- Unwinding the Thread
- Posts
- 2023 In Collectibles
Almost 2024, so let’s take some time for my (completely biased & unscientific) round-up of the most important sales across the collectibles world this year.
Important to note, in many cases, I tried to pick items that were not obvious nor the top sales of the year. In those instances, the choice is my effort to provide some context around a trend or category using an example I found to be most illustrative.
Let’s dooooo it 👇
Sports Cards
Mile High is selling a PSA A (Restored) T206 Wagner this fall.
👉1st Honus sale since October 2022
👉 This card was purchased in October 2021 for $1,102,806
👉 The most recent sale of a PSA A example was an altered copy, which fetched $1,528,070 in April 2022.
— Will Stern (@WillStern_)
Jul 12, 2023
While it’s easy to pick one of the most famous & most valuable cards in the world for this category, I swear I have good cause.
The PSA A (Restored) T206 Wagner that sold this September at Mile High Card Company’s August 2023 auction was meaningful for a number of reasons.
At the time of the sale, it had been about a year since a T206 Honus tested the market.
Amid choppy (to put it kindly) market conditions, this sale preserved the streak of ’no Wagner ever selling for less than its purchase price’
It was threatening to break this streak as it was essentially a flip (imagine flipping a million-dollar card?), purchased in October 2021 for $1,102,806.
But it ultimately prevailed, selling for $1,968,000 — a record for the grade.
Why I Picked It:
Considering the stature of the card & its position as a bit of a bellwether of the vintage market, this made my list as an indicator of resiliency, an example of the power of scarcity, as well as maybeeeeee the card world’s version of ‘too big to fail’
Further Points:
I didn't pick the Baltimore News Ruth despite its impressive result mainly due to the fact that there are a few loose ends relating to the sale that are unique to the card and not indicative of broader trends.
Additionally, I almost chose the Joe Doyle Error Card which nabbed $1.2M at REA as I think it's a powerful indicator in favor of the strength of vintage, but more importantly, an example proving collector lore (i.e. caring about a card of a guy nobody knows due to its story) is alive and well and shows up with cash.
Video Games
I’m showing my bias with this one.
With the softening of the market in 2023, there aren’t obvious blockbuster sales to point to on the video game front.
But one I was watching closely due to my own interest in sealed consoles was the $120K sale of an unopened NES Deluxe Set Console at Heritage in November.
Why I Picked It:
Faced with sagging results across the standard market-leading titles, the category sought new highs in new places.
Despite the market for sealed Game Boys dipping, the unique offering here provided a legit benchmark sale for game investors/collectors looking for relief. Plus, these consoles in unopened condition are so exceptionally rare it’s worth flagging.
Further Points: Another option I could have gone with was the $7K+ sale of the Zelda Box (meaning, nothing inside, not sealed, just a box).
I definitely have thoughts on this: Namely, bidders are going beyond simply researching variants & placing premiums on the earliest prints, but in this case, they are elevating the release above condition. Something to keep an eye on.
OK, now that you’re in the middle of this read, I’m gonna ask a favor: My kid needs a new Kidney, so if anyone— just kidding…
I’m just hoping you’ll share this on social, give me your thoughts, and subscribe to the newsletter. I have an incredibly fragile ego and it turns out this is the only thing that helps. Thanks in advance.
Tickets
After blowing the doors off the auction scene in the past couple of years, tickets didn’t just recede… they completely tanked. Bad.
Why I Picked It:
The poster child of the ticket boom (and bust) is, unsurprisingly, Michael Jordan.
A $23,400 August sale of a PSA 5 Jordan Debut Ticketron Variant stub is the best example of the heights from which this niche has fallen.
For reference, a comparably graded stub, of the same variant, fetched $135,300 in April 2022.
Further Points:
It took all the willpower I had not to choose the Ford's Theatre Front-Row Tickets from Lincoln’s Assassination which sold at RR Auctions this past September for $262.5K.
But sticking with my goal of highlighting indicative sales, I couldn’t justify its inclusion… despite how ridiculously weird it is. But, for those curious about the story, here’s a bit on the background.
Also, they were purchased by my arch-nemesis Jim Irsay, owner of the Cults and blocker of me on Twitter. Coward.
Movie Props
Another example of Star Wars bringing its unmatched firepower to the auction world, for this category I’m going with the $3,135,000 of a miniature model of an X-wing used in the original film.
Why I Picked It:
Following a $2.4M sale of a similar X-Wing last year, it’s proof of what we already know: (insert goofy pun about the force)
Cars
Setting the record for the most valuable Ferrari ever sold at auction is the $51.7M sale of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. It’s 1 of just 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs produced between 1962-1964.
Why I Picked It:
The GTO is an established grail of the collector car world, and while this sale was actually seen as bit of a disappointment by many, it’s hard to ignore the eye-popping price & significance of the car itself — which is the only 250 GTO ever raced by Scuderia Ferrari & dubbed “The Most Important Ferrari GTO Ever”
This sale still failed to eclipse the record for any Ferrari ever sold, which was achieved in 2018 when WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil paid $70M for a Tour de France-winning 1963 250 GTO.
Art
I had to reread Altan Insight’s report to arm myself for this one, as the art market is a world unto its own.
Why I Picked It:
Given the context of rather poor showings across the major houses this year, it might be prudent to cherry-pick a lackluster result from a top-shelf artist. But given my poor qualifications to comment with authority on the market, I’ll advise you all to read Altan’s report, as well as this list of the top sales of 2023…
That being said, may as well include number 1: Femme à la montre by Pablo Picasso, which sold for $139.4M — Picasso’s 2nd most valuable piece ever sold publicly.
Watches
One of the most famous watches in history, Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT-Master worn during the filming of Apocalypse & believed to be lost forever, it resurfaced in 2019 when it sold for $1.95M.
Surprisingly, the buyer didn’t hold onto it for long, as they included it in a November single-owner sale — ultimately hammering for $4.77M.
Why I Picked It:
It would have made my list regardless just due to my love of the watch’s lore… but given that the entire auction was placed on hold while the consigner sued Christie’s (resolved last week), likely alleging some kind of violation of a third-party guarantee deal, this also will play a role in the broader auction market.
Both in terms of the types of arrangements made between consigners & houses, but also perhaps in shining a light on the overly-cozy nature of the increasingly popular single-owner sale.
Game-worn
This is boring… but I’m not going to try to get smart here.
A jersey of a rookie sold for $762K at Sotheby’s during its inaugural NBA-partnered auctoin. The fact that Wemby may be a generational talent doesn’t change the fact that at the time of the auction, he’d played fewer games in the NBA (14) than Baker Mayfield has played in the NFL this season (15 at the time of writing)
Why I Picked It:
Not only is this my pick for this category (which had its fair share of positive action this year) due to the massive price tag, but also because of its representative nature of the reckless speculation in sports memorabilia.
The only way this sale turns out to be a good investment is if Wemby becomes Michael Jordan or LeBron James… or if the game-worn market accelerates even further from its already-meteoric trajectory.
So it captures a few currents in one: The speculatory aspect of the market, the rise of game-worn, as well as some highly-specific developments addressed below.
Further Points:
It’d be an oversight not to at least give a passing mention to the rapid adoption of photo-matching by the bulk of the industry — a step which seems to be a large part of the category’s boom.
Plus, Sotheby’s partnership with the NBA is huge.
Books/Manuscripts
In a year without any exceptionally interesting price action in the 1st Ed. book world, it’s the $38.1M sale of the Codex Sassoon that takes the cake.
Why I Picked It:
A 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible — believed to be the earliest & most complete in the world — it is the 3rd most valuable book or manuscript ever sold.
My Hebrew is rusty so I’m not gonna opine much further other than: Super old shit connected to historically significant movements might just be the sort of thing that will routinely fetch large sums.
Comic Books
Ignoring the fact that it’s the most expensive public comic book sale of the year, clocking in at $1,740,000, the most intriguing snippet from the Heritage sale of this Detective Comics #27 (CGC 6.0) is its inclusion of an inscription from cover artist Bob Kane on the first page: "To my friend Bob Crestohl - Bob Kane”
Why I Picked It:
While always a significant value-driver in the realm of rare books, comics have a weird history with inscriptions/markings. In this case, we see that perhaps the identity of the doodler matters…
Further Points: As I'm writing this I see a few lots coming up at Heritage that will probably completely write the narrative coming into the new year. Another trend to keep an eye on is the long-simmering market for comic art. We've seen some huge sales pop up every now and then over the last couple of years & Heritage devotes an auction to it (always a good sign) so I wouldn't be shocked to see that niche pick up.
Spirits
My pick here was probably the easiest of the entire bunch. Not only was this a record sale… but it’s got a wild story behind it too.
Why I Picked It:
Newly re-discovered in the ‘80s & dating back to 1926, this Macallan was the latest bottle from its cask to set records at auction — this time to the tune of $2.7M.
Tech
Now, before you throw your iPhone (ha) across the room and stop reading, I must reiterate: This isn’t my list of favorites, but a list of sales that highlight trends from the year.
So, sealed iPhones…
At one point I had a list of every sale but I stopped updating it as these ‘rarities’ went from never-before-seen to literally never-not-seen in every auction.
But honestly, the numbers don’t add much more detail than the following: Prices rose quickly and violently as FOMO jumped into the ‘new’ asset category, followed by a surge in supply leading to a price retreat.
Why I Picked It:
This was the tech collectible with the most mainstream attention by a longshot.
But, for me, it also is a beautiful real-life demonstration of the power of third-party authentication, population reports & provenance.
RE authentication: There is none. The result? It’s super scary to buy a supposedly sealed box and cross your fingers you didn’t end up with expensive cardboard covered in shrink wrap.
RE population reports: There is none. That’s a scary proposition when jumping into a newly-popular category, risking the news that a discovery of a warehouse full of OG sealed iPhones renders your purchase worthless.
RE provenance: There’s a reason why the iPhone at LCG set the record & it isn’t solely due to the timing of the market. It’s largely a result of the iPhone’s provenance, coming from an Apple employee who worked on the iPhone’s development. This chain-of-custody replaces the gap left by authentication & is given an extremely high premium.
Also, the LCG record came for the sale of the rarer, earlier 4GB variant.
~Life~ worn
A split prize for this category: Princess Diana & Napolean
Predictable, right?
Napolean’s hat sold for $2.1M earlier this year around the timing of the release of the Ridley Scott film & Princess Diana had two sales of her clothing (a dress and a sweater) eclipse $1M.
Articles of clothing sold for $1M+
Princess Diana: 2
Tom Brady: 2
Joe Montana: 1
Rest of the NFL: 0 twitter.com/i/web/status/1…— Rally (@OnRallyRd)
Dec 27, 2023
Why I Picked It:
This pop in the market for what I’m going to dub ‘Historical Figure Worn’ is the most under-reported emergent trend of the year. Even while sports dominated headlines with photo-matching on the rise & a slew of impressive results, sports are always going to be for sports fans.
For this category, the TAM is so much larger.
Kim Kardashian has been a known collector of Princess Diana memorabilia in the past, if that gives any indication of the vast appeal.
Further Points:
This is a pop culture movement as much as a historical one. I just as easily could have included the $1M+ sale of Tupac’s ring.