With NFTs entering into the world as the next big piece of sports memorabilia collecting, the old school hockey cards still hold their own in terms of value. There’s something about being able to hold the hard copy of a sports card.
…as long as it’s properly protected.
On Thursday, new surface that a 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card was bought for a whopping $3.75 million in a private sale through Heritage Auctions. The price tag was nearly triple the previous hockey card record of $1.29 million, held by the same version of Gretzky rookie card.
According to ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren, it's the third time this particular card has garnered a ridiculous price tag. The card was previously sold for $465,000 in 2016 and $94,000 in 2011, neither of which come close to the 2021 sale.
Only five players have had sports cards have sold for more money according to The Action Network, with Mickey Mantle and LeBron James sharing the record of $5.2M. A Luka Doncic card sold for $4.6M, while Mike Trout clocked in at $3.9M, and Honus Wagner with two separate cards selling at $3.75 and $3.7 respectively.
This is likely pretty cool for Gretzky seeing as he’s a collector himself. He once owned the T/206 Honus Wagner card after a $451,000 purchase. He eventually sold it for $500,000 four years later.
While this kind of purchase is wildly outside the disposable funds of most of us, it’s still pretty cool to hear how much these cards are slinging for.
(H/T ESPN)
