Auction Action by Altan Insights: March 22, 2021

This week on Auction Action, the Altan Insights team virtually visited three auction houses, each featuring offerings relevant to the alternative investing community. Heritage Auctions closed their March 2021 Monthly Showcase on Friday, while Goldin Auctions and Memory Lane ended their March events Saturday. 

Note that Heritage and Memory Lane prices include 20% Buyer’s Premium (BP) and Goldin includes 23% BP. 

Baseball

Mickey Mantle had an impressive showing at Heritage over the weekend, continuing a trend that has been prevalent throughout 2021. On February 28th, Heritage sold a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 (PSA VG 3) for $49,200. This weekend they sold a Mantle of the same grade for $162,000. While not an exact comparison, both Collectable and Rally have Mantle cards from the same series with much higher grades and valuations. The Collectable Mantle is a PSA 8 that filled at a $485,000 market cap, while Rally offered their card, a SGC 7, for $228,000. 

Collectable is scheduled to IPO a 1957 Topps Frank Robinson Rookie Card basket which includes two cards, both graded PSA 9 for $76,000. This valuation represents a 23.3% discount as compared to the card Heritage auctioned over the weekend. The Heritage offering was a single card graded PSA 9 that struck a final price of $48,000. At a $48,000 per card valuation, a basket of two could settle in the $96,000 range. 

The unique 1938 Goudey Joe DiMaggio ‘Heads-Up” Card IPO’d on Rally at a $30,000 market cap in May 2020, and has since traded up to a $42,500 valuation. Memory Lane sold a card of the same grade (PSA 8) for $61,909. 

Both Collectable and Rally have offered shares of the 1939 Play Ball Ted Williams Card with the Collectable card graded PSA 8 and the Rally offering graded SGC 8.5. Rally’s card has already appeared on the secondary market and traded up to a $35,000 market cap, while the Collectable card IPO’d at $32,000. Both cards sit well below the final hammer price struck at Goldin Auctions this weekend, when a PSA 8 Williams card sold for $47,970. 

Basketball

The Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer card continues its reign as one of the top offerings on the auction block, although the excitement surrounding the card seems to have calmed a bit. Rally initially IPO’d their Fleer card for $40,000 and sold it for $71,640. Collectable then IPO’d a Jordan rookie of the same grade for $100,000. That card has since hit the secondary market and traded up to a $600,000 valuation, before receding to a $500,700 market cap, propelled by a 15.14% drop on Friday. Heritage sold their PSA 10 MJ for $480,000, while Goldin sold two for $492,000 each. Check out our piece “The Future is Fleer” for further reading on the ‘86 Fleer set.

Other Jordan rookie cards are still holding serve, even though the Jordan Fleer rookies have slightly faded. On New Year’s Day, Collectable offered a 50 card basket of Michael Jordan Nike Promo Rookie Cards. The offering sold out at a $139,000 market cap and featured 3 graded SGC 10 Gold Pristine, 16 graded SGC ‘Gem Mint’ 10 and 31 graded SGC 9.5. Heritage sold a single SGC Gold Pristine card for $48,000. 

For reference, PSA-graded MJ Promo cards sold at $54,000 at Heritage for a PSA 10 on February 24th, while Rally offered a PSA 10 for $28,000 on March 8th. 

Collectable opened trading today on a 2007 Chrome Refractor Kevin Durant Rookie Card /1499 (PSA 10) which IPO’d at a $12,500 market cap. The card gained 249.9% in its first session and currently sits at a $43,738 valuation. Otis already has a card of the same grade trading on their secondary market at a $37,950 valuation. Otis’ card was offered at a $25,300 market cap. Goldin sold a KD from the same series and grade for $55,350, well exceeding the current valuations on the two fractional marketplaces. 

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Otis is currently trading a 2003 Topps LeBron James Chrome Refractor (PSA 10) at a $224,175 market cap, while a LeBron of the same series and grade sold on Goldin at a final realized price of $209,100. 

Football

Collectable and Otis both offered a 1981 Topps Joe Montana Rookie Card (PSA 10), with the Collectable card offered at a $65,000 market cap and the Otis card currently trading at a $60,000 valuation. Memory Lane closed a PSA 10 Montana at $75,807. 

Rally offered a 1976 Topps Walter Payton Rookie Card graded PSA 10 on March 9th. The IPO filled with 400 investors at a $65,000 market cap. Memory Lane sold a Payton rookie from the same series and grade for $96,752.

Golf

On December 30, 2020, Rally IPO’d a 2001 SP Authentic Tiger Woods Autographed Rookie Card (BGS 9.5) at a $18,500 market cap. Heritage sold a Tiger rookie from the same set and grade for $36,000. 

Hockey

Memory Lane closed a 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie (PSA 9) for $211,199. Collectable has a card from the same set and grade that IPO’d at a $67,000 market cap and traded this past week for the first time, settling at a new valuation of $184,183 after two trading sessions.

Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk. 

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