Topps went above and beyond when they announced that, as part of their 2026 Allen and Ginter release, an autograph from the sixteenth President of the United States would be included in the checklist. Well, the card has been pulled, and its next stop is Heritage Auctions.
The Pull
It was a typical day for Chris, a Cincinnati native and lifelong Cincinnati Reds & Bengals fan who now resides in Colorado Springs. On a trip to his local Target, he spent time meandering around the store until he ended up in the card section, staring down a fat pack hanging with a $6.99 price tag above it. Thinking, “What the heck? Why not?” Chris bought the pack, and after flipping through his hits, he shuffled right past the autograph at first.
When Chris realized what he had, “I knew it belonged with someone who would really appreciate it.” To find that owner, the card will be listed by Heritage Auctions as part of its December auction, where buyers will get to stake their claim on the card.
Lincoln’s Market
Honest Abe hasn’t been tested in the market in quite some time. The highest sale for a standalone Lincoln autograph was in November 2024, when a 2013 Leaf Cut Signature card sold for $17,000. Card Ladder estimates that the card is currently around $37,000.
The comp is two years old, and as far as Card Ladder shows, there haven’t been any other sales recently for a full-cut autograph of the Railsplitter from Kentucky turned Illinois Congressman then President.
In fact, a sale of a non-licensed card in June of 2026 featured a cutout of just the word “Abe” sold for $2,500. The Allen and Ginter being a featured autograph from the box and marketing of a premier brand means collectors should expect the card to make quite a jump from earlier sales.
For Chris? He told this writer that he hasn’t really collected in a while and has recently picked the hobby back up a few months ago with the release of Topps’ NFL Flagship set. His PC nowadays contains mainly sets of the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals, and he hopes that, apart from using money for the sale to go toward his savings for a house, he “Might have to pick up something special for the PC as well. As an 80s/90s kid…Frank Thomas was my guy.”
There is a chance that the card could sell for more than any other Abraham Lincoln autograph, a record set by a card that featured a second autograph on the back by the Nation’s first President, George Washington. That card, the 2008 Razor Oval Office Cut Signature Edition card, sold in September of 2022 for $27,000. Card Ladder estimates that the value of that card should be nearly double, placing the estimated value at $45,000, but with the sale being from 2022, the market needs a reconfiguration on pricing.
Add us as a preferredes ago
JONATHAN KLINGER
Jonathan Klinger is a collector and baseball historian based in Texas. Jonathan has been a lifelong Yankee fan and his love of collecting goes back over two decades. His collection is focused primarily on Yankees team sets, vintage memorabilia, and other unique pieces. He is a member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). When he’s not writing or collecting, Jonathan spends his time with his family, coaching his son’s Tee-ball team.
