A New All Time Record for a Sports Card

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by G1911

Do the people bitching that other people have money to spend on cards plan to sell their collections and donate every penny to charity or, even better, give to the government? Or is it only when somebody else (not them!) has money to waste on cardboard pictures that it is a great wrong? It is always other people’s money and things they want to take to distribute as they see fit for the ‘greater good’, never their own.

This crap is almost as silly as thinking spending $12.9M on a card is silly because they picked the wrong cardboard picture.

Maybe Leon can add a “Communists and Socialists” section to go along with the Watercooler.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by G1911

Do the people bitching that other people have money to spend on cards plan to sell their collections and donate every penny to charity or, even better, give to the government? Or is it only when somebody else (not them!) has money to waste on cardboard pictures that it is a great wrong? It is always other people’s money and things they want to take to distribute as they see fit for the ‘greater good’, never their own.

This crap is almost as silly as thinking spending $12.9M on a card is silly because they picked the wrong cardboard picture.

It's a zero sum game anyway. Person A has the card and Person B has $12 million. Person B buys the card. Now, Person A has $12 million (less taxes) and Person B has the card. Why should that be of the slightest consternation to anybody else?

So, if someone wants to complain about wealth inequality, they can take comfort (I suppose) in knowing that $12 million in privately held hands was reduced by a couple million, with that amount going to the government.

I think, for most of us, it's a matter of relativity. Would it be cooler to own this bit of cardboard with a couple pieces of cloth and 2 scribbles, or, for example, a game-worn Jackie Robinson flannel jersey, worn back in the day when players didn't go through 100 jerseys each season.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Maybe Leon can add a “Communists and Socialists” section to go along with the Watercooler.

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By decree, all card shops within the city limits to be boarded up and closed when Mamdami wins. That’ll show em’…
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[bcbgcbrcb]

When I heard about the nearly $13MM price tag, I knew that it had to be a 1915 Red Sox item picturing Babe Ruth, maybe a type 1 photo of the pitching staff or team postcard or something like that. Because, there are very few things picturing the Babe during his Red Sox tenure. We all know that at the current low 6-figure level, those are all steals and only a matter of time before they reach 7-figures and possibly 8. Guess I was wrong……..

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Maybe Leon can add a “Communists and Socialists” section to go along with the Watercooler.

Or he could create a "People who are so full of shit it's laughable" section especially for you and a few other select commenters. No one on this thread said or even suggested anything about communism.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

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By decree, all card shops within the city limits to be boarded up and closed when Mamdami wins. That’ll show em’…
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Every wealthy old white guy's bogeyman du jour, a guy who wants to tax the rich a tiny bit more. Oh, the horror!

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Just incredibly fkked up that some dude can drop $9M on this fake piece of nonsense, and like 60% of the country couldn't come up with $400 tomorrow if they needed it for a major automobile repair. And probably upwards of 70% of people would be in financial ruin if a family member suffered a debilitating illness.

Don't know what to say. This economic disparity don't seen to bother a lot of people. All hail the great gd of capitalism.

That's how I see it, sir.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by jingram058

That's how I see it, sir.

Someone having more than you does not hurt you. It might make you jealous and envious, but that would be your problem.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Maybe but it brings big publicity to our hobby… This is gonna be all over media tomorrow on your newsfeed. My point is this indirectly is in increasing the value of your collection, even though you may not see it that way. I try to find the positive in things.

Yeah, the publicity will be, what a bunch of morons...

Ok, I suppose if you have a billion dollars to spend, then it's really only being eccentric.

Originally Posted by calvindog

Maybe Leon can add a “Communists and Socialists” section to go along with the Watercooler.

Hey, I think I'm somewhere between a communist and a socialist. I don't knock anybody for spending their money the way they want to, but from my point of view, give me a T206 Wags any day, but then someone else posted that person probably already has it... probably right. Who knows, that person may also contribute to a lot of worthwhile charities. I know I would if I had that kind of dough. I think these threads provoke a lot of thought about the value of new and shiny when compared to vintage. And if you're a vintage collector, just be grateful the guy doesn't collect what you do (or maybe he does ).
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[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Every wealthy old white guy's bogeyman du jour, a guy who wants to tax the rich a tiny bit more. Oh, the horror!

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Everybody on this sub qualifies as “rich” to somebody else. I live in the highest tax state that has had 1 party rule for 40 years, their demand for revenue and mismanagement of funds is legendary.
You want more money? Get rid of the carried interest loophole for starters.

[vintagerookies51]

Originally Posted by SyrNy1960

Sorry, but simply put, it is stupid to pay that much money for that card. I don’t care how rich you are.

I hope you say the same thing when someone pays a crazy amount of money for a vintage card. Neither of them have any inherent value, it’s all about what someone is willing to pay for them

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

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Everybody on this sub qualifies as “rich” to somebody else. I live in the highest tax state that has had 1 party rule for 40 years, their demand for revenue and mismanagement of funds is legendary.
You want more money? Get rid of the carried interest loophole for starters.

I think we live in the same state and I can't disagree with any of that...red states are just as bad at managing funds though. ZM represents a break from the status quo and that's what makes him so popular. What I don't get is why such a break is to be celebrated when it's on right but feared when it's on the left. People of all persuasions are dying for something different

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I think we live in the same state and I can't disagree with any of that...red states are just as bad at managing funds though. ZM represents a break from the status quo and that's what makes him so popular. What I don't get is why such a break is to be celebrated when it's on right but feared when it's on the left. People of all persuasions are dying for something different

If a state, or city like Chicago, has been run by the same party/ideology for decades and decades, then doubling down - going even harder in that same direction - is not going to produce a different result. It will just be more of the same, but twice as much.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Mark17

If a state, or city like Chicago, has been run by the same party/ideology for decades and decades, then doubling down - going even harder in that same direction - is not going to produce a different result. It will just be more of the same, but twice as much.

The thing is that he's a party outsider. Some of his ideas are not at all what the party in power want. That party's establishment is trying everything they can to undermine his success but so far it's not working. That's one difference between the two major parties - the other one sees a party outsider who is popular and embraces them. So if your point is that the party you were referring to sucks, I can't disagree with that either

[theshowandme]

Didn’t expect this thread to devolve into class warfare

Any predictions on what card tops this one in the future? And when?

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Didn’t expect this thread to devolve into class warfare

Exaggerate much?

Any predictions on what card tops this one in the future? And when?

The next one of these logo dual signatures that gets hyped up. And within another couple of years

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Any predictions on what card tops this one in the future? And when?

Someone will get a Joe Jackson cut, whether dubious or not, get it authenticated, locate cuts of the other 7 Black Sox, and issue a set of eight 1/1 autograph cuts of the Infamous Eight. Some oil sheik in the Emirates will spend big to buy the other 7, and then pay silly money for the Jackson.

[molenick]

FWIW, the sale was mentioned on the local news in New York (channel 7) as part of the sports segment. The 1952 9.5 Mantle was mentioned as having the previous record.

[vintagerookies51]

CNN also had an article on it that mentioned the 1952 Mantle, although seeing some people’s comments on this thread they might not think that’s a trustworthy source ��


For the next card to break the record, I think it will be another modern card and I don’t know enough about it to guess what. Older cards are more predictable and I think there are only a select few that could even come close. I don’t know if any of the owners plan on selling.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Steve D

Bryant was a rapist: That, in my mind anyway, puts him down there with OJ.

NO THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

Steve

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

It's amazing how that's been completely wiped from his history. Kids today probably don't even know that.

Originally Posted by jayshum

I remember the story about Bryant but had to do a search for the details. The case was dropped before it went to trial because the accuser was unwilling to testify. Bryant claimed what happened was consensual but the accuser claimed she was raped. A separate lawsuit she filed was settled without the details being made public. Lack of an actual trial probably helped make the story disappear from Bryant's overall persona.

I don't think it has been erased at all. Right after he died, many people were talking about the rape case and what kind of person he was. Some even said that his death was "karma." It got so bad that his wife, Vanessa, had to respond to that (they don't know what they're talking about and don't know the details of the case ... blah, blah, blah ...) Americans didn't forget what he did, but forgave him instead. And this only happened because of his talent and his accomplishments.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by vintagerookies51

I hope you say the same thing when someone pays a crazy amount of money for a vintage card. Neither of them have any inherent value, it’s all about what someone is willing to pay for them

True! I guess I will just say that my brain can't wrap around the thought of that card selling for that price.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by SyrNy1960

True! I guess I will just say that my brain can't wrap around the thought of that card selling for that price.

Agree, and I'll elaborate. I can't understand how someone can take a couple of modern signatures, remove the patch from a couple of readily available gamers, and manufacture a modern product, just 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches of cardboard, that someone would pay $12 million dollars to obtain.

As someone else mentioned, full gamers of these 2 players could be obtained for far less. The concept of a 1/1 card doesn't mean that's the only thing ever signed by both these guys, or that their signatures or gamers are particularly rare. It just means a company made a card and only made one.

It's not like the US mint only struck one coin with a certain date and mint mark, or the post office only made one sheet of stamps with an upside-down airplane. It's just a manufactured rarity, but not really rare in the context of all the various card manufacturers, and all the various 1/1 cards produced over the years.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Agree, and I'll elaborate. I can't understand how someone can take a couple of modern signatures, remove the patch from a couple of readily available gamers, and manufacture a modern product, just 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches of cardboard, that someone would pay $12 million dollars to obtain.

As someone else mentioned, full gamers of these 2 players could be obtained for far less. The concept of a 1/1 card doesn't mean that's the only thing ever signed by both these guys, or that their signatures or gamers are particularly rare. It just means a company made a card and only made one.

It's not like the US mint only struck one coin with a certain date and mint mark, or the post office only made one sheet of stamps with an upside-down airplane. It's just a manufactured rarity, but not really rare in the context of all the various card manufacturers, and all the various 1/1 cards produced over the years.

Well said!

[ullmandds]

I caught the tailend of the story on cnbc this am...apparently mr wonderful is 1/3 owner of this silly jordan/kobe dual logoman card and he said it will be a part of a "fund" to invest in sportscards. HERE WE GO BOYS!!!!

[marzoumanian]

Watching CNBC this morning and A.R. Sorkin was talking about this card and its record sale. It turns out that Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary (along with two partners) bought it. O'Leary made it clear that he only became interested in this industry three years ago BUT his partners (I forget their names) are fanatics and convinced him to work as a threesome to buy it. The three of them (located in different places) went on Zoom to worked out their bids until 3 a.m. O'Leary raved about cards as an asset to invest in BUT his partners convinced him to get involved. Amazing. Anyway, just an FYI. Peace.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

All of this made me conjure up a movie plot:

Two friends of vast means conspire to artificially inflate the value of an item and select the very strong current sportscard market as their target. They set their sights on a card that they think features players whose values will likely never tarnish on any item. This item has to be a manufactured "1/1" in order to guarantee that they will never face any competing sales. The card is purchased at a very moderate price as compared what will transpire in the projected course of their scheme.

The item is consigned to a major auction house with a promise of a full publicity treatment. Perhaps unbeknownst to the auction house, the two men secretly bid against each other, driving up the prices to record heights.

News agencies worldwide run stories on the fascinating "most expensive card ever sold", giving this card more publicity and notoriety.

Manufactured rarity
Manufactured hype
Manufactured hobby lore
Manufactured record price

The current card bubble bursts. Well aware of the cyclical nature of the industry, the two conspirators hold on to this card until the next hobby tidal wave occurs, then place it back up for auction: "Unseen for three decades! It's THE Card!" It will now perpetually be accompanied by all its past hype. In their minds, a T206 Wagner only grows in value, so why shouldn't their record-setting "treasure"?

[kcohen]

Isn't this manufactured rarity basically a NFT? A concept of value I've never been able to wrap my arms around.

[theshowandme]

Net54 knowing who Kevin O’Leary is but not Shyne has reminded me that this is small small pond here in terms of knowing what’s going on in the hobby

https://www.instagram.com/shyne150?i...8wZjA0Z2UybzB5

[Johnny630]

See Post 45

[BobbyStrawberry]

Purchased by a reality TV star who doesn't even know anything about sportscards. You can't make this stuff up.

[BioCRN]

As someone who's collecting realm tops out in the 10K-ish range, and very rarely in that range...what others are doing with the 6-7+ figure collectables isn't on my radar.

I realize it very much is a part of some members here, but "Oh, wow, cool, okay, anyway..." is my most meaningful input on the matter.

My spending 5K on a card is like spending 500K for some people and 5 dollars to some other people.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by marzoumanian

Watching CNBC this morning and A.R. Sorkin was talking about this card and its record sale. It turns out that Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary (along with two partners) bought it. O'Leary made it clear that he only became interested in this industry three years ago BUT his partners (I forget their names) are fanatics and convinced him to work as a threesome to buy it. The three of them (located in different places) went on Zoom to worked out their bids until 3 a.m. O'Leary raved about cards as an asset to invest in BUT his partners convinced him to get involved. Amazing. Anyway, just an FYI. Peace.

Oh carap, just what the hobby needed, investors that have no true interest in sports cards getting into it. This should be interesting. Hopefully they stick in the shiny stuff.

There are a few ways people may look a this, here are two thoughts:

1 - people should be grateful because now it could lead to greater valuations in their collections

2 - for active hobbyist, this could lead to even further price increases which leads to less material being within collecting budgets

One last thought is that this will probably bring in more opportunist that try to create angles to make a profit and in so doing, screwing up the hobby worse than it is now, but it's difficult to believe how much worse it can get.
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[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Yes, they are. Both players had plenty of game-used jerseys at the time. Logoman is the hobby nomenclature for the league patch of the sport, in this case the NBA logo patch.The MLB logoman has the batter patch.[/I]

So if these patches came from gamers, I wonder what happened to the gamers they came from? Cut up for uni cards, presumably, and that's an ouch to me. One other observation: I don't think either of these guys, Kobe or Michael, will end up being regarded as the GOAT in time. That distinction will go to LeBron as soon as he quits, IMO. For that reason and others, I don't think this card will prove to be a good investment. But hey, I'm the guy that shorted the market when Covid hit, so what do I know?

[Beercan collector]

Wonder who the runner-up bidder was (?)

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Beercan collector

Wonder who the runner-up bidder was (?)

Probably been thanking his lucky stars ever since the auction closed!

[darwinbulldog]

Wait till the buyer finds out Kobe Bryant ranks 1,758th in career FG%.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Steve D

Bryant was a rapist: That, in my mind anyway, puts him down there with OJ.

That's really unfair. OJ was no rapist.

[Delray Vintage]

In my humble view the created rarity cards will not maintain value over time, all these 1/1 cards are rare yes but manufactured to be rare. Somehow I just don’t see them holding up as well as a PSA 9 Mantle or t206 Wagner. Kind of like trendy modern art versus a Rembrandt.

[Beercan collector]

1/1 cards might be the most common thing out there 🙄

[jsfriedm]

I think I'm with most people here in that this card wouldn't be worth $1,000 to me personally if I couldn't sell it. That said, in a world in which NFTs have gone for tens of millions, and untold trillions are spent on crypto, this purchase almost seems rational by comparison.

[BioCRN]

Manufactured rarity is an odd one in the marketplace.

Topps Heritage flip stock cards, thought to number about 5 cards total per base card, realize extremely horrible returns compared to other #/5 cards.

The flip stock cards don't have a stamped number on them, though.

They're legitimately rare, arguably more rare than some low-population cards since some collectors won't recognize them and will be tossed or otherwise overlooked...

...but they don't command a price anywhere near their rare stamped counterparts even from those that understand their manufactured rarity.

[ctownboy]

Supposedly on CNBC Kevin O'Leary said he and two other investors bought the card. He said they are putting together an investment collection just like their crypto and gold holdings.

David

[slightlyrounded]

Presented without comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjj1Cloik0s

[ullmandds]

i don't see this ending well for anyone!!!

[Republicaninmass]

Oh life's great, the cards you have will one day be purchased by some overly rich guy just now dipping his toes into sportscards. Keep on buying!

[sreader3]

CNBC article on topic:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/brya...in-oleary.html

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Every wealthy old white guy's bogeyman du jour, a guy who wants to tax the rich a tiny bit more. Oh, the horror!

Must be nice to continue and leave no doubt about your ignorance

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by Delray Vintage

In my humble view the created rarity cards will not maintain value over time, all these 1/1 cards are rare yes but manufactured to be rare. Somehow I just don’t see them holding up as well as a PSA 9 Mantle or t206 Wagner. Kind of like trendy modern art versus a Rembrandt.

The 33/34 Goudey Lajoie has done quite well.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

The 33/34 Goudey Lajoie has done quite well.

That card was produced by request, and they made enough to fill demand. Had 10,000 people wanted one, they would've made 10,000. And they weren't produced to sell, for any amount, since there wasn't any money to be made on a single baseball card during the Depression.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

Must be nice to continue and leave no doubt about your ignorance

Got anything substantive to say?