Latest news with #KenGoldin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Goldin bets on pop culture with acquisition of Studio Auctions
Goldin Auctions has acquired Studio Auctions in an effort to expand its Hollywood and entertainment offerings, Goldin announced Friday. This is the first major acquisition for Goldin since it began operating under the eBay umbrella in May 2024. 'At Goldin, we've built our name on bringing the most extraordinary pieces to market — and doing it with authenticity collectors can trust,' founder and CEO Ken Goldin said in a statement. 'This acquisition lets us go even bigger in entertainment and pop culture, and deliver exactly what passionate collectors are after.' Advertisement Goldin, founded in 2012 by Ken Goldin, has been best known as a sports-oriented auction house, among the leaders in cards and memorabilia and boasting record sales including the most expensive baseball ever sold ($4.39 million for Shohei Ohtani's 50th home-run ball) and the most expensive Michael Jordan card ever sold ($2.9 million). However, recently the company has made strides to introduce more pop-culture pieces into its sales, finding headline-grabbing success with the sale of the most expensive toy ever sold, a rocket-firing Boba Fett, which fetched $1.34 million last year. Studio Auctions has focused on items including rare movie props in the past, recording notable sales such as the more than $100,000 paid for a wand used by Glinda in 'Wizard of Oz.' The acquisition kicks off with Goldin's 'Hollywood Props & Memorabilia Auction,' highlighted by the whip used by Indiana Jones in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' a Stormtrooper helmet from 'Rogue One' and Daniel Radcliffe's first signature wand from the first two 'Harry Potter' films. Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.
Forbes
01-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Rare 1909 Honus Wagner Card Could Break Records At Auction
The T206 Honus Wagner card issued but recalled by the American Tobacco Company in 1909 is worth ... More millions because of its scarcity. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) A rare Honus Wagner card has a chance to break its former record as the most expensive ever printed. So says Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of the Goldin auction house that is now conducting an online auction featuring one of few surviving T206 Wagner cards from a 1909 American Tobacco Company set. 'This card, along with our expert curation of storied vintage collectibles, is one of the most significant sports collectibles to ever hit the auction block,' Goldin said. It is also one of the most valuable – especially because this is the first time in more than three years that a numerically-graded T206 Wagner is appearing in public auction. Starting point for the bidding began at $3 million. The price of the Wagner T206, which originally cost a few pennies, was listed at $50 in a 1933 edition of The American Card Catalog by pioneering hobbyist Jefferson Burdick. An off-center version was once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who teamed with Bruce McNall to buy it for $451,000 in 1991, while Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick bought one in 2011 for $2.8 million. When a T206 Wagner went for $7.25 million on Aug. 4, 2022, it became the most expensive piece of cardboard gold ever sold – until a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in mint condition brought $12.6 million just weeks later, on Aug. 28, 2022, to recapture the top of the memorabilia list. A mint Mickey Mantle issued by Topps in 1952 brought a card-record $12.6 million at auction in 2022. ... More (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Then a Babe Ruth jersey believed to be worn when he 'called his shot' before a home run for the Yankees in the 1932 World Series brought $24.1 million at an auction held in August 2024. None of those pieces is as old – or as scarce – as the T206 Wagner. Originally produced as part of a trading card set by American Tobacco, the card became valuable after it became scarce – the result of Wagner's wrath at the tobacco company because he abhorred using his image to promote smoking among minors who might see it. With more than a century since publication and multiple owners involved, there are no T206 Wagners in mint condition, Goldin said. But he noted that this one is close. The version at auction today is graded PSA PR-FR 1 because of its rich color and clear, well-centered portrait. Only 60 such Wagner cards are believed to exist, he said. Dubbed 'the Connecticut Wagner' because it first surfaced at a Connecticut show in 1985, the card did not reappear until it went on display at a Detroit Institute of the Arts show in 2010. Widely considered 'the Holy Grail' of sports cards, the T206 has never experienced a market value correction. Sold for $282,000 in 2010, the last public sale of a PSA 1 Wagner 12 years later earned $3,137,000, an increase of an astronomical 1,012%. During that same time span, the Dow Jones increased by 246%, the S & P by 307% , and the NASDAQ by 586%. Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates was one of five players in the charter ... More election class of the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Photo by) Goldin, who launched his firm in 2012, has sold more than $2 billion in pop culture products ranging from bats, balls, and baseball cards to game-used jackets, jerseys, and caps. His company has surpassed $1 billion in sales of products placed into auction. The firm, which has an international reputation for selling high-end sports and entertainment memorabilia, is the official auction partner of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It has more than 100 employees and is based in Runnemede, NJ. When time permits, the 59-year-old Goldin roots for the closest major-league team, the Philadelphia Phillies. Goldin's Spring Vintage Elite Auction, one of the major events on its annual auction calendar, opened May 28 and runs through June 9. .
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why rare auction of legendary T206 Honus Wagner card is attracting multi-million dollar bids
An ultra-rare T206 Honus Wagner card is now on sale at auction, marking a milestone event for the sports card hobby. It's also an occasion circled by the very wealthy who want bragging rights and a small piece of 116-year-old art that's repeatedly proven to be one of the world's most lucrative investments. Advertisement Bidding for the 'Connecticut Wagner,' which got its name after being brough to a Connecticut card show in 1985, opened on Wednesday at $2 million in Goldin's Spring Vintage Auction and rose above $3.1 million within the first hour. But Ken Goldin, founder of the auction house, would not be surprised if the winning bid doubled that amount — even though it is graded in 'poor' condition by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), as a '1' on a scale of 1-10. 'North of $6 million would be great for the hobby,' Goldin said. 'Somewhere in mid-seven figures. I view this card as an above-average '1' for the color and the fact that the face is really undisturbed where a lot are very disturbed. And the back is very clean.' Goldin said most 1s have significant paper loss on the back. The Wagner card was originally released by the American Tobacco Company in 1909, part of a set that was included with cigarettes. There are only 36 graded by leading trading card grader PSA and there are another 17 graded by SGC, according to Card Ladder, which tracks card sales across multiple marketplaces. Overall Goldin says the total population of all T206 Wagner cards is believed to be no more than 60. It's such an exclusive club that owners of the card have an exclusive club that meets annually. Last year was the first year in at least the last 30 where no new members joined the club, with no T206 Wagners changing hands. So demand for this offering is expected to be high. 'It has such cultural significance,' Goldin said. 'So many people who don't own anything else in sports would love to own a T206 Wagner for bragging rights.' And also for financial gain. 'I looked at every type of transaction I could think of in gold, precious metals, art, stocks,' Goldin continued. 'The only example I can find where the exact same item (meaning the same Wagner card) sold for more every time is a T206 Wagner, and it's done that in every grade.' Advertisement According to the auction house, the Wagner card in this grade has increased in value by 1,012 percent between 2010 and 2022 (the last two sales). That's between two and three times more than the growth in that period of the major U.S. stock indexes. Wagner is so famous for the scarcity of his card that his excellence as a baseball player is often given short shrift. The hall-of-fame shortstop overcame an unusual body type (barrel chest and bowed legs) to become baseball's greatest pure athlete over his 21-year career between 1897 and 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He stole 723 bases in his career, leading the National League five times. Wagner led the NL in Wins Above Replacement 11 times, won eight batting crowns and amassed the eighth-most hits in history (3,420). The T206 set gets its name, which denotes it is tobacco card set No. 206, from Jefferson Burdick's 1939 book 'The American Card Catalog.' It has 523 or 524 subjects (a topic of some controversy, though Goldin says the number is 523). Legend has it that Wagner's card was pulled from distribution because he hated smoking. But according to the Smithsonian, it's far more likely Wagner just didn't want anyone profiting from his likeness. Goldin, dubbed 'The King of Collectibles' by Netflix in its reality series on his buying and selling operation, is an avid collector himself. But he said the Wagner card is now priced beyond him, even though he owns the rest of the T206 set. 'Like (many), I have waited to find one under a certain price and it just never happens. I wouldn't be surprised to see a graded Wagner of a '1' sell for $10 million soon. And the best of them could sell for $50 million.' The 'best' is in the collection of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. In 2007, he paid $2.8 million for a T206 Wagner graded an '8' (near mint to mint) by PSA in the early 1990s — the first card the company ever graded. Though Kendrick said he and others widely suspected the card was altered (trimmed to make it appear in better condition), he bought it anyway. In 2013, the Department of Justice extracted a confession from former sports memorabilia auction house owner Bill Mastro in a plea agreement in which he stated that he trimmed that Wagner card with a paper slicer. Advertisement PSA offered to buy the Wagner card back from Kendrick for what he paid to honor their guarantee. In a recent interview with Sports Card Investor, Kendrick said he declined because he bought it 'with reasonable knowledge and a cachet of wrongdoing. I figured that being part of a crime would make it more valuable.' Kendrick compares it to John Dillinger's gun, which is just a gun but has immensely more value due to its infamous role in a crime. He added that his instincts have clearly proven to be right. He also said the card deserves its grade. In 2021, Kendrick became an investor in PSA's parent company, Collectors Universe. The next highest graded T206 Wagner is one in 'excellent' condition (a '5' on the 10-point scale). Goldin said just 26 are graded higher than the PSA 1 he's auctioning. In April, an 'altered/restored' Wagner fetched $1.98 million. Goldin was impressed by that sale because he said that '95 percent (of buyers) would never have considered the altered Wagner. You had an artist recreate part of it. Let's say you have a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle with the top third torn off and send it out to an art restorer and get it rebuilt. To me it's not the same card.' While the Connecticut Wagner may technically be graded as poor, it's in its natural state and considered more a work of art and a cultural touchstone than a mere piece of cardboard. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
