T206 Wagner Given Away for Free...to fill a hole of course.

[bn2cardz]

I, too, read it that he was sent 4 random cards and at least one was a t206 and one was a card he referred to as "Pontifical Standard" but this isn't the t206 card. Look at the letter and he is straight forward and doesn't allude to things. Also he only capitalized the proper names in the letter. If he was alluding to a certain player in the "t206" set I believe he would have used lower case for the phrase.

[T206Collector]

Keep in mind that John D. Wagner specialized in baseball cards. See collector No. 12 on Burdick's list, attached ("Specializing in Baseball Subjects"). He is also listed as a "General Collector," but I think the fact that Wagner specialized in baseball cards is additional evidence that what Burdick was writing about was referring to the T206 Wagner.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

Keep in mind that John D. Wagner specialized in baseball cards. See collector No. 12 on Burdick's list, attached ("Specializing in Baseball Subjects"). He is also listed as a "General Collector," but I think the fact that Wagner specialized in baseball cards is additional evidence that what Burdick was writing about was referring to the T206 Wagner.

It's true that Wagner specialized in baseball cards, but that's not all he collected, not by a long shot. See his bio in the Card Collectors' Hall of Fame that I posted recently:

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240459

Especially this part:



The fact that Wagner was especially interested in military cards makes it unsurprising that he would have had a scarce card of the "Pontifical Standard", or a military flag of the Papal/Pontifical States. And again, it wouldn't make any sense for Burdick to refer to a T206 Wagner by that name, which refers to a specific kind of flag.

[T206Collector]

Neat clipping - reminds me of Leon replacing the collection he sold....

[nsaddict]

I'm certain it's not Honus. The content of the letter tells of a collector with knowledge of various card issues. Just a coincidence to have the same last name and mention of #521 in my opinion. This is what I believe is in reference to.



var-papal.jpg

[trdcrdkid]

Richard --

I had thought of N9s, but didn't think any of them were rare enough that Burdick wouldn't have it. I didn't realize how many variations there are in that set until I looked it up in Forbes and Mitchell just now. I have the "Papal Standard" one among my 40 N9s, which I gather is the more common one. I assume the "Pontifical States" variant was the one that Wagner sent to Burdick, who mixed up/merged the two titles in his letter.

[T206Collector]

Game, set, match