unbridled tipping point with regard to their tsunami-like pricing points, with this elusive PSA 5 masterpiece standing tall as one of Wagner's finest candy cards extant!

MIN BID $7,500
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