Some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the most famous card in the hobby.

[benjulmag]

Here’s what I can add to this discussion.

I knew Bob Sevchuk. He was one of the dealers I did business with. I remember soon after I bought a 1939 Playball set from him he called to tell me he would be receiving from Florida a NrMt-Mt Wagner, and would I be interested in purchasing it. One year prior I had purchased the Wagner I own now, a nice copy that I grade ex-ex+. I told Bob that if in fact he had a NrMt-Mt copy coming, which would be an upgrade on the one I had, I would be interested. He told me to wait until he received the card so he could confirm it was in that condition. When it arrived he called to say he received the card and it really was NrMt-Mt. I asked him the provenance of the card as, to put it mildly, I was astonished that a Wagner in that condition would turn up, especially from Florida. The response I got was vague, saying it came from Florida, with little additional detail. I don’t recall whether he mentioned it came from a flea market, but it is possible he did. I told him I wanted to see it, but that I wanted to bring someone with me to opine whether the card was real. I told him I would get back to him in a few days. Next thing I heard was that he had sold it to Mastro and it was the talk of the Willow Grove show, a show I attended. One rumor floating around was that it was the oversized Wagner sold by Lipset a few years earlier (that currently resides at the HOF) cut down.

As has been noted, a significant number of Wagners originate from Long Island, including most of the high grade copies. Mine came from an old-time hobby veteran, who was from Long Island. The notion of the sheet originating from a flea market in Florida and the cards being in the condition they are, pristine white borders with vivid colors, uncreased and having no reported condition issues, always struck me as remarkable. That said, many New Yorkers do spend their winters in Florida, and amazing things have been known to turn up at flea markets.

What does this all mean? I don’t know. But, I have always been intrigued by the allegation (which was discussed at length in a thread on this Board many years ago) that in the 1950’s T206 reprints were made from the original printing plates, and were assembled in combinations different from how they were assembled in 1909.

In mentioning this I want to stress that I am not saying the card is not genuine. I remember when REA sold the Plank years ago looking at it under a loupe to see if I could discern any differences in the dot matrix pattern. I could not, so at least to a person who claims no expertise in examining dot matrix patterns, it passed that visual test. But there are things about it that are extraordinary, and to me, a person extremely focused on provenance and a believer that counterfeiting is more prevalent and more of a risk than most collectors realize, I do not possess the same degree of confidence in its genuineness that I possess with other Wagners, and I do not believe a forensic examination of its physical components would be an unwarranted exercise.