I think it depends on who the collector is.
Some of the hobby pioneers mentioned in this thread, I'd be proud to own one of their cards, with the knowledge that it was, at least in part, that person's dedication to the hobby that has helped keep it alive all these years. I like the chain of custody that goes back that far, as well.
There are a few more recent collectors who are/were personal friends of mine, like Jim Blumenthal or Chris Stufflestreet, that the idea of owning a card that was once part of their collection would have a personal meaning to me, and I'd probably pay a little extra.
I'm not really impressed by cards once owned by actual players, though I do have some N300 HOFers that came from Casey Stengel's collection, which I'm proud to own, and for which I paid strongly ten or fifteen years ago. Aside from that, though, I don't think I'd give any level of priority to a player's own cards.
-Al
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