1902 W600 Sporting Life Honus Wagner Street Clothes Type 1 PSA VG+ 3.5.. ...

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Honus Wagner's true rookie card!

1902 W600 Sporting Life Honus Wagner Street Clothes Type 1 PSA VG+ 3.5.
This stalwart warrior for the Pittsburgh Pirates is honored twice in the W600 issue--an in-uniform image that has been elevated to immortality through its contemporary use in the fabled T206 issue, and the format found here that captures the Old Dutchman in his Sunday best. While both versions are exceedingly rare today, each numbering in the single digits in the PSA census, this street clothes variety is the less common of the pair.

But the particular breed of mount that serves as home to the classic Wagner image narrows the specific population to just two, the "Type 1" earliest format released only during the first of the issue's ten-year production run. This puts the card a full calendar year ahead of the E107 Breisch-Williams card which is commonly assigned "rookie" status.

Tiny original production runs and the perils of survival for an oversized (approximately 5x7") paper premium are to blame for the near extinction of this species today, but the offered example is a welcome exception to the rule, with light edge and corner wear, and minor toning on verso, the only signs of a century's existence. A truly splendid example of one of the hobby's rarest cards.