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HankronFor those who are unfamiliar with the story behind these Hans Wagner cards:
There are authentic early 1900s Hans Wagner tobacco labels (to be stuck onto Hans Wagner tobacco boxes). The labels are extremely rare (just a few examples known to exist), and come in various designs. One in particular has a similar design as this card ... As a side note, in similar fashion to the T206, this brand of tobacco was apparently never issued to the public. All the labels known to exist were never used-- meaning pasted to boxes.
About 1993, a manufactuer of collectable tin signs (you know all those Ted Williams Moxie and Joe Jackson H & B reprints) made a sign based on the design of just mentioned tobacco label. Whether or not you like these kinds of reprints, the seller was on the up and up-- merely selling them as modern collectables. The sign was not an exact copy of the label. He added the 5 cents sign at the bottom for artistic effect (give it some balance). He also he used a different text font in parts, as he could not find a modern duplicate of the original font.
A couple of years ago, a man in Ohio used a computer printer to reprint the tin signs as the tobacco trade cards-- naturally roughing them up and scuffing the cards to make them appear old. He sold them at flea markets to unsuspecting non-collectors, who knew the legend of Honus Wagner and thought they had struck gold.
There was an investigation (non legal) surrounding these cards, as it hit the Pittsburgh local news. I examined one card and it was a simple electrostatic reprint (meaning made by either laser printer or high quality photocopier) pasted to cardboard and artificially aged.
The man who made the tin signs was interviewed and said that the cards had to be modern, as they were exact reproductions of the tin sign design he made up in the 1990s.
So, when you see one of these cards for sale, treat it as a modern fantasy card in bad condition-- worth two bucks at very most. If you like the design (and it is an interesting image of Wagner), you can go out and buy one of the 'original' tin signs.