Heritage Auctions recorded more than $924.9 million in total sales through the first half of 2024, the highest midyear total in the company’s 48-year history.
That number includes all of the company’s various divisions, from wine to coins to sports memorabilia.
The biggest individual sale was for a copy of Action Comics #1, the one that introduced Superman. It sold for $6 million in an April auction.
The May sports memorabilia auction, generated $21.3 million revenue and another large event is on the way this summer.
Heritage says it “is now on pace for its fourth record-setting year in a row, following 2023’s $1.76 billion year.”
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A collector has his cards back and an Oregon woman is in jail after police set up a sting operation to catch her.
The victim, 61-year-old Wisconsin resident Steven Ortiz, dropped a backpack containing the cards and some valuable jewelry as he got off a train traveling from Portland International Airport Monday afternoon. The jewelry, local media reports say, had belonged to his late wife.
Surveillance video showed 34-year-old Dawn Castro of Beaverton, picking up the backpack. Police say she later sold the jewelry to a local pawn shop and went on social media to try to sell the cards, including a 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle, two 1961 Topps Carl Yastrzemski cards, a 1981 Topps Joe Montana rookie and others.
After his son found the stolen cards on Facebook marketplace, the victim and Beaverton Police Detectives arranged a meeting with Castro to buy them. Undercover officers arrested Castro at the Beaverton Transit Center, the same spot where the theft took place. Both the cards and jewelry were recovered.
Castro is being charged with 1st Degree Aggravated Theft. She has a prior criminal record.
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Live streaming platform Loupe says it’s now offering collector-to-collector buying and selling on its platform.
The company says it’s a first for the industry.
The move enables collectors to buy and sell cards directly to one another within the live stream. If a collector pulls a card from a box that another viewer wants, the two can negotiate a price and make a sale on the spot. Funds are paid to the seller immediately and the streaming shop will ship the card directly to the new owner or to PSA for grading.
“When talking to our most committed users, the topic of liquidity inevitably comes up. Collectors want to be able to move cards that they aren’t keeping for their personal collections,” says Loupe founder and CEO Eric Doty. “It streamlines everything, making buying and selling singles much easier and more reliable.”
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