Baseball cards aren't just for kids anymore, nor are the subjects related only to baseball. Topps, Upper Deck, and many other sport card manufacturers have created presidential cards. Here are some cards that feature Abraham Lincoln's autograph.
Some info. The series features the cut signatures of every US President. It also included dual signature cards featuring many presidents and a counterpart. Each card was numbered to 5 or less and featured an image of the signer. The production was announced to go just 250 boxes but the final number could be lower because the production run was to be based on sales of the 2011 Leaf Pop Century series. Each box contained one cut signature card.
This is the example auto cut from the Leaf sales sheet with their disclaimer that "actual card styles may differ after production."
In fact, the card did differ as you can tell from this listing by eBay seller twizeldmotorsports18. As of August 2013, the card is listed at $39,000 or best offer, with 15 offers declined since the end of June 2013. The signature comes from a document dated January 16, 1862. It is in a Beckett slab graded as Hard to Find.
Cut signature cards featuring Abraham Lincoln are:
Card
Number
#'d to n
Abraham Lincoln
OOS 16
1
George Washington / Abraham Lincoln
OOD 01
1
Abraham Lincoln / Hannibal Hamlin
OOD 06
1
Abraham Lincoln / Mary Todd Lincoln
OOD 26
1
OOS is Oval Office Singles; OOD is Oval Office Doubles
Watch this video below (from the Wall Street Journal) starting at the 2:20 mark for a small segment on Abraham Lincoln's hair from the collection of John Reznikoff.
Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts also include an auto cut signature from Mary Lincoln in the Mystery Cuts series.
Mary typically identified herself as Mrs. A. Lincoln (Lincoln's typical signature was A. Lincoln). The Mary Lincoln First Lady card is 1/1. As of August 2013, seller aitx has this Mary Lincoln Mystery Cut card listed for $6,999 or best offer, with three offers declined or expired since February 2012.
In April 2012, another Abraham Lincoln Hair Cuts card (with redemption card) came onto the eBay market, listed by DasCardHaus for $8,500 or best offer. Shortly after listing, a single prospective buyer made three offers, all of which were declined. (eBay only allows three offers from a single user.)
The Mount Rushmore card was listed on eBay for $125,000 or best offer. (As of early October 2009, five offers from three would-be buyers have been declined since the card was listed as an eBay Stores item on April 7, 2009.)
Update August 2013: The Mt. Rushmour cut signature card is on eBay listed by profit_monster for $75,000 or best offer [290950661659]. Five offers have been decined since July 2013; perhaps that is when it was relisted.
Prominent Cuts was introduced by Upper Deck in November 2009. The standard set was announced as 90 cards, but appears to have been revised to 60 cards: 22 politicians, 12 celebrities, and 26 sports icons. Each pack contained a cut signature (available as singles, duals, and quads), an autograph, or a celebrity memorabilia card. Celebrities include Hollywood entertainers, athletes (including MMA stars--i.e., Mixed Martial Arts), and historical figures. Cut signatures were inserted one per box.
A great surprise in this set is an auto cut by Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
The front of the card indicates that this Abraham Lincoln is 1 of 1.
Opening the booklet, of course, reveals two card panels.
The signature panel includes the common "A. Lincoln" signature, clipped from a document dated July 29, 1862.
The back of the autograph cut card indicates that it is number 16 in the series. It says, "Lincoln, 'The Great Emancipator,' guided the country through the difficulties of the Civil War, only to be struck down by the assassin's bullet shortly after the war ended."
As of March 2010, the Lincoln cut signature with home wood is listed for $19,995.95 or best offer by a different seller: wwwdanscardzcom. Oh, and another $84 for overnight shipping.
As you can see, this does not look like an autograph. Rather, it looks to be a clipping of Lincoln's name that he wrote as part of a larger paragraph.
Short Cut Signature without a Relic
There is also an auto cut card with Abraham Lincoln's shorter signature and no wood relic, AHS-AL. It is 1/1. Like the shorter signature with the wood relic from Lincoln's home, this does not look like an autograph. Again, it appears to be a clipping of Abraham Lincoln's name that he wrote as part of a larger paragraph.
The AHS-AL Lincoln auto cut 1/1 card practically lives on eBay. The card has sold multiple times but has been relisted again and again by seller paulsmith914. It was listed on September 14, 2009, for $17,499 or best offer, with the seller declining three offers. On December 12, 2009, it was listed for $12,499. It sold in an auction on January 11, 2010, with one bid for $5,4999.99. The bidder must have been a deadbeat, because it was listed by the same seller again and sold on January 31, 2010, for $4,050.00. The seller started that auction at 99 cents and got 73 bids from 20 bidders. However, the bid history shows that the winner is no longer a registered user, so he was a deadbeat, too.
This is one unlucky seller. He listed it again and in the listing description, said it was being listed for the third time because of non-paying bidders. At a starting bid of 99 cents, the listing got 23 bidders who cast 48 bids. The 2009 American Heritage Abraham Lincoln cut signature card sold again on February 28, 2010, for $4651.02. Once again the bid history shows that the bidder (who was newly registered at the time) is no longer a registered user--kicked off of eBay. Be on the lookout for it; it's bound to come up soon.
The Lincoln Presidential Plate baseball card in this set (PP-16) is pulled 1:264 packs or 1 in 11 boxes. The Abraham Lincoln card sold on eBay December 12, 2009, for $78.79. Listed at the same time was an Abraham Lincoln PP-16 at a starting price of $89 and a Buy It Now price of $99.
Another sold on eBay on January 2, 2010, for $66.00. Still another sold via eBay auction on January 20, 2010, for $54.13.
