Long Forgotten Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Card Sells For $1.7M

Two siblings from a Minnesota family and a card dealer from a small town in the Gopher State are celebrating after a gem-mint rookie card of basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain was sold for $1.7 million. According to Goldin Auctions, which brokered the private sale, that is the highest price ever paid for a Chamberlain card — rookie or otherwise.

The New Jersey-based auction house made the announcement on social media on Sept. 4. The Chamberlain from the 1961-62 Fleer basketball set was the first rookie card of the Big Dipper graded by SGC to achieve a 10. SGC announced the perfect grade on Aug. 21.

DK’s Sports Cards owner Caleb Baker said he had originally turned down a $1.3 million offer and had signed a contract with Goldin Auctions, but the auction house worked out a deal that has made all parties happy.

“Not bad, huh?” Baker said.

Talk about a slam dunk. A one-of-a-kind deal for a one-of-a-kind player.

Baker, 29, whose card shop is located in the small town of Crosby (population 2,366), originally said that if the card had gone to auction all parties would “walk away happy.”

He repeated that sentiment on Wednesday.

“The smile is more like ear-to-ear,” Baker told SC Daily.

According to Baker, the card had been stored in the cabinet of an area grocery store for more than 60 years. The original owner of the card, who wished to remain anonymous, was a family member of the grocery store’s owners.

“He’s hanging in there,” Baker deadpanned.

The man and his brother met with Baker at his card shop in Crosby after the deal was finalized. The sibling of the card owner had no idea about the card or its potential value, and he and his wife were lured to Baker’s shop on the pretense of having lunch in Crosby. The couple groused about “making a long trip for lunch” and were even more puzzled when they were led into Baker’s shop.

“The man told me, ‘Caleb, they don’t know anything about this,’” Baker said.

The sibling and his wife, both “probably in their mid- or upper 60s,” listened as Baker talked about the Chamberlain card.

“Your brother found something pretty incredible,” Baker told the couple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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He mentioned that if had been graded an 8, it would have fetched around $40,000.

“His wife went pale,” Baker said.

And then, Baker gave them even better news — “You might want to sit down,” he told them — revealing the seven-figure sale figure.

The sibling’s wife really went pale at that point, Baker said.

“You might (soil) your pants when you hear about me turning down $1.3 million,” Baker said.

The sibling’s wife really went pale at that point, Baker said. But the couple recovered from their shock and all wardrobes remained clean.

Baker did not say how much he would be receiving from the deal, but conceded that he also was grinning from ear-to-ear.

The deal was consummated swiftly. After the card received its 10 grade, Baker flew to Florida on Aug. 26 and visited SGC’s offices in Boca Raton to pick it up.

“They were super excited and excited for me,” Baker said. “One of the guys asked, ‘What’s your plan?’ and when I told him his face like dropped.”

Baker had already signed a contract with Goldin to send the Chamberlain rookie to auction. But eventually a deal was worked out, and a private buyer purchased the card, with Goldin making the announcement. The buyer’s name has not been revealed.

The previous high for a Chamberlain rookie was $670,000 for a PSA 9 card in 2022.

The former card owner did have lunch with his sibling, sister-in-law and Baker.

“Oh yeah, a cheeseburger and a shake,” Baker said.

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About Bob D'Angelo

Bob has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 45 years and a blogger for two decades. He is celebrating his 60th year of card collecting, and still counts his 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle as his favorite. You can reach him at [email protected].