Mickey Mantle (left) and LeBron James (right) are the subjects of some of the most valuable unique sports cards ever sold
Sports cards are a variety of trading card, small cards usually made of cardboard, which feature an image of an athlete or athletes along with identifying text. The earliest sports cards were promotional materials usually included with tobacco products and candy and often bearing an advertisement on the reverse. The value of a sports card depends on a combination of the card's condition, the subject's popularity and the scarcity of the card. In some cases, especially with older cards that preceded the advent of card collecting as a widespread hobby, they have become collectors' items of considerable value. The two priciest cards are baseball cards, followed by three basketball cards.
The first sports card to sell for one million dollars was a T206 Honus Wagner which went for $1,265,000 at auction in 2000 (equivalent to $2,238,133 in 2023).[1] As of May 2020[update], the industry brings in over one billion dollars annually for manufacturers and retailers.[2]
The current record price for an individual sports card is the US$12.6million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records.[3][4]
^Zax, David (April 30, 2007). "A Brief History of the Honus Wagner Baseball Card". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
^Shea, Bill (May 20, 2020). "How the billion-dollar sports card industry collapsed and then rebounded". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
^Albeck-Ripka, Livia (August 28, 2022). "Baseball Card Sold for $12.6 Million, Breaking Record - The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card is the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever to be sold at auction". The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
^Monagan, Matt (August 31, 2022). "The man who sold the most valuable sports card of all time - Anthony Giordano got a record $12.6 million for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle". MLB. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
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