Earlier this week, I posted the top 10 most expensive auction lots sold in 2016. The numbers on the list were eye-popping, even if you remember each sale. A look back at the lists for the last few years does indicate this was a record-setting year, at least in terms of the amounts at the top. 
- For the first time, the top ten list included four lots that sold for over $1 million. Last year, just one hit that mark.
- For the first time, it included multiple lots selling for over $3 million each.
- For the first time, the entire list was comprised of items that sold for over $500,000. In 2015, only four reached that level.
- Seven of the 2016 top ten were baseball cards. Only four were in 2015 and just three in ’14.
The top item a year ago was a PSA 3 Wagner that sold for $1.32 million. In 2014, a copy of Babe Ruth’s 1918 Red Sox contract topped the list at $1 million and change.
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An interesting tweet from Tom Shieber this week. He found a little blurb in an Indianapolis newspaper about the chaos being caused by card collecting.
“Every local school teacher gave thanks” when the baseball card collecting fad ended … in 1902! pic.twitter.com/HeM6TkF7zg
— Tom Shieber (@tshieber) December 29, 2016
What is thought to be the world’s most impressive collection of Toronto Maple Leafs memorabilia is inside the home of a super fan who has turned it into a gathering place for friends, NHL executives and others with ties to the game.
Mike Wilson is 62 and has been collecting virtually his entire life. His 1,000-square-foot man cave hold over 2,000 pieces including vintage game-worn jerseys, signed photos, game-used sticks and pucks, historic documents and even the original dressing room door for the old Maple Leaf Gardens, autographed by dozens of former players.
Word about his passion has spread throughout the sport and once per month, he holds an event in the basement with an impressive guest list (invitation only). The New York Times recently came for a visit.
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