Wagner T206 Auctioned in 1981

[Ricky]

I thought the Gretzky Wagner was cut from a full sheet of T206 cards and that didn’t happen until the mid-1980s.

[robertsmithnocure]

I do not think that it is the Gretzky Wagner. It is probably the Jumbo Wagner.

[chriskim]

Would love to know more about that "Wagner cut out from a strip of 5" story! This is new to me!

[Orioles1954]

Did he go to the Larry Fritsch School of Grading? I bought one group of T213s from Fritsch where a Cobb with a punch hole was described as VG. After returning that lot, I couldn't help but wonder what a Poor card looked like?

[toppcat]

The irony is that in the 70's Lew used to rail against hobby dishonesty in his monthly TTS column and elsewhere. I met him once, at a big show on Long Island (Nassau Coliseum) decades ago where he had a table and I bought all three Encyclopedias from him. Tried to talk to him as the cash was forked over and he just kinda growled and turned away. I remember thinking this guy should be on top of the world, what's he so grouchy about?

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by toppcat

The irony is that in the 70's Lew used to rail against hobby dishonesty in his monthly TTS column and elsewhere. I met him once, at a big show on Long Island (Nassau Coliseum) decades ago where he had a table and I bought all three Encyclopedias from him. Tried to talk to him as the cash was forked over and he just kinda growled and turned away. I remember thinking this guy should be on top of the world, what's he so grouchy about?

Same experience here. The one time that I met him, at a show, I checked out the cards on his table, and decided to purchase a T3 in low condition that was in a plastic sheet. His interaction with me was a bunch of grunts...I don't think he ever looked at me, he was busy with something, his head down low. As I was walking away from his table, I noticed that the sheet he handed me also had another, much nicer, T3 on the back side. I went back to the table and pointed out the mistake. Once again, not a word, and no expression of surprise or gratitude, he just yanked the other T3 from the sheet and went back to ignoring the world.

brianp(arker)-beme

[Ricky]

I bought a few vintage cards from him back in the late '80s and when they arrived, always found that they had been overgraded... cards that were VG had been listed as EX. But while Lew may not have been the most accurate grader or the most congenial, there's no question about his contributions towards the understanding of vintage cards.

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by chriskim

Would love to know more about that "Wagner cut out from a strip of 5" story! This is new to me!

Here's a picture of a similar strip.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Here's a picture of a similar strip.

the "only" strip?

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Here's a picture of a similar strip.

Cut that strip up and you have an oversized Near Mint Bowerman with proof marks.

Brian

[swarmee]

I thought Keith Olberman had the strip pictured. I think the 0000001 copy was just an oversized border.

[GasHouseGang]

I wasn't saying it came from this particular strip. I just posted it as an example of what the strip may have looked like that the card came from.

[topcat61]

Originally Posted by Ricky

I thought the Gretzky Wagner was cut from a full sheet of T206 cards and that didn’t happen until the mid-1980s.

Most likely that is the case. There are before and after photos and Mastro did say it was trimmed. I think most people who are familiar with the case believe that Mastro trimmed the card on two separate occasions.

The problem I have is that if the story is correct, a full sheet would not only be worth 2-3 times more than the Wagner itself at auction, but more importantly, solve a lot more questions than answers we have about the set. If the card was actually cut from a sheet (and I believe it was) than that's probably one of the biggest travesties in the Hobby.

I did enjoy the book The Card very much, but I think the authors need to revisit it and add a chapter on the aftermath and Bill Mastro and Doug Allen's trial.