Auction Action by Altan Insights: August 11, 2021

This week on Auction Action, the Altan Insights team virtually visits Goldin Auctions to review their Summer Premium Auction. Note that all realized auction prices include a 20% buyer’s premium. 

Basketball

Asset: 1980-81 Topps Scoring Leaders (PSA 10)

Goldin: $861,000

Collectable (Exit): $720,000

Review: Collectable investors accepted a buyout for their Scoring Leader card that resulted in a 104% ROI. 62% of investors on a share-weighted basis voted to accept the offer which came just four months after the card originally IPO’d for $352,000. Goldins’ sale set a new record for this card as it led the auction as the highest-priced asset. The sale also represents a strong appreciation since the last PSA 10 sold at the auction house in May for $540,000. 

Asset: 1972 Topps Julius Erving Rookie Card (PSA 9)

Goldin: $29,520

Otis: $23,700

Review: Goldin’s sale represents a strong bounce from the previous result in which an example sold for $24,000. The Otis copy has dropped -15.87% over the last month but it is still up 50% since inception. 

Asset: 2003-04 Topps Chrome Refractor LeBron James Rookie Card (PSA 10)

Goldin: $82,410

Otis: $86,362.50

Rally (BGS 10): $105,000

Review: The Otis example has gained 6.82% over the last month and is up 17.5% since inception. Rally’s card, which carries a BGS 10 grade, dropped -30% in its last trading session on June 9th. 

Asset: 1986-87 Fleer Basketball Unopened Wax Box

Goldin: $184,500

Collectable: $176,327

Rally: $148,500

Review: The result at Goldin represents a stabilization in the price of sealed Fleer wax. After two boxes sold for $168,000 on June 5th, all subsequent 1986 Fleer boxes at Goldin have sold for at least $180,000. The price of this box matches the price realized for another example sold at Goldin’s July Card Auction. The Collectable box is up 9% over the last month while the Rally sealed wax is expected to trade on August 31st.

Asset: 1980 Topps Scoring Leader (PSA 9)

Goldin: $27,060

Rally: $30,000*

Review: Rally’s example is expected to IPO on August 11th and the Goldin sale is a move in the positive direction for a card still bouncing-off newly established support levels. PSA 9’s peaked at $90,100 in February and have since fallen into the $20,000 range. The $27,060 card is one of two PSA 9’s sold at Goldin this weekend but is the better comp to the Rally example based on eye appeal. 

Asset: 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Card (PSA 10)

Goldin: $319,800

Collectable: $255,000

Rally (Exit): $72,000

Review: The Goldin result exceeds the prices struck at both the July Card Auction and their June event. Goldin sold a rookie MJ for $270,600 in July  that matches the price struck at the auction house on June 26th. This sale represents a return to glory for the prized card, as it’s the first sale at Goldin to surpass $300,000 since May. Collectable’s PSA 10 copy has reached $360,000 on their secondary market and is up 44% over the last month. The card has gained 260% from its IPO price of $100,000. 

Asset: 1981 Topps Magic Johnson (PSA 10)

Goldin: $17,220

Otis: $30,667.80

Review: The Otis card IPO’d on March 26th at a $41,400 market cap and has since fallen to its current level of $30,667.80. The card is expected to reopen for trading on August 11th when the platform plans to reinstate all suspended assets. 

Asset: 1987 Fleer Michael Jordan (PSA 10)

Goldin: $19,680

Otis: $39,400

Rally: $50,000

Review: While the 1986 Fleer Jordan seems to be stabilizing in price, the same cannot be said for his second-year card. The 1987 Fleer Jordan sold by Goldin only reached a price that is less than half the current market caps at both Otis and Rally. Investors should continue to watch upcoming auctions to see if this sale is an outlier or if the card can re-establish itself in the $35,000-$50,000 range. 

Baseball

Asset: 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente (PSA 8)

Goldin: $99,630

Collectable: $79,000

Rally (SGC 8): $49,500

Review: Rally’s Clemente card gained 26.92% in its last trading session while the Collectable card, which carries a PSA 8 similar to Goldin’s example, has traded flat. PSA 8’s of the 1955 Topps Clemente typically sell for 2.1-2.4x the value of SGC 8’s. Clemente has performed well at Goldin with this recent sale the highest at the auction in 2021.

Asset: 1908 Ty Cobb E98 Card

Goldin: $31,980

Rally: $58,000

Review: Rally’s E98 dropped -17.14% during its last trading session. The Goldin card had 20 total bids but the price stalled at $31,980. There are only two examples from the 1908 set graded higher. 

Asset: 1993 Upper Deck SP Foil Derek Jeter (BGS 9.5)

Goldin: $15,990

Collectable (2 cards): $61,845

Review: The Collectable basket is down 38% from its IPO price of $99,750. The card sold by Goldin carries the same subgrades as the copies in Collectable’s offering- three 9.5’s and a 9 for corners.

Football

Asset: 1981 Joe Montana Rookie Card (PSA 10)

Goldin: $44,280

Collectable: $69,875

Rally: $70,000

Otis: $44,970

Review: The 1981 Montana rookie card is still trying to establish a new price range after its fourth consecutive sale at Goldin in which the price fell from the previous result. Collectable’s card is up 7.5% from its IPO price while the Otis card has gained 49.9%. The Otis example has slipped over the last three months though and is down -18.97% in that span.

Asset: 2000 Playoff Contenders Football Sealed Hobby Box (12 packs)

Goldin: $31,980

Collectable: $26,156.25

Review: Collectable’s sealed box has gained 12.5% on their secondary market since inception but still lags the recent sale at Goldin. The Collectable wax has dropped 7.8% over the last month and is down -2.2% this week. 

Golf

Asset: 2001 SP Authentic #45 Tiger Woods Signed Rookie Card (#062/900) (BGS 9.5)

Goldin: $18,450

Collectable: $28,440

Rally: $27,750

Otis: 32,400

Review: The SP Authentic Tiger Woods rookie card has been in freefall at Goldin Auctions over the last four months after peaking in April. BGS 9.5 examples of the /900 rookie reached $40,000 twice within the first four months of the year but prices have fallen dramatically since, with this most recent result the first under $20,000 since 2020. Collectable’s card is down -21% since IPO while Rally’s gained 8.7% in its last trading session. 

Hockey

Asset: 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card (PSA 9)

Goldin: $118,080

Collectable: $138,025

Review: Another card trying to re-establish support is the 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky. Sales at Goldin for PSA 9’s reached $265,200 in April and the most recent result was for $150,060 in May. Similar to 1986 Fleer Jordan cards though, the quality of some OPC examples differs dramatically. The Collectable card is up 107.5% from its IPO price and has far better edges than the example sold at Goldin. Collectable’s Gretzky has slipped -13.5% over the last week. 

Soccer

Asset: 2004-05 Panini Megacracks Lionel Messi Rookie Card (BGS 9.5/PSA 9)

Goldin (BGS 9.5): $68,880

Rally (BGS 9.5): $46,800

Otis (BGS 9.5): $64,030

Goldin (PSA 9): 51,660

Collectable (PSA 9): $68,714

Review: The BGS 9.5 outpaced the PSA 9 Messi by $17,220 with the final sale settling above both the Otis and Rally examples. Rally’s card dropped -13.33% during its last session while the Otis card is up 58.20% in the last month. Collectable’s card has dropped -20.1% since IPO. 

Additional Notable Sales:

1996 Topps Finest Refractors Kobe Bryant Rookie Card (PSA 10): $55,350

1956 Topps Mickey Mantle Gray Back (PSA 8): $20,910