Boy, 12, Unearths Can Holding Baseball Card Worth Thousands

Arlo Quint was digging for some worms when his spade turned over an old can that contained an original Honus Wagner baseball card that may be worth thousands of dollars.

Arlo, 12, was planning on going fishing with a couple of friends on Monday. The three boys started digging for worms next to the foundation of his family’s barn.

Instead of worms, the boys uncovered an old Dr. Lyons Tooth Powder can. When they opened the cap, four old baseball cards fell out. One of the cards showed Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, a card that experts say can be worth thousands of dollars.

Quint said he went to a local baseball card shop today to try to determine the worth of the card.

“There is one magazine that says the card can be worth $200,000 if it is in good condition,” said Arlo, who stayed home from school so he could check out the value of his find.

“There are some marks on (the card), but it is not completely trashed or anything,” he said.

Arlo said he also looked up the other cards that were in the can with the Honus Wagner card.

“One is Eddie Plank, and another says Evers and the fourth one says Bresnahan,” Arlo said. “Bresnahan played for St. Louis, Evers played for the Cubs, and Plank was with the Athletics, I think.”

Arlo’s mother, Janet Quint, said nothing else was found in the hole that the boys dug.

“We’ve never found anything else out there, but we are thinking about digging some more now, “ she said.

Coincidentally, a 12-year-old boy from Stockton Springs reportedly found a similar Honus Wagner card recently in a can wedged between the rocks of an old foundation.

The cards were manufactured in 1909 by the Piedmont cigarette company. The Wagner cards are valuable because Wagner, who neither smoke nor drank, demanded that the cigarette company halt distribution of his card.