Goldin Auctions says it broke an opening day record, recording $9 million in bids in the first 24 hours of its Elite Auction that opened Sunday. The company also announced plans to expand the number of auctions it had planned for 2021. Founder/CEO Ken Goldin says the amount doubled the highest recorded one-day total in the company’s history, exclusive of the final day … [Read more...]
2020 Sports Collecting Year in Review
It was like one long Stefon skit from Saturday Night Live. 2020 had everything. Millennial artists doing weird things to famous rookie cards. A case break party at a football stadium. Babe Ruth in a baggie. Pre-War white elephants in Yahtzee boxes. Russian ransomware. Card shows during a raging pandemic. And the hobby's hottest nightclub … [Read more...]
Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia of 2020
It's not unprecedented for sports collectibles to sell for seven-figure prices but 2020 will be known for being the year in which it became a regular occurrence. At least a dozen sports cards or pieces of sports memorabilia sold for more than $1 million in 2020, a year that saw the card of an active player set the record for the most valuable trading card for the first time … [Read more...]
Study Explores Why Millennials, Gen Z Have Fallen Hard for Sports Cards
The resurgence of sports cards has led to a variety of theories as to why collecting is suddenly trending up again. Team Whistle, which creates content for the sports entertainment audience, recently drilled down into the numbers to see what type of insights they would yield. Globally, Team Whistle garners more than 4.2 billion views and has collaborated with professional … [Read more...]
Notes: Heritage High Checklist; SABR’s 50-Year Look at Baseball Through Cards; Breaking Bonanza; NBA TTM
Topps has released the checklist for its final product of 2020: Heritage High Number Baseball. It's due out December 30. You can see it inside our preview. The story of baseball is sometimes best told through baseball cards. SABR members usually know both and in conjunction with the organization's 50th birthday, they published this very smart glimpse at the 50 … [Read more...]
Totaling Up The Biggest Week in Sports Auction History
The sports card and memorabilia auction business had a pretty good year last week. The world may still be enveloped by a raging pandemic that's decreasing our population in record numbers, but the appetite for tangible connections to athletes and athletic history seems immune to it all. The latest played out in the auction market: $52.9 million spent in six major … [Read more...]
Gary Barnidge Q&A: Former NFL Tight End is Active in the Hobby
Long before Gary Barnidge was a high school football standout, a Division 1 college player and a ten-year NFL veteran, he was an avid sports card collector. Prior to seeing himself on cardboard years later as a pro himself, like many kids of the 1980's and 90's, he collected sports greats like baseball icon Ken Griffey, Jr. and football star Warrick Dunn. After an extended … [Read more...]
Notes: Long Beach Expo Canceled; Childhood Autographs Sell for $36K; CNBC on Hobby Boom
It won't come as a shock, but the next Long Beach Expo show has been canceled. It had been set to take place in February. Shows in June and September were also called off because of COVID-19. The show is a mix of coins and other collectibles but several sports card dealers and PSA are normally set up. They're hoping to hold their next show June 17-19 at the Long Beach … [Read more...]
Gretzky Rookie Card Sells for $1.29 Million
A1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA has broken its own record as the most valuable hockey card ever sold. Heritage Auctions sold one of the two copies of the card for $1.29 million early Friday morning. The card last sold in 2016 for $465,000. Part of an auction of over 3,700 lots of sports cards and memorabilia playing out … [Read more...]
Notes: Auction Video; Google Lens; Shop Story; Stock X Update; Delly’s All In
Bidding is underway in the Hunt Auctions/Christie’s collaboration of “Home Plate, A Private Collection of Important Baseball Memorabilia.” The under-the-radar private collection includes numerous pieces of historic baseball memorabilia from some of the game’s greats including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. We previewed the auction a few weeks ago. It’s scheduled to close … [Read more...]