Many top baseball card prices had seen a massive surge in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. Many prices of those card have since backed off the highs seen earlier in 2021. Still, there are many record sales prices being seen in the key sports collectibles. The business of collectibles has matured from a hobby to an alternative asset class that competes for investment dollars no different than investing in stocks, bonds and property. The most expensive cards ever will shock collectors and investors alike.

Collectors Dashboard has been tracking the top sales within each category of collectibles in an effort to track the investors movement versus the pure hobbyists who want to own key collectibles.

It is now undeniable that collectibles as a whole have matured into an alternative asset class. eBay has referenced this investment category, as have the major auction houses referring to sports cards, comic books, stamps, coins and fine art as investments and assets. There are now even stock exchange-mimicking sites and apps where buyers can purchase fractional ownership almost the same as buying shares of stock on an exchange.

At the start of June 2021, there have been some recent changes to the list of most expensive sports cards ever sold. It is no longer all that unique to see card prices and their values at or above the $1 million mark. To prove the point, the lowest price of the top 10 highest sports card sale prices is now almost $2.9 million.

Need any help identifying whether investors are now involved in sports collectibles and other collectibles? It should be more than obvious by now.

Collectors Dashboard has a living list of live transactions that mark the highest sports card sale prices ever. Some of these are old enough that a newer updated auction might command multiples of what was already a record. Some of these cards are also available for fractional ownership directly or other grades of the cards have already traded.

A 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card has now reportedly broken a record for a single card sale price. The exact sum has not been reported, but it is said to be above the $5.2 million sale prices for high-end Mickey Mantle and LeBron James rookies. This new record-breaker is also set to come up for grabs on the Collectable share (fractional) ownership service.

The 1914 Baltimore News card of Babe Ruth is extremely rare. Many of even the high-end collectors were not even aware of its existence before the last couple of decades. This card is of a 19-year old Babe Ruth featured as a minor league pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles before the Boston Red Sox bought his contract. While the infamous T206 Honus Wagner card from 1909 is the face of baseball collecting (and with the most appearances on highest sales ever), this true Babe Ruth rookie card has become perhaps the most important sports card that would be treasured by any collector or collectibles investor.

Only about 10 examples of this 1914 Baltimore News rookie Babe Ruth cards exist. That is handily lower than the “sixty or so” that PSA and SGC have commented on for the T206 Honus Wagner card. The last sale for this 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth was seen back in 2013 for what was a record price of $450,300 at that time. That card was a PSA 1 example sold through Robert Edwards Auctions, and it had previously sold for $152,750 in 2009 and previously for $150,800 in 2006.

The PSA universe includes only 3 graded samples (highest is 4/10) of its kind, with another 6 graded samples at SGC (highest grade is 3/10).

One note to consider is that there are still some transactions which may not immediately appear on the lists of the most expensive cards ever. Transactions can be privately negotiated or may take place live rather than via online auctions. And some sales may have yet to be confirmed or not been reported at any given date.

Here are the current most expensive sports cards ever sold:

#1 Baseball — 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth
$5.2+ million (unspecified, more than the previous record $5.2 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card in January.) in 2021 via private sale… Listed on Collectable fractional ownership site for nearly $6 million valuation.

#2 Baseball – 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 9 MINT
$5.20 million in 2021 in a brokered sale through PWCC

#3 Basketball – 2003-04 Upper Deck “Exquisite Collection” #78 LeBron James signed rookie Patch Parallel Card graded BGS GEM MINT 9.0
$5.20 million in 2021 in a brokered sale through PWCC

#4 Basketball – 2018 National Treasures Luka Doncic Rookie Auto Logoman, population 1 of 1
$4.60 million in 2021

#5 Baseball – 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Mike Trout, Autograph Superfractors Rookie BGS MINT 9
$3.94 million in 2020 via Goldin Auctions

#6 Baseball — T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA 2
$3.751 million in May 2021 via Goldin Elite Auction

#7 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA 3
$3.70 million in 2020 via Heritage Auctions

#8 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA 3
$3.25 million in 2020 via Mile High Card Company

#9 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA EX 5 (MC); the “Jumbo Wagner”
$3.12 million in 2016 via Goldin Auctions

#10 Baseball – 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Card PSA 9 MINT
$2.88 million in 2018 via Heritage Auctions

#11 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA NM/MT 8; the “McNall/Gretzky Wagner”
$2.80 million in 2007 via SCP Auctions

#12 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner SGC graded “A – Authentic” (Joe Garagiola’s Wagner)
$2.52 million in 2021 via Heritage Auctions

#13 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA NM/MT 8
$2.35 million in 2007 in a private sale (pre-Gretzky)

#14 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA 1.5
$2.28 million on May 8, 2021 via Heritage Auctions

#15 Football – 2000 Tom Brady Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket #144 BGS
$2.25 million in 2021 via Lelands (most expensive football card ever!)

#16 Baseball – T206 Honus Wagner Card PSA EX 5 (MC) dubbed the “Jumbo Wagner”
$2.11 million in 2013 via Goldin Auctions

There are also two runner-up positions on the “most expensive cards ever” list that would have made for the highest
card prices ever. These were recently in the news, as follows:

• 1916 Babe Ruth Sporting News PSA 7 rookie card, has two positions here. Heritage Auctions had a PSA 7 sample with an appraised value of $4 million or more, but the $3 million reserve price was not met. A second PSA 7 sample is set to arrive on the Collectable app in a shares offering that was previously going to hit at a $3.7 million valuation, but the last listing was previewed at $2.98 million.
• 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle Card PSA 10 GEM MINT which sold for a $2.5 million valuation in a 2020 transaction through the Collectable app, but this was actually a $1.0 million sale for a 40% interest in shares of the card.

Collectors and investors alike know that it is not just cards that have magnificent sales prices within collectibles. An original Olympic Manifesto from 1892 sold via Sotheby’s in 2019 for $8.8 million. A game-worn Babe Ruth jersey from 1928 to 1930 sold via Hunt Auctions in 2019 for $5.64 million. That’s for a different story.

Now the question that needs to be asked — which card may become the first to mark a $10 million sale?