Latest news with #KenGoldin
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Sports card industry leaders on what's working and why trust needs to be improved
The 'state of the hobby' seems like a never-ending topic within the sports collectibles and memorabilia space, with the scales of the 'state' always shifting dramatically from one day to the next, depending on who you talk to. The success of events like the National Sports Collectors Convention and Fanatics Fest only emphasizes the growth in the sports card and memorabilia industry. Conversely, flaws within the hobby remain in need of addressing. Advertisement When asked at The National what needs work within this industry, Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan asked without hesitation, 'How long you got?' While attending the event, I caught up with executives from some of the biggest power players in the space to discuss what's working and what needs to improve within the hobby. Here are the companies I spoke with: Ken Goldin, Goldin Auctions founder/CEO 'Quite frankly, the cementing of women's sports as a category. In 2012, it did not exist. Then a couple of Serena Williams cards hit and then somebody who captured the world's imagination like Caitlin Clark comes in and we sell one of her college cards, I think it was like $90,000, and people go, 'Oh my God!' Then we just continued to do it. … If I told somebody 10 years ago that I would sell a WNBA card for $500,000, let alone even $10,000, they would have said you're out of your mind. It's really creating a new industry and it created a new mindset for a lot of people. That, without question, is the biggest change over the past couple of years in trading cards.' Ryan Hoge, PSA president 'I think the level of new people coming into the hobby at different ages, men and women, that's going really well. Just walk around The National. A bunch of kids with their dads having fun, being excited about cards. There's the Whatnot area, they're doing (box) breaking. That's a whole new thing that didn't exist five years ago. It's cool to see. … I think it's fun and you're seeing innovative ways to buy cards. You're seeing innovative ways to collect them, to sell them, to connect with the community.' Adam Ireland, eBay vice president/general manager of global collectibles 'The thing that actually gets me really excited for the health of the hobby overall is the number of new sports that we really are seeing take off. And that goes from stuff that's maybe a little bit more known like WNBA. Obviously Caitlin Clark has just been a phenomenon, And really that's changing the entire seasonality of the business in some ways. It normally could be a quieter time of year for some sports, but you've got some really high value cards that are starting to be in the market. I think you actually wrote about the (Carlos) Alcaraz cards that we saw in tennis. So you start to see that going through F1 now for a couple of years it's been continuing to grow. I think we've seen that up over 50 percent in the first half of the year.' Advertisement 'There's so much data available around what's going on in the hobby. And the data gets more democratized, you get more liquidity in the market. It's the same as with the stock market when you only have people historically there sort of shouting out across the trading floor. There's only so much buying and selling that is going to happen. You get into more of an e-trade world, and obviously like stock market prices and values go up. That's one of the things we've been really focused on is how do we really integrate data and give people more trust in the transaction.' Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions director of sports auctions 'It's interesting because I kind of focus on the vintage stuff, but you know the growth, just the foot traffic in this show is incredible. The amount of people that are showing up and then you know the mini shows, the cottage industry of shows that are happening after the doors closed on this show (trade nights, the off-site soccer cards show). It's incredible. In hotel lobbies, the trading, the youth that are involved. I think it just bodes really well for the industry as a whole. 'It reminds me a lot of what was going on in the '80s as far as like when I was a kid and just the excitement around the hobby and people getting involved.' Brian Lee, Arena Club founder/CEO 'I think the hobby is continuing to grow as you notice walking The National here. It's the most packed I've ever seen it. I've been here quite a few years and never seen it like this. I've gone to local shows. Never seen the local shows like that. And so there's definitely something going on in the industry that's really piquing people's interest. It's just the excitement of the chase. The rarity of some of these cards. You see these young kids get involved now. It's at least 25 percent of the folks in here are under 18, right? So that means that the hobby is very healthy, it's growing, it's extending and it's price safe for future generations or secure for future generations. 'I also think it's just more awareness, too. I think Fanatics has done an amazing job in terms of bringing more awareness to the hobby.' Advertisement Mike Mahan, Fanatics Collectibles CEO 'I think that there's a lot of things that are going right. I think you're seeing that with the level of the number of people and the level of enthusiasm here (at The National) tends to be a pretty good proxy for the health of the market. These are the most experienced collectors. They'll tell you with their wallets. Obviously there's broader economics that play into that, but you see the lines around the corner when people are shutting down on a Thursday for capacity issues. That's a very illuminating sign. 'It always starts with the product and I think that, while not perfect, I think we are making special products. I think the team has made a massive amount of product innovation. I think the way we're dealing with athletes and bringing them into the hobby, whether it's (Topps) Rip Night, whether it's signing, whether it's Fanatics Fest, whether it's those participating in social media. 'Look at the number of baseball players right now that are collecting cards. It was probably 10 players a few years ago. Now it's probably 150. It was funny because I went to Card Vault (a shop opened by Tom Brady and his partners across from Wrigley Field) last night and the whole Cubs team was there. Justin Steele is looking at display cases like, 'Can I buy a case?' and they just want to rip. That is not a happy accident, right?' Jason Masherah, Upper Deck president 'I think the thing that is the most exciting to me is the youth around the hobby. Coming back to the hotel (at The National), there's an impromptu trade night and there's a couple hundred kids there with their cards, their money, they're transacting. To me, it takes me back to the '90s. So many of us grew up in the same culture. We were out doing deals, hustling. We were learning the value of money. What a good deal is, what a bad deal is, profit and loss. Watching these kids transact and learn these life lessons about collecting and doing business is super exciting.' Armand Wilson, Whatnot vice president of categories 'More and more people are just coming into the hobby of all different types and so you see it here (at The National). The diversity across the people that have booths here has really, really changed. There's still people here who've had booths for 20, 30 years and that's what makes this place great. But you also see people that have popped up in the last couple of years and have been able to reconnect in the hobby or been behind the scenes and now they've been able to grow and have a presence here. 'I think collectibles and I think cards are having a moment right now. I think a lot of people are very nostalgic for those moments. Most sports fans have that moment where they're opening up packs of cards with their dad at a shop, and I think cards are very topical right now, all the companies are having huge years.' Goldin 'I think licensed manufacturers need to put out a product that the consumer is happier with so that a first-time buyer doesn't feel they spent $150 a box and then they go on whatever app they use and they see their cards are worth $14. That has to stop happening. The second thing is, again, the licensed manufacturers need to let a flourishing industry flourish on their own. They can't try to dictate what something sells for. They can't try to be the same person who manufactures the card, and then, oh, if you pull this card, we'll get it graded for you and we'll sell it ourselves. They're literally trying to monopolize and take all the money out of everybody's hands. In terms of what happened recently in the news with the memorabilia frauds, you need to know and trust who you're buying it from. Advertisement 'I look at who we get (items) from and I confidently told everyone I don't think we sold one single item from this guy (Brett Lemieux). I don't care how many he claims to have sold, but I think that this is why you need to buy from a stable business, somebody who's got a great reputation, somebody you can call the next day, someone who was there six months ago and is going to be there six months from now and has a history. If there is a problem, because look, every business no matter how hard we try, there are problems. But it's how you deal with those problems and how you satisfy the customer that counts.' Hoge (PSA) 'I want to make sure that the hobby doesn't lose kind of the collector focus. It seems like it's heavily indexing on the hustler, like the flipper. That's cool. That's faster (way to make money) that's fun. But I think you need to have a healthy balance. The hobby has always had this tension of passion and nostalgia versus profit. 'I like seeing the innovation on the card side so I think continuing to have compelling products like less sticker autos, more actual game-used relics is really cool. At various price points too, making sure it's accessible for collectors of all budgets. I think we've seen stuff drift to the higher end a little bit. Sometimes that can price out newer collectors or people with different budgets, so I think having a good balance there is also important. 'I think for us, I think we're continuing to just focus on accuracy and quality and being able to just keep up with the demand so that, in turn, we can do the same thing. Faster turnaround times, potentially lower prices. It just enables more people to collect and have fun. Just transparency.' Ireland (eBay) 'So much depends on trust, right? You've got to believe that you're getting a trusted transaction. That's why we've invested in the authentication guarantee program. It's why you've got things like money-back guarantee on the eBay platform in general, you know, obviously unfortunate news. A couple of weeks ago (referring to the accusations of counterfeit items being sold on eBay) that just demonstrated that that is always going to be something where we're going to need to continue to raise the bar, and it's something that we're always at eBay going to take really, really seriously.' Ivy (Heritage) 'The most important thing is to make sure that we're doing a good job of policing. The people that are selling stuff that isn't authentic, counterfeit material and stuff like that, we don't want people getting ripped off. It was a huge issue in the '80s and '90s, a little bit like the wild west. Third-party grading and authentication comes along and gets more stringent for the authentication. I think the more comfortable people are and collectors are, the more they're willing to spend. So I think that's one of the main reasons we've seen the growth of the hobby. I think it's important we continue that trajectory and just make sure this material is vetted as well as possible. Because there are always issues. Any time there's money involved, there's going to be people trying to make a quick dollar. So we just have to stay diligent and especially what just happened recently.' Lee (Arena Club) 'I think just better value. People are treating this as a land grab and it shouldn't be. They're looking for a quick buck, and it shouldn't be. I'm here to build a brand. The Arena Club is trying to build a brand and brands take time. It's really about delivering upon the promise to your customer consistently over time. It takes time, it takes money, it takes effort. It's not gonna happen overnight. You can't just have a money grab and be done with it. I think too many folks in this hobby, unfortunately, are treating this as a quick way to make money as opposed to trying to create something sustainable over time with a loyal customer.' Advertisement Mahan (Fanatics Collectibles) 'Remember three years ago or three and a half years ago, you had a business with massive levels of redemptions. Virtually no customer service. Virtually no innovation. Products that came out well after they were supposed to, in some cases years after. You had virtually no technology to speak of. I think the manufacturers took their collectors for granted. It was underinvested because typically it was a cyclical business and people didn't — although, you had the COVID boom — people didn't want to build the underlying infrastructure necessary to support the hobby because they didn't know how long it would last. That's the nicest way I can say it. 'The reality is that collecting is an awesome experience. The collector experience within the ecosystem is not great. And there have been years, if not decades, of what I'll call 'collector neglect' that we've inherited. Some of those things take time to fix. And with the state of where we're at right now in the hobby, focusing on both quality control, improvements and getting product out on time and meeting the demands of where collectors are today, and all of the on-card autographs and the relics that collectors rightfully expect, that's hard. The infrastructure wasn't there, so that's been a bit of a work in progress. We still have delays. It's a lot less than it used to be, but there's sometimes still quality issues or defects that we deal with. I think we're infinitely better, but that's still a process.' Masherah (Upper Deck) 'I think the elephant in the room right now is the responsibility of the manufacturers to provide easier authentication services both on the memorabilia and the trading card side of the ledger. I think whenever a market is super hot, you end up attracting a lot of bad actors. It's hard because every time you take a step forward, the bad actors catch up and sometimes go ahead. How do we as manufacturers try to stay ahead of the bad actors in the industry. … 'I'm really excited about where the industry is right now. For us, it's been great the last 10 to 15 years. We've seen a growth and for us it's about collecting. It's about the purity of collecting. I think we've done a really good job of staying on that. And if you look, our products typically provide the best value from a cost-of-box-to-return standpoint at the end of the day, and we've done a good job of maintaining the prices of our products and making them affordable. We want to make the hobby accessible and there's a lot of things in this industry that are leading people to get priced out, right? 'Breaking is a great thing for a lot of people. It's very entertaining. But when you break up the price of a box or a case 30 ways, it gives an illusion that the price of the product is less and the breakers are willing to continue to pay more for the product, which drives the product up, the price. The people who want to just buy a box of cards are now priced out and it's a problem. I don't know where that equilibrium comes. I think we've done a pretty good job on our products, but you kind of understand why the market has gone the way it is. It's disappointing that a person who just wants to buy a single box is essentially priced out and the only way for them to get into it is breaking, right? So they're having to pay more. … It is pretty clear when one of the company's main brand is a $1,000 box, it's an issue.' Wilson (Whatnot) 'There's always opportunities for things to improve and get better. So for us, the main thing that we think about is how do you build a really trustworthy platform. That's our number one priority. Our CEO has made it his number one priority as a personal project. How do you grow the hobby and have new people enter and make sure that we're building it in a way that's super trustworthy and providing a really amazing experience for both buyers and sellers of all kinds.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Hobby riding high after record sales online, at The National
Morning, Collectors. The Mantel team is still coming down from The National high — last week's convention was the best sports card and memorabilia show, maybe ever? It was certainly the best-attended. Organizers announced that the show saw double-digit growth from last year's event, which welcomed more than 100K attendees. Brands and sellers raised the standard with better booths and entertainment, the autograph pavilion was packed with A-list names, the A/C worked and Wifi was actually half-way decent! With the show set to be back in Rosemont next year and the year following, The National re-cemented itself as a can't-miss event for sports collectors. The Mantel team had a blast meeting so many from our community in person. Thanks to all who stopped by to say hi, ripped Mantel x VibesTCG packs, hit up Trade Night and Mantel Bingo and more. It was a week to remember. SI Collects: Logan Paul and Ken Goldin Team Up for Historical Online Break On Tuesday, Ken Goldin and Logan Paul came together for an eBay Live stream where they broke $10M in product, including boxes of 2009 Topps Basketball, 1980 Topps Basketball, 1985 Topps WWF and 1960 Topps Baseball. The duo hit some pretty massive cards, including multiple of the Magic Johnson/Larry Bird (w/ Dr. J) rookie card, and a ton of Hulk Hogan rookies. Not everything was broadcast live, with plenty of rips held back for Season 3 of King of Collectibles, returning to Netflix later this year. Mantel's Buster Scher was in the room, and we can't wait to share our inside look soon. cllct: Hobby Stays Hot: Record $308M Spent Online on Cards in July Sports and trading card sales hit another record in July, topping $308M in online transactions, the highest monthly total ever recorded by Card Ladder. That figure surpasses June's $306M and March's $303M, with eBay accounting for the lion's share at $266M. Fanatics Collect, Heritage, and Alt followed behind with $23M, $10.5M, and $7.3M respectively. Over 5.5M individual transactions were logged, and 2.3M cards were graded, per GemRate. July's top sale? Caitlin Clark's 1/1 Panini Rookie Royalty Logowoman, which sold for $660,000, setting a new record for a women's sports card at public auction. Mantel: An Alternative to The Hobby Awards If you read Mantel's other newsletter, Mail Day, you are familiar with writer J.R. Fickle's, ahem, unique personality and sense of humor. Mr. Fickle has been super emotional since we announced The Hobby Awards, because we didn't brief him in advance or include him as a judge. So to retaliate, he created The Fickle's as a competing awards program, and wrote about them in this week's email. The team at Mantel, of course, does not co-sign his opinions, and urges everyone reading to check out the REAL awards. Yahoo Sports: Ex-Heat Security Staffer Stole Millions in Game-Worn Gear From Team A former Miami Heat security officer, Marcos Perez, has been charged in a massive memorabilia theft involving over 400 game-worn items, including LeBron James' 2013 NBA Finals Game 7 jersey, which sold at auction for $3.7M after Perez allegedly offloaded it for just $100,000. The DOJ says Perez, a former Miami PD officer and trusted staffer, accessed the team's secure equipment room over several years, selling items online and raking in around $2M. Nearly 300 additional jerseys were recovered in a raid of his home. It's one of the largest sports memorabilia heists ever, and the FBI investigation is ongoing. The Athletic: Topps 'Stands By' Authenticity of Lionel Messi Autographs, Will Replace All That PSA Won't Grade Topps is doubling down on the authenticity of Lionel Messi's autographs amid PSA's refusal to authenticate several Messi-signed cards from five different sets. Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan publicly addressed the issue at The National, reaffirming that Topps will replace any Messi-signed card rejected by PSA. The standoff began when a few collectors had their Messi autos flagged, with some speculating that they were signed by Messi's brother. While early replacements included alternate stars like Shohei Ohtani and Lamine Yamal, Topps now claims to be in a better position to remake Messi cards directly. GQ: Seiko Just Announced Two Real-Deal 'Pepsi' Watches Long a nickname among collectors for red-and-blue bezel GMTs like the Rolex GMT-Master, Seiko is finally creating a real Pepsi watch, as they launch two limited-edition watches that proudly sport the soda brand's name on the dial. The Seiko x Pepsi duo includes a 42mm GMT housed in a black SKX-style case and a stainless steel Seiko 5 automatic with a retro twist. Each is limited to 7,000 pieces and comes packaged in a Pepsi can. With clever branding, subtle design nods, and expected sub-$400 pricing, these 'literal' Pepsi watches are a fizzy take on an iconic nickname (sorry, bad pun). Highsnobiety: Everything is Streetwear: 20 Years of Stories From The Underground That Went Global We really enjoyed this long-read from Highsnobiety, which dropped a 20th-anniversary oral history of streetwear. The article isn't a timeline, but rather a collage of lived moments, shaped by subcultural energy and rooted in downtown New York. Through the voices of figures like Chris Gibbs, Angelo Baque, Heron Preston, and Salehe Bembury, the piece traces the rise of streetwear from underground to global, spotlighting early-2000s scenes where shops like Union, Supreme, and Nom de Guerre doubled as cultural hubs. The collision of subcultures — skateboarding, hip-hop, Japanese fashion — formed a style language spoken worldwide, and the article is both entertaining and educational. A worthy read. Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
Japan Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Ken Goldin brings his sports memorabilia from Netflix to Tokyo
Just before the doors opened on Goldin Auctions' first-ever showcase in Japan, founder and CEO Ken Goldin surveyed the scene one final time. This is his first trip to Japan, and he brought some high-end sports memorabilia for the public to see, along with two of his employees — Head of Sports Consignment Dave Amerman and Ryan Krupa, one of the company's consignment directors — to help collectors who want to do consignments with the famous auction house. He has also brought star power as the central figure of a Netflix reality show, 'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,' focused on him and his company. The line outside BlezAsia, a trading card shop in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district opened by one of Goldin's longtime friends, was growing. When the doors finally opened on Saturday, several people made a beeline for Goldin, who was ready to hold court from his spot near a jersey once worn in a game by New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. Goldin Auctions is one of the top names in the sports memorabilia marketplace. The company has handled the sale of numerous collectibles that have sold for millions of dollars, including Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's historic 50-50 home run ball, which went for $4.39 million — a record for a ball from any sport — in October 2024. The company was acquired by ecommerce giant eBay in 2024, and it is looking to expand its influence, which is why the King of Collectibles was in Japan over the weekend. 'Japan is the birthplace of Pokemon, birthplace of video games, which is very popular and has a tremendous culture of collectors,' said Goldin, 59, dressed in a black tropical floral print shirt, jeans and a pair of white Air Jordans. 'So it's an ideal location for us to visit. It is personally (my) first major international trip. But you know, Goldin, we're looking to go global. We're looking to expand our reach. We saw with the sale of the Ohtani ball that went for $4.4 million, we saw the amazing interest from, of course, Japan, but also all over the world and all over Asia. And we figured, if we're going to make a first big international stop, let's do it in downtown Tokyo.' Goldin said that Japan, in addition to its anime, video game and trading card game markets, is the largest market for baseball cards outside of North America. 'The experience was great, and meeting everyone was terrific,' Goldin said in an email later Saturday night. 'We were thrilled with the turnout. I honestly didn't expect to see the incredible card inventory. Some of the exquisite cards I saw were amazing, the TCG (trading card game) was great, and I did not expect to see an original Led Zeppelin signed album walk in the door.' In addition to allowing collectors to consign memorabilia and cards, Goldin Auctions also displayed several items currently in its care, including the Mantle jersey and a 1952 Topps Mantle card — another copy of the card sold for a record $12.6 million through Heritage Auctions in 2022. There were also shoes worn by basketball legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and a jersey from teenage soccer superstar Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. Among the nonsports items was a sealed copy of the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. and a Superman #1 comic. At the center of the room was a T206 Honus Wagner, one of the holy grails of collecting. That particular card, dubbed the 'Connecticut Wagner' because of where it was discovered, is one of only 60 known to exist. The card is currently available through Goldin Auctions, with the sale set to end next week, and bidding has surpassed $3 million. A T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, one of the holy grails of collecting, displayed in Ikebukuro on Saturday. | Jason Coskrey Near the rear of the space was a glass case featuring various items related to Ohtani. Goldin Auctions has sold many items connected to Ohtani, but few sales played out as dramatically as the one for his 50-50 home run ball. Ohtani became the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season last year, reaching both marks during a road game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19. The fan who came away with Ohtani's 50th home run ball reached out to Goldin. 'I thought it was the easiest deal I ever did, because he caught the ball, he contacted us,' Goldin said. The situation became more complex when others claimed ownership of the milestone ball. 'What I didn't know is that he and Goldin were going to be hit with two lawsuits from two other people claiming that they caught the ball,' Goldin said. With the prospect of a potentially monumental sale being tied up in court, Goldin said he decided to be proactive. 'What people don't know, I don't think I've given an interview on this, is that while all these lawsuits were out, I told my lawyer, 'Get the other two guys. I want you to get them on the phone,'' he said. 'If the lawyer has to be there, fine. I wanted to get all the parties in the room. And I said, 'Look, if any of you two want to keep the ball and own the ball for the rest of your life, then we can't have this conversation. ''However, if you're looking to get a piece of the ball to get the most money possible, don't screw this up for me. I've got a ton of attention on it. It's already well over $1 million, and if this is tied up in court for a year, you could be splitting $4 to $600,000 instead of splitting $2 to $3 million.' That made sense to them. 'They all signed off on the deal. They may still be fighting it out, but they gave me the rights to sell the ball free and clear without any encumbrances.' Goldin had started the bidding at $500,000, which he says was met with skepticism. Goldin, though, felt Ohtani's popularity justified the lofty starting point. 'One of my competitors told me they didn't think I was going to get a single bid,' he said. 'I really felt that Ohtani is what you call in sports a unicorn. He is somebody that transcends baseball. He has a following that typically a global player like (Lionel) Messi or (Cristiano) Ronaldo, LeBron (James) and (Stephen) Curry have — and we don't really have (that) in baseball typically. So I knew he had that type of following. He had a great personality. When he was healthy as a pitcher, he was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, and as a player, he was the best hitter in baseball. 'So I really felt that this could be a seven-figure ball, and I was hoping that it would pass the Aaron Judge ball we sold a couple years earlier, slightly over $2 million. So if we hit $2 million, I would have been thrilled. If we had a chance to break ($3 million) and become the all-time most valuable ball passing Mark McGwire, I thought that would be amazing. But getting to $4.4 million was, you know, just a cherry on top. It surpassed my wildest expectations.' Selling items like the Ohtani ball has brought Goldin Auctions much attention. Meanwhile, the Netflix show — which highlights how the business is run and has aired for two seasons so far — has introduced Goldin and his company to a new audience. 'The show's been terrific,' he said. 'I will tell you, without giving out numbers, that, when the show first came out, since then we have seen a dramatic increase in registrations at Goldin. So more than half the people currently registered at Goldin registered after the first episode of Season 1. 'It's gotten us into many, many new categories. It's gotten me probably 250,000 emails trying to sell us Beanie Babies, which is an unwanted side effect of that. As far as future seasons, I'd like to do the show for another 10, 15 years. Netflix is in charge of that. We'll have to wait and see until they make an announcement.'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- 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. .
