Cards selling over 1 million dollars in 2024

[bmattioli]

What did PT Barnum say?

[Rhotchkiss]

It had to be almost all modern. Or put differently, there just are not that many vintage cards that sell for over $1mm. Aside from the BN Ruth and the t206 Wagner and Doyle, I can’t think of any card that would sell for more than $1mm in pre war department; maybe a higher grade, super rare back 1916 Ruth or a nice T210 Jackson, but not even the W600 Cobb, W600 Type 1 Wagner, W600 Type 2 Matty, any e107, t206, 1914 CJ, etc, of any grade, goes over $1mm (or anywhere close).

That leaves maybe a few cards from the 50’s and 60’s that are graded super high - 52 Topps mantle or Mays, maybe a PSA 10 54 Aaron, 55 Clemente, 49-52 Robinson. A PSA registry buy…

I just don’t see there being many single vintage cards that sell over $1mm, even in the go-go years of 2021 and 2022.

[Snapolit1]

I came close to buying a million dollar Jasson Dominguez refractor. Then the drugs wore off.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I came close to buying a million dollar Jasson Dominguez refractor. Then the drugs wore off.

You need a better supplier!

[sb1]

I can assure you W600 Cobb would, I have turned down two bona fide offers double 1m, all I have to do is say yes...

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by sb1

I can assure you W600 Cobb would, I have turned down two bona fide offers double 1m, all I have to do is say yes...

Wow!! That PSA 2 with the clipped corner sold for like $300k a few years ago. I suppose a nicer one could go for $1mm+ now, and apparently there are real offers. So that makes 4 prewar cards that could sell for $1mm+. Still, not many at all.

[sb1]

Only nine confirmed known and one of those is cut to the borders and most have other issues. A very low pop and highly desirable rarity, the perfect combo for big $$

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I came close to buying a million dollar Jasson Dominguez refractor. Then the drugs wore off.

Good one. Imagine the next morning waking up next to the invoice on your phone in the bed with you and wondering what happened!

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

It had to be almost all modern. Or put differently, there just are not that many vintage cards that sell for over $1mm. Aside from the BN Ruth and the t206 Wagner and Doyle, I can’t think of any card that would sell for more than $1mm in pre war department; maybe a higher grade, super rare back 1916 Ruth or a nice T210 Jackson, but not even the W600 Cobb, W600 Type 1 Wagner, W600 Type 2 Matty, any e107, t206, 1914 CJ, etc, of any grade, goes over $1mm (or anywhere close).

That leaves maybe a few cards from the 50’s and 60’s that are graded super high - 52 Topps mantle or Mays, maybe a PSA 10 54 Aaron, 55 Clemente, 49-52 Robinson. A PSA registry buy…

I just don’t see there being many single vintage cards that sell over $1mm, even in the go-go years of 2021 and 2022.

Maybe this was already mentioned, but didn't a '33 Goudey Ruth #53 PSA 9 sell for over $4 in the same auction as a #181 Goudey Ruth PSA 9 that went for over $1M?
https://www.beckett.com/news/1933-go...r-4-2-million/
Not sure if those would reach a million again.

And true Mantle rookies have eclipsed $3M and a Gehrig Rookie Exhibit eclipsed $1M

Not sure if a '51 Bowman Mays graded in 9 (I don't know if there are any 10s) could reach $1 Million.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Not sure if a '51 Bowman Mays graded in 9 (I don't know if there are any 10s) could reach $1 Million.

I think you actually would probably get to 7 figures with Mays 52T in PSA 9 (pop 9) and definitely in PSA 10 (pop 1). If I remember the rumors correctly, pre-pandemic a Mays 52T in PSA 9 went for as much as $750K in a privately brokered sale.

Mays 53T in PSA 9 or PSA 10 would probably be similarly likely to hit 7 figures, although part of the story there is that PSA 9 is pop 1, and PSA 10 is also pop 1. So us set registry goons would be a big part of the story there.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Mays 51B at PSA 9 (pop 8) would get to a cool $1M. Assuming it was a nice example, of course, and not merely an over-graded early slab. There are none in PSA 10.

[jsfriedm]

I would actually be surprised if a 1951 Bowman Mays PSA 9 didn't hit at least 2 mil, considering 8s sell for around 250K, and that I don't think a 9 has sold for 15 years or so.

[Fred]

This is where I get lost. A "9" being worth about 8x the same card graded an "8". When it comes to subjectivity at that level, we pretty much know it could go either way. We've all seen 8's that are better than 9's.

I'm so glad that I'm not stuck on a kick where I have to have the highest number on a label and gladly pay 8x more for a number on a label.

Apologies to the registry collectors that may think I'm making fun of them. Even if I had $1.75M to spend on cards, I'd be making a different choice than upgrading my "8" grade for a "9" grade. But that's just me, I guess.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Fred

This is where I get lost. A "9" being worth about 8x the same card graded an "8". When it comes to subjectivity at that level, we pretty much know it could go either way. We've all seen 8's that are better than 9's.

I'm so glad that I'm not stuck on a kick where I have to have the highest number on a label and gladly pay 8x more for a number on a label.

Apologies to the registry collectors that may think I'm making fun of them. Even if I had $1.75M to spend on cards, I'd be making a different choice than upgrading my "8" grade for a "9" grade. But that's just me, I guess.

I wouldn't sweat it. I think even us hardcore set registry goons acknowledge the folly in our approach, and in moments of extreme omphaloskepsis may question whether it's wise to continue to climb this ladder.

Although truth be told, I suspect that when you get up into 7 figures, most of the time you're probably not really dealing with hard core set registry collectors. It's probably a much smaller subset of "investor-class" collectors, who are less focused on completing sets in high grades, and more focused on "number go up".

[MACollector]

Originally Posted by jsfriedm

I would actually be surprised if a 1951 Bowman Mays PSA 9 didn't hit at least 2 mil, considering 8s sell for around 250K, and that I don't think a 9 has sold for 15 years or so.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the only 8.5 Mays would eclipse 1m. There are several Aaron 8.5’s that have sold for 3-4x the price of an 8 in the past year.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Maybe this was already mentioned, but didn't a '33 Goudey Ruth #53 PSA 9 sell for over $4 in the same auction as a #181 Goudey Ruth PSA 9 that went for over $1M?
https://www.beckett.com/news/1933-go...r-4-2-million/
Not sure if those would reach a million again.

And true Mantle rookies have eclipsed $3M and a Gehrig Rookie Exhibit eclipsed $1M

Not sure if a '51 Bowman Mays graded in 9 (I don't know if there are any 10s) could reach $1 Million.

Nice call. So as you and Scott point out, there are other $1mm+ prewar cards in addition to T206 wagner + Doyle and BN Ruth, specifically a W600 Cobb, nice looking and higher grade 1916 Ruths (or rare backs), and super high grade 1933 Goudey Ruths. Still, very few prewar cards will crest anywhere near $1mm compared to what we saw in the modern world, especially in 2021 and 2022.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by bmattioli

What did PT Barnum say?

Every thread needs a card. I live for threads like this when I can show off my glorious Barnum in all his glory. From the thread title alone, I thought there may be a chance to drop ol' Phineas Taylor into the thread.

[oldjudge]

If I am not mistaken a PSA 7 Ruth rookie has sold for over $2 million. The last PSA 4 Famous and Barr Ruth sold for about 3/4 million with tax so I would imagine that a nice PSA 5 might eclipse that barrier.
That said, I agree with Ryan; I don’t see many vintage baseball cards of that quality coming to auction in any particular year. I would guess that in 2024 five or less baseball cards eclipse that level.

[oldjudge]

HA a has a $1 million estimate on the PSA 6 1915 RED SOX team real photo postcard with Ruth that is in their February auction. Perhaps that will be the first vintage baseball card to break that barrier in 2024. I’m sure if it does it will shatter the record for the most expensive postcard ever.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

HA a has a $1 million estimate on the PSA 6 1915 RED SOX team real photo postcard with Ruth that is in their February auction. Perhaps that will be the first vintage baseball card to break that barrier in 2024. I’m sure if it does it will shatter the record for the most expensive postcard ever.

A noticed a few estimates in the upcoming Heritage sale that seem, ah hem . . . mighty generous. The days of "we will state a $10,000-$15,000 estimate because we know it will actually sell for $50,000+ . . ." seem long ago and far away. Now it seems we will state a very strong estimate with fingers and toes crossed.

We just had one very high profile amazing card clock in at a fraction of what the owner was predicting. I suspect we will see more.

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

A noticed a few estimates in the upcoming Heritage sale that seem, ah hem . . . mighty generous. The days of "we will state a $10,000-$15,000 estimate because we know it will actually sell for $50,000+ . . ." seem long ago and far away. Now it seems we will state a very strong estimate with fingers and toes crossed.

We just had one very high profile amazing card clock in at a fraction of what the owner was predicting. I suspect we will see more.

I agree about a couple of the Heritage estimates.

Out of curiosity, what was the recent high profile card that sold for a fraction of its prediction?

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by robertsmithnocure

I agree about a couple of the Heritage estimates.

Out of curiosity, what was the recent high profile card that sold for a fraction of its prediction?

Rob, I believe this is the card: https://robertedwardauctions.com/auc...eum-provenance