Auction Action by Altan Insights: November 23, 2021

This week on Auction Action, the Altan Insights team virtually visits Heritage Auctions to review the results of their Fall Sports Collectibles Catalog Auction. Note that all Heritage Auction prices include 20% buyers premium. 

Basketball

Asset: 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie #57 (BGS 9.5)

Heritage: $48,000

Collectable (2 cards): $129,950

Review: Collectable’s offering features a basket of two BGS 9.5 examples that carries stronger centering subgrades than the one sold by Heritage. The Heritage does have a 10 for corners but the overall eye appeal is similar to both cards in Collectables offering.

Asset: 2003 Fleer Tradition Crystal Trio (BGS 9.5)

Heritage: $24,000

Collectable (PSA 10): $320,052

Review: Sales data is limited for this card has only 50 were produced and the crystal edition strikes significantly higher prices than base cards. Collectable's card is one of only 5 to earn a PSA 10 and their card demonstrates much better eye appeal than the BGS 9.5 sold by Heritage. The price difference seems extreme but BGS 9.5s are typically appraised at valuations at least 4.5-5.25x less than PSA 10s - Note that this valuation is for specific Fleer basketball cards produced between 1980-2010. BGS 9.5s rival the price of PSA 10s in other sports and eras depending on graded population and should be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Asset: 1996-97 Kobe Bryant Game Worn & Signed Los Angeles Lakers "Adidas EQT Top 10" Rookie Sneakers

Heritage: $192,000

Collectable: $157,080

Review: Collectable's game-worn rookie Kobe sneakers are up 19% since IPO and have added 64.1% over the last week. The fractional pair was worn during six minutes of action during the 1996 season. This style of Addidas sneaker was worn by the NBA legend as he scored his first career points and the Collectable pair carries added value as the earliest known examples in existence. In addition to this sale, a pair in the alternative white colorway, sold for $150,000 which far exceeded recent comps.

Asset: 2003 Topps Chrome Basketball Unopened Hobby Box

Heritage: $18,600

Collectable: $25,025

Review: The Heritage sale is a drop from previously results in which 2003 boxes sold over $24,00. Collectable's box is up 10% since IPO but has dropped -21.4% over the last thirty days. Investors should continue to follow upcoming sales to see if the 2003 Topps Chrome wax surges back above $20,000.

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Baseball

Asset: 1910 E98 "Set of 30" Ty Cobb, Red (PSA 9)

Heritage: $38,400

Rally: $75,000

Review: Rally’s 1910 Cobb has climbed 92.31% on their secondary market after opening at a $39,000 market cap in 2019. Goldin Auctions sold a PSA 9 example for $67,200 on October 24th. 

Asset: 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 (SGC 8)

Heritage: $288,000

Collectable: $200,600

Review: At the time of the sale, Collectable’s Goudey Ruth sat below $150,000. The price has since cleared $200,000 and is now up 34.2% in the last week. The SGC 8 graded example has gained 47.5% since IPO and still trades at a discount to the Heritage sale.

Asset: 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson Rookie Card (PSA 8)

Heritage: $444,000

Rally: $318,750

Review: Rally’s Robinson rookie has dropped -15% since IPO and sits at a price below recent comps. The Heritage sale marks the first time a PSA 8 example has sold for more than $400,000 and established a new record for this card and this grade. Previously results settled in the $370,000 - $390,000 range and no example has sold for less than $370,000 since September 2020. 

Asset: 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle #82 (PSA 8)

Heritage: $144,133.20

Collectable: $103,880

Review: Prices continued to rebound for this 1953 Mantle, often credited as the best profile ever produced of the Yankee legend. This auction marked the highest price ever paid for a PSA 8 and the first six-figure sale since April. Prices had previously peaked at $113,908 on March 20th at Memory Lane and after dropping below $90,000 last month, recovered with a new record at Heritage on November 18th.

Asset: 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax Rookie Card (PSA 9)

Heritage: $384,000

Collectable: $413,250

Review: Collectable’s Koufax has dropped -13% since IPO but has soared over the last month with a 70% gain. Although the Heritage sale sits well below the current valuation of Collectable’s card, the result marked the highest sale price ever for a Koufax card at the acclaimed auction house and exceeded the price of a PSA 8 sold on May 23rd by $15,000. 

Asset: 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente Rookie Card (PSA 8)

Heritage: $93,000

Collectable: 94,010

Rally (SGC 8): $77,000

Review: Collectable’s PSA 8 has climbed 16.1% in the last month, pushing its total return to 19% since IPO. While many cards peaked in the spring, this Clemente rookie has displayed strong appreciation throughout the year with sales closing well above any price realized prior to August. Collectors and investors alike are waiting for this card to break into six-figures but the milestone will have to come at another auction as this well centered copy settled for $93,000. Rally’s SGC 8 is up 102.63% since IPO and based on its eye appeal and an understanding of vintage SGC vs PSA grades, should remain within the $65,000 - $80,000 range until a PSA 8 surpasses the $100,000 threshold. 

Asset: 1952 Topps Willie Mays (PSA 8)

Heritage: $204,000

Collectable: $221,075

Review: The first Willie Mays card produced by Topps has struggled to reach prices struck in the summer. Goldin Auctions sold a PSA 8 for $233,700 on June 28th and Memory Lane hit a similar result on July 11th. Prices then dipped below $200,000 at PWCC in October so while the Heritage sale is still well below record prices, it does signal a positive move for the card overall. Collectable’s PSA 8 has slipped -7.5% since IPO and is down a whopping -53.8% in the last month. 

Asset: 1958 Topps Roger Maris (PSA 9)

Heritage: $22,933.20

Collectable: $21,596

Review: Collectable's Maris has slipped -20% since IPO after initially being offering for $26,995. There are no examples graded PSA 10 and only 35 copies that carry this PSA 9 designation.

Asset: 1993 Upper Deck SP Foil #279 Derek Jeter Rookie Card (BGS 9.5)

Heritage: $11,700

Collectable (2x): $64,838

Rally: $16,000

Review: Last month, Goldin sold a BGS 9.5 Jeter for $15,900 that carried identical subgrades to this Heritage copy. Rally’s Jeter IPO’d on 10/27, carries the exact same subgrades as well and was filled by 231 investors within the first day of opening. Collectable’s basket has dropped -35% since IPO but the pair of BGS 9.5’s are up 11% since October 24th. 

Asset: 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Refractors #BDPP89 Mike Trout (BGS 9.5)

Heritage: $33,600

Otis: $36,640

Review: Both the Heritage and Otis example carry the same average subgrades with two 9.5s and one 10. The Otis card displays slightly stronger eye appeal due to better centering and the $3,000 premium currently exhibited by the fractional card is reasonable. The Otis Trout is down -20% overall since IPO but has rebounded 23.08% over the last 30 days. 

Boxing

Asset: 1960 Hemmets Journal Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) Rookie #23 (PSA 8)

Heritage: $51,600

Collectable (BVG 8): $22,750

Review: Heritage’s sale settled nearly $15,000 lower than another PSA 8 sold for on November 21st at PWCC. The current range represents a strong stabilization in price though and impressive appreciation this year. On January 7th, a PSA 8 example sold for $12,401 on eBay and since, sales have not dipped below $49,000. Collectable’s BVG 8 demonstrates impressive eye appeal for a card with a white border. Any centering and surface flaws are exaggerated with the white frame and Collectable’s copy would reasonably sell in line with the PSA 8 example sold by Heritage. The Collectable card is down -25% since IPO and has slipped -7.3% over the last month. 

Football

Asset: 1976 Topps #148 Walter Payton Rookie Card (SGC 10)

Heritage: $36,000

Rally (PSA 10): $62,500

Review: Rally’s PSA 10 graded example carries a 2x premium compared to the SGC 10 sold by Heritage so although the prices and valuations of the two cards are significantly different, the Heritage sale is $5,000 higher than a SGC 10 sold for in May- signaling slight appreciation in the card’s overall market.

Asset: 1986 Topps Jerry Rice Rookie Card (PSA 10)

Heritage: $84,000

Rally (SGC 10): $65,550

Review: Rally’s Rice as soared 185% since IPO and currently sits at a reasonable valuation compared to the PSA 10 sold by Heritage. This sale surpasses the price paid for a PSA 10 at Heritage in August by $9,000 and represents the first sale above $80,000 since July.

Hockey

Asset: 1985 O-Pee-Chee Mario Lemieux Rookie #9 (PSA 10)

Heritage: $54,000

Rally: $70,875

Review: The Heritage sale settled in a similar range to recent results as prices of Mario’s Canadian rookie have struggled to reach prices struck in February. Rally's Mario has dropped -19% since IPO but still sits near prices realized at the peak of this cards' market.

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