Factors (beyond the obvious) that drive T206 card values
 

I am not a regular T206 collector like so many here are - I wanted to ask what tends to drive the popularity (and hence value) of a specific T-206 issue

Of course, player popularity, card condition, and card back tobacco issue rarity all drive card values

But in your experience, much does the objective aesthetic look of a card front drive desirability and value/cost?

For example, I was at a local MA show yesterday looking for my N28 King Kelly (fail! Still looking… 🥴) and came across a really great looking Ed Walsh portrait card. Such a beauty of a card and a HOFer. I believe it was a very common back and maybe 4 or 4.5 PSA

But I was surprised to see a practice of $700-800 for a fairly modestly graded card - I do know my baseball history a bit and am familiar with Walsh, of course. But I still figured he’s lower on the “popularity meter” for HOfers from that set.

Is there some rarity of that card that I may not know about? Is it just inflated (along with pretty much everything else) and riding the wave?

Or is the natural beauty of that card just desired by other collectors (like me!). Thanks for any lessons from experienced T-206 collectors

(And I’m happy to take a lower grade Ed Walsh duplicate off your hands if you happen to want to move one!)

Thx all -

Jeff

A horizontal pose or a mustache increase value because… well… I don’t know

Eddie Collins still seems too cheap relative to the other greats. I should go pick one up before this changes.

I think $700-$800 for a psa 4-4.5 Walsh (common back) is a very solid price in this market. It’s tough to get a lower-tier t206 HOFer in 4+ for less than $500, and Walsh is not lower tier. While he is not in the same class as Matty, Young, Johnson, as far as t206 pitchers, I think he is in the same tier as Brown, Joss, Waddell, Bender…. And, with prices for the stud HOFers so high now, I think collectors are “slumming” down to the next tier players to collect, which drives up prices.

More on Ryan's point. Locating even lower tier HOF's from the T206 set in 4 and 5 grade which are sharp & presentable is no easy task.

Although these cards are plentiful in low grade, one can search years for strong VG/Ex and EX examples and never find them.

For the record I paid over $1K for mine. And I agree, Big Ed is not a lower tier hall of famer ;)

https://www.collectorfocus.com/image.../t206-ed-walsh

Don't forget it is flat out a beautiful card with a gorgeous green background. And it features the greatest spitballer of the dead ball era. No wonder it isn't cheap.

That is a really nice Walsh port, Tony :)

Fomo

T206 prices are only headed higher. Portraits are becoming more and more difficult to find at any price. It seems as if I can't buy anything at an auction no matter how much I bid. The money flow is flooding the market and to me doesn't look to be ebbing anytime soon. So many more collectors and hoarders in the market, so many examples of commons with common backs in PSA4 going for $200+. Just look at prices of say Kling, Beaumont, Ames, Steinfeld, Elberfeld NY, portraits I'd say are among the more attractive in the set in PSA 4 are in most cases $300+.

I'm not a T206 guy either but am slowly completing a portrait run because they are just such beautiful cards. Lucky to have picked up my Johnson and Cobbs early, picked up Bender, Joss, and Keeler this month. Prices are rising, especially anything centered in the 3-4 condition range.
_

Great card Tony. I would just add that Walsh is a 150/350 subject, a portrait (as Bob mentioned) and his only entry in the set—all of which contribute to the premium.

Edited to add: How cool would a Walsh pitching pose (like Waddell’s or Matty’s) have been?

To echo what several others here have mentioned, T206 is a wonderful mix of top players of the day, beautiful artwork, and very cool tobacco brand typography design (some rarer than others). Got my first T206 summer of 1991, been hooked ever since.

All I know is that many collectors seem to fomo at the mouth upon seeing certain T206 cards.

Brian

Not only the mid-grade...
 

My T206 collection is low-grade (PSA/SGC 1-3 range with an occasional 4). Trying to complete my HOF collection is getting costly. Even PSA/SGC 1 HOF card that are not mangled may be upwards of $200, and can be well over $275-325 for a PSA/SGC 2. I have gone back to looking for raw HOF cards that I can afford (or at least get a PSA/SGC 1 equiv) for <$150 with the hope and prayer that someday I can again afford grading them.
Dave

The rare and scarce backs seem to be keeping their interest and value, but I have seen a descrease in price paid for commons recently. Feel free to correct that if you see it differently.

Also, I am interesting in finding a list of value multipliers for rare and scare backs. Can anyone suggest a link? Thank you.

I've heard people who collect and sell commons say that they are down lately. I don't know. The HOFers certainly seem to be doing well. I am having a hard time pulling the trigger on the last two portraits I need (Wallace and Huggins) because in my mind they are still $75 cards.

Mustaches and looking like Beavis or Butthead...

Not my area of expertise, but all the reasons mentioned so far seem appropriate. Another interesting factor might be that they aren’t rare (or are the right label of rarity). It sounds counter intuitive that something less rare would be more valuable, but combined with the other factors mentioned, their availability means that there are many collectors. And because they are a known quantity with a known market, even non-T206-collectors will know the cards and the market and will readily grab a T206 at the right price (you see a similar thing with top traded stocks). They have all the ingredients to become a market unto its own.

I think you’ve nailed the reason for the appeal of the set (and the same logic can be applied to 1952 Topps and 1933 Goudey). There’s a sweet spot somewhere between too scarce (I think of the E94s) and too plentiful (anything after 1972). With a few exceptions, any given card can be found regularly, but not so regularly that the market is flooded. Going through the exercise of assembling the set takes time, work, and money. That experience brings great satisfaction for those who succeed. Add in beautiful aesthetics and design, along with some iconic players/images and you’ve got the ingredients for a set that will always be in demand. Naturally, that demand will drive prices ever higher.

The rare backs are still off to the races. That's the 'wow factor' in T206 World. I did notice some slightly weaker prices on common back lower grade HOfers last night in REA's Encore auction.