Over the recent years, the sports card industry has been ablaze with sales soaring to unprecedented heights, breaking the million-dollar ceiling with remarkable ease. A host of top players have found their cards fetching exorbitant amounts, but one notable absence in the million-dollar club stands out amidst the frenzy – Shohei Ohtani. Despite his remarkable prowess in the sport and a massive fan base, Ohtani’s highest card sale hovers under $400,000, a rare occurrence in this era of sky-high transaction values.
As the World Series unfolds with the Dodgers taking on the Yankees, Topps has unveiled a revealing graphic spotlighting some of this year’s key players with the most expensive cards:
1. Jasson Dominguez: $474,000
2. Aaron Judge: $324,000
3. Juan Soto: $300,000
4. Anthony Volpe: $150,000
5. Mookie Betts: $123,000
At the pinnacle of the list sits Jasson Dominguez, with his 1/1 Bowman Superfractor Autograph commanding an astounding $474,000 price tag. Anthony Volpe makes a significant mark as well with his red Bowman Chrome autograph, limited to just five copies, fetching an impressive $150,000 for a PSA 10 graded version, solidifying his status as another high-value card in the potent Yankees roster.
The tale of Juan Soto’s 1/1 Bowman Superfractor Autograph carries with it a twist of intrigue, as the autograph underwent alterations and a regrade. Whispers suggest that PSA repurchased the card, rendering it unavailable in the current market.
Earlier this year, Fanatics and Sotheby’s joined forces for an auction that presented an array of the industry’s most coveted cards, including some featured in Topps’ graphic. However, a discrepancy seems to surface concerning Topps’ reported figures for Shohei Ohtani’s card. Fresh data from eBay and CardLadder reveal a significant transaction involving a 2018 Topps Definitive Gold Framed Shohei Ohtani Rookie Auto graded BGS 9.5, numbered 13/30, which changed hands for $350,000 on October 15. This recent sale suggests that Ohtani’s highest-valued card might indeed near the half-million-dollar milestone after all, sparking further intrigue in the realm of sports card collecting.
