A full Philadelphia Warriors uniform worn by Wilt Chamberlain during his rookie season in the NBA has become the largest sale in the short history of the fractional shares market for sports memorabilia.
Over 1,000 investors purchased $956,000 worth of shares at $10 each via the Collectable app on Wednesday. The initial public offering sold out in one hour.
The jersey’s owner, David Kohler of SCP Auctions, is retaining 25 percent equity in the uniform, which carries a value of over $1.2 million. Kohler owns the largest collection of important Lakers game-used memorabilia in the world.
It originated with Chamberlain himself and has changed hands in the hobby a few times over the years. The uniform was photomatched by MeiGray to multiple games during Chamberlain’s rookie year, including a famous Neil Liefer image of Chamberlain waving to the crowd as he walks off the court. It was also authenticated Mears several years ago.
“This really is the holy grail of basketball uniforms,” Kohler told Alan Goldsher on a recent Collectable podcast. “We know the pedigree. We know the provenace.”
The durene jersey and shorts were worn by Chamberlain during the 1959-60 season, following a one-year stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. After becoming the highest paid NBA player as a rookie, the 7’1 center scored 43 points and grabbed 28 rebounds in his debut and finished his first season averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game. He broke eight NBA records and was named MVP and Rookie of the Year.
Another jersey worn by Chamberlain at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia is currently trading on the Collectable app.
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