Is Eddie Collins finally getting the respect he deserves from T206 collectors?

When I got into collecting T206s in 2010, I remember thinking Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie were priced lower than I would have expected based on their status as all-time greats.  It didn’t take too long for me to get acclimated to “the way it is” in the T206 marketplace, and I kind of forgot about that notion for a number of years.

It seems something interesting is happening with Collins’ T206 lately, at least in higher grade.  Back in June, a PSA 5 Old Mill Eddie Collins sold for $1,302 in a PWCC auction.  It caught my attention because I owned the same card not too long ago.  I sold it back in December 2017, for $689.  That’s a pretty big price jump in just six months.  My price wasn’t crazy low either.  I think the card sat in my eBay store for three or four months before it sold.  A similar (and arguably nicer) PSA 5 Old Mill sold for $700 on eBay in February 2017.

A similar thing happened with a Collins Sovereign 350.  On August 12, 2018 a PSA 5 sold for $1,327, also via PWCC auction.  Back in November of 2016, Heritage sold a different PSA 5 Sovereign 350 for just $454.  In my opinion both cards are equally nice.

Obviously, two cards selling for surprisingly high prices doesn’t necessarily indicate a trend.  However, it does appear that some Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backed examples have followed, at least to some extent.  Back in April 2018, a PSA 5 Piedmont 350 sold via Buy It Now on eBay for $850, which is $183 more than the closest sale I could find on VCP.  A PSA 3.5 Piedmont 350 sold for $390 on eBay three weeks ago.  There’s no recorded sale on VCP that comes close.

So, is this a legitimate trend, or something else?  I’m skeptical of the recent PSA 5 Sovereign 350 and Old Mill sale prices, but I do think we’re seeing an increase in value that is long overdue and likely to become the new “way it is” for Collins.