Ruth vs Wagner

[Orioles1954]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Cards from sets people are working on always trade at a premium. The Ruth is a rarer card of a better player. That means little since to finish the T206 set you need a Wagner. No one is working on the Baltimore News set. Also, the Baltimore News Ruth is a minor league card, and certainly not Ruth's scarcest card. In all honesty, I'm not sure why it sells for as much as it does.

That's true in one regard. For people who get hyped up over the T206 set the Wagner card is the one to get. However, it is not even Wagner's toughest "T" card.

[GaryPassamonte]

I'm with Jay on this one. The BN Ruth is a minor league card, at best. Best player, earliest issue, minor league card. Is there any other minor league card that is considered the "rookie" card of the player pictured? Maybe the Old Mill Jackson?

[MattyC]

For me at least, a minor league card doesn't mean it can't be desirable. Joe D is not in an MLB uniform on his Zeenuts, but I'll take the Zeenut Batting OR throwing DiMaggio all day over his cartoon Goudey.

I don't think it's the "public" that will decide the card's value and desirability if what is meant there is the general public. It is the bids from wealthy bidders which are at the root; record high sales from wealthy bidders will cause a card to break out and in turn become known and noticed by the greater public-- and I have to think the wealthy bidders in years and generations to come will prefer the first and rarer card of the better player.

Fun to ponder but perhaps this is worse than debating what's better, one Ivy League college or another, Ferrari vs Lambo, or one supermodel vs another. This is whatcha gotta call one high class problem!

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by MattyC

For me at least, a minor league card doesn't mean it can't be desirable. Joe D is not in an MLB uniform on his Zeenuts, but I'll take the Zeenut Batting OR throwing DiMaggio all day over his cartoon Goudey.

I don't think it's the "public" that will decide the card's value and desirability if what is meant there is the general public. It is the bids from wealthy bidders which are at the root; record high sales from wealthy bidders will cause a card to break out and in turn become known and noticed by the greater public-- and I have to think the wealthy bidders in years and generations to come will prefer the first and rarer card of the better player.

Fun to ponder but perhaps this is worse than debating what's better, one Ivy League college or another, Ferrari vs Lambo, or one supermodel vs another. This is whatcha gotta call one high class problem!

Problem is Matt, with only 10 to choose from (with more than half tightly secured by their current owners), the 3 to 4 "possibly available BN Ruth's simply won't generate enough opportunities to arouse an interest level required to surpass the T206 Wagner legacy. Demand might be there, but supply extremely limited to a handful of subjects.

[benjulmag]

They are both great cards and reading the various responses makes me think about what's so great about collecting -- it is so subjective. Each collector is free to enjoy it in his/her own personal way.

An interesting offshoot question which I think about is whether part of the Wagner's popularity is predicated on it being the only Wagner pose in the set. As has been noted, the T206 is one of the most iconic sets in the hobby and IMO the most iconic set of the dead ball era. Wagner was as prominent a player as any in the game at the time the set was issued, and I always felt that there being only one pose of him (and a portrait pose at that with an attractive orange background) is part of the perfect storm of events that fuels the card's popularity.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

They are both great cards and reading the various responses makes me think about what's so great about collecting -- it is so subjective. Each collector is free to enjoy it in his/her own personal way.

An interesting offshoot question which I think about is whether part of the Wagner's popularity is predicated on it being the only Wagner pose in the set. As has been noted, the T206 is one of the most iconic sets in the hobby and IMO the most iconic set of the dead ball era. Wagner was as prominent a player as any in the game at the time the set was issued, and I always felt that there being only one pose of him (and a portrait pose at that with an attractive orange background) is part of the perfect storm of events that fuels the card's popularity.

I agree Corey. What makes card collecting as great as it is, is the potential diversity in ways of doing it. Most collectors, of prewar, collect sets it seems. I go against the grain but that doesn't make me right or wrong, just different. Actually the Wags is a good looking card, but to me, it's not in the same league as the Ruth card (and maybe I am the only one that feels this way, and that is ok too)...

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

That's true in one regard. For people who get hyped up over the T206 set the Wagner card is the one to get. However, it is not even Wagner's toughest "T" card.

So true.. I've got an E that's far tougher than the T206.

To earlier comment about Wags' expressionless face, to each his own. I think I'm the same boat as those who grew up with it, and '52 Mantle as THE hobby icons and they still carry an amazing appeal as a result. I view both as beautiful cards. I have definitely branched out collecting wise in recent years, but can't ever separate myself from those original childhood dreams/urges. As an alternate to the T206, I've picked up 2 other Wags that share this pose.

[glynparson]

I thought I was the only one that considered it more a schedule than a card. I'd take the Wagner over the Ruth but I am a Pirates fan.

[steve B]

If I'm not paying for it I'll take a nice Wagner.

Because then I can sell it and get a whole lot of other cards I want.

Saw one in person at an auction in CT, looked at it for a minute or two and realized I wasn't all that impressed. It was pretty much just another T206, and a creased one with writing on the back at that.

Steve B

[aaroncc]

I'm not really into T206. But prefer the Wagner. If the Ruth was a real photo cabinet I would feel differently. Looks like a red or blue ink blot.

[CW]

Why do we, or why does the hobby need a single "top card" or Holy Grail? Nothing wrong with having 2 or even 3 cards known as the hobby's best, with no clear-cut, consensus favorite. I think the Wagner and the BN Ruth are just that -- evenly matched and both worthy of the title "Hobby's Best/Most Valuable Card".