Top Selling Sports Memorabilia of 2017

From Ruth to Robinson to Rockwell, 2017 was another banner year for high-end sports cards and memorabilia. While some card prices may have softened just a bit from the wild spring and summer of 2016, the market remains strong for the best of the best.  Significant game-worn memorabilia and historic items also drew plenty of six and even seven-figure bids.

The Lelands “Invitational” auction produced the top two items on the list, both Ruth-related pieces.  Three items sold for over $2 million in 2017.

Here’s our annual list–expanded just a bit–to include 15 of the most valuable pieces of sports memorabilia sold at public auction over the last 12 months:

1919 Sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees Document   $2.3 Million via Lelands (June 2017)

1927 Babe Ruth World Series Ring  $2.09 Million via Lelands (June 2017)

Jackie Robinson 1947 Game-Worn Jersey $2.05 Million via Heritage (November 2017)

1948 Original Study for “Tough Call” by Norman Rockwell — Gifted to Umpire “Beans” Reardon $1.68 Million via Heritage (August 2017)

1937 Lou Gehrig Game-Worn Pinstripe Jersey $870,000 via Heritage (August 2017)

1955 Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers Rookie Jersey  $667,189 via Lelands (June 2017)

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Card PSA 8 $660,000 via Heritage (February 2017)

T206 Honus Wagner PSA 1 (J. Ross Greene Collection) $609,294 via SCP (June 2017)

1916 Babe Ruth M101-4 Rookie Card PSA 7 $600,000 via Robert Edward Auctions (October 2017)

T206 Honus Wagner PSA 2- $600,000 via Memory Lane (May 2017)

1947 Jackie Robinson Rookie Year Cap – Used To Fend Off Racially Motivated Beanballs $590,994 via Lelands (October 2017)

1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Rookie Card PSA 9 $588,000 via Memory Lane (October 2017)

1916 Babe Ruth M101-5 Rookie Card  $552,000 via Heritage Auctions (May 2017)

1948 Bowman Baseball Partial Wax Box  $514,746 via Mile High Card Co. (June 2017)

1968 Mickey Mantle Autographed Game-Worn Road Jersey – $486,000 via Heritage (February 2017)

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 40 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected].