Another T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, considered to be the “Holy Grail” of the collectible space, was recently discovered and has been sold at auction for $5.124 million.

The sale was conducted via Goldin Auctions, and it included the buyer’s premium. It’s now the third-most expensive T206 Wagner card ever after a $6.606 million copy was sold in August 2021 and another for $7.25 million in August 2022. 

This recently discovered copy had been in the family of Douglas and Dennis Shields for 116 yards. Their grandfather, Morton Bernstein, the son of The National Silver Company founder, Samuel E. Bernstein, collected trading cards, and more importantly, preserved them since the early 1900s. 

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A rare baseball card of Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, considered to be the best all-around player in history, is displayed on June 3, 2005, at Sotheby’s in New York. (Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images)

“We are honored that the Shields family chose us to represent this historic card that has been in their family for 116 years,” Ken Goldin, CEO and founder of Goldin Auctions said in a statement, via ESPN. 

This recently discovered copy was graded as a 1 by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), while the other two received grades of 3 and 2 respectively from Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC) when they came about.  

LOGAN PAUL SELLS PIKACHU ILLUSTRATOR TRADING CARD FOR MORE THAN $16.4M

Morton Bernstein ended up purchasing F.B. Rogers Silver Company in 1955, and he made it a point to display his preserved cards in frames throughout his business. Ultimately, The National Silver Company went out of business, and the cards were placed in a warehouse. 

As Douglas and Dennis came forward, the T206 Wagner card was featured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” where Goldin revealed it on a Season 3 episode in December. 

The famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, is shown June 6, 2000, in New York City. (Chris Hondros/Newsmakers / Getty Images)

While this is a massive payout for yet another Wagner card, another T206 remains on the market. With six days left on Heritage Auction, an SGC Authentic, which is considered a grade below a 1, is at $2.318 million right now. 

So, what exactly makes this card worth millions today? Scarcity in the collectibles industry is a major key, and since Wagner asked the American Tobacco Company to stop making his card in 1909, there is certainly that factor here. 

The 1909 baseball card of Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner is displayed for a photograph in New York, on Feb. 19, 2013. (Scott Eells/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

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That was the same year Wagner won the World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who he won eight batting titles with. Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,” Wagner is one of the most recognized baseball players of all time, being amongst the original Hall of Fame inductees when the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, was founded. 

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Lamborghini has abandoned plans to launch a fully electric model, shelving its much-anticipated Lanzador in favour of expanding its plug-in hybrid line-up.

Chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said demand for battery-powered supercars among the brand’s wealthy clientele was “close to zero”, warning that continued investment in EV development risked becoming “an expensive hobby”.

The Lanzador, unveiled as an all-electric concept in 2023, was expected to form Lamborghini’s fourth EV project. Instead, it will now be replaced by a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), meaning the company’s entire range will be hybrid by 2030.

Winkelmann said Lamborghini would continue producing internal combustion engines “for as long as possible”, arguing that customers value the “emotional experience” of the brand’s cars — from design and performance to the distinctive engine sound.

“EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this emotional connection,” he said.

Lamborghini, owned by Audi and part of the Volkswagen Group, delivered a record 10,747 vehicles in 2025, marking its second consecutive year above 10,000 units.

Its current range, including the Urus SUV, Temerario sports car and Revuelto supercar, is already fully PHEV. The Urus, accounting for around 60 per cent of total sales, remains the backbone of the business.

While Europe and the Middle East remain strong markets, deliveries in the Americas declined nearly 10 per cent last year.

Winkelmann said the decision to cancel the Lanzador followed more than a year of discussions with dealers and customers. “Investing heavily in full EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be financially irresponsible,” he said.

Lamborghini’s move reflects broader challenges facing carmakers in the transition to electric vehicles. Lower-than-expected consumer demand and rising development costs have led several manufacturers to scale back EV ambitions.

Stellantis recently announced significant write-downs linked to electric programmes, while Ford Motor Company and General Motors have also disclosed multibillion-dollar charges.

However, not all luxury brands are retreating. Rolls-Royce’s Spectre EV has emerged as one of its most popular models, suggesting electric adoption varies significantly by segment.

In the UK, petrol and diesel car sales are due to end by 2030, while the EU plans a 2035 phase-out of most new combustion engine vehicles. As a low-volume manufacturer, Lamborghini currently benefits from exemptions under emissions rules and intends to seek extensions beyond 2035.

Winkelmann noted that Lamborghini vehicles typically cover relatively low annual mileage, less than 2,000 miles for supercars, limiting their environmental footprint.

“Never say never,” he said of a future EV. “But only when the time is right.”

For now, the Italian marque is betting that hybrid technology offers the best balance between regulatory compliance and preserving the visceral appeal that underpins its brand.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

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