Restored Die-Cut T206 Honus Wagner Featured in Love of the Game Summer Premier Auction

Love of the Game Auctions’ 2026 Summer Premier Auction is underway, led by one of the most unusual T206 Honus Wagner cards in the hobby.

The auction runs through Saturday, August 8. Love of the Game said the sale includes nearly 1,400 lots, with highlights scheduled to be on display at The National in Chicago.

The restored “Die-Cut Wagner” is graded CGC Authentic – Restored and is the headline item in the sale. The card is one of the most visually striking and controversial examples of the T206 Honus Wagner, a card widely regarded as the most iconic in sports collecting.

The card’s story is central to the auction.

The Die-Cut Wagner’s documented history begins in a New Jersey card shop in the mid-1970s, where it was purchased for one dollar in a heavily compromised state. At that point, most of the background had been trimmed away from the card.

The card later passed through the hands of noted collectors and sold at auction for nearly $10,000 in the mid-1990s. It had become known as the “Die-Cut Wagner” because of its heavily trimmed appearance. After that sale, the card disappeared from public view.

The card eventually landed in the collection of sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann. The restored card looked strong enough that Olbermann was not certain exactly what he had. He placed it in a Lucite screw-down holder while awaiting further investigation. For years, the card served as a “glorified paperweight” in his home office.

CGC’s Andy Broome, Vice President of Grading, later evaluated the card and confirmed it as the original Die-Cut Wagner. CGC graded it Authentic – Restored.

Al Crisafulli, founder and auction director of Love of the Game, said the card has “pristine centering, clean borders and an exceptional presentation.” He described it as both an example of the hobby’s greatest card and a story of survival and preservation.

The auction house is presenting the card as a rare opportunity to own a T206 Honus Wagner with a documented transformation, a 30-year disappearance and celebrity provenance through Olbermann.

Beyond the restored Wagner, the auction includes several other notable pieces from baseball history. Highlights include the only known Type I example of the oversized photograph capturing Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World,” Shoeless Joe Jackson’s 1915 contract documenting his trade from Cleveland to Chicago, and a 1972 Willie Mays game-worn New York Mets jersey graded MEARS A10. Also offered are the Texas Rangers cap Jose Canseco wore during the famous 1993 “home run header” play, a 1911 D304 General Baking Ty Cobb card graded PSA VG-EX 4, a 1910 Tip Top Bread Honus Wagner graded PSA GOOD 2, and Ted Williams’ personal oversized photo album containing 74 images of the Hall of Famer in uniform.

The Love of the Game Summer 2026 Premier Auction closes August 8.