1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner vs. 1911-16 Kotton Honus Wagner: Who Has More?

[rman444]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Hello everyone,

Somewhere along the line I said something like "Heck, the T206 Wagner is not even his toughest tobacco card!" The dealer looked at me like I head three heads and immediately told me I was wrong....to which I believe I am not.

James - you are not wrong. The T216 Kotton Wagner is far tougher than the T206 Wagner.

My guesstimates for known/existing populations of each:

T206: 70-90
T216 Kotton thick (types 1 and 2) throwing: 20-25
T216 Kotton thick (types 1 and 2) batting: 20-25
T216 Kotton thin (type 3) throwing: 3-5
T216 Kotton thin (type 3) batting: 5-7
T216 Mino throwing: 5-10
T216 Mino batting: 3-5
T216 Virginia Extra throwing: 0-3
T216 Virginia Extra batting: 0-3

One interesting thing to note is that T216 Wagners exist as both 2b and ss. However, from what I have seen of the T216 set over the years, I do not believe that the Wagner "ss" version (either pose) is available in either Mino or Kotton thick backs. Conversely, I do not believe that the Wagner "2b" version is available in the Kotton thin, and if a Virginia Extra Wagner were to exist, I do not believe that it would be a 2b either.

So, in summary, this is what I believe are the possible combinations (both poses):

1) Kotton thick - 2b only
2) Kotton thin - ss only
3) Mino - 2b only
4) Virginia Extra - ss only

Cannot prove it, as only a handful of each example exist for 2 and 3, and 4 may not even exist. However, this is what my gut tells me.

Similar for the Cobb, only one variation of the standing pose is found on Kotton thin.

I would be interested to hear other people's estimates on total populations.