When collectors hear about the most expensive baseball card or most expensive sports card ever sold, they probably think of the infamous T206 Honus Wagner card from the 1909 American Tobacco set. It turns out that the sports card craze has spilled over into many categories outside of baseball and outside of just being the top vintage cards. Honus Wagner is not really losing his importance in the hobby, but card collecting has been maturing and evolving. Collectors of high-end cards, memorabilia and other collectibles are competing directly against deep-pocketed investors who may or may not even have a passion for a specific asset.

The field of collectibles has gone beyond a mere “hobby” at this point. Collectibles have undeniably matured into an alternative asset class. Collectors and investors alike are using the same money to buy collectibles that would have otherwise been invested in stocks, bonds, or real estate.

Collectors Dashboard has been keeping a detailed log of the rising tide of auction prices fetching $1 million or more in recent years. This preliminary list is of the 15 most expensive sports cards that have ever been sold. It should be pointed out that some of the cards listed below are the exact same card which has changed hands over time.

The rise in $1 million card sales in the prior two decades was impressive enough, but the top 15 sales were all above $2 million and it is becoming more common to see $5 million prices.

These sales have been as of May 15, 2021 and there is a virtual tie for first place. Due to age and enduring prestige, vintage cards will always be counted first in lists under the Collectors Dashboard if there is a tie in realized sale prices. These realized sale prices have been reported as net prices after auction premiums, but they may or may not include any sales taxes and other fees which may have been paid by a buyer, seller or auction house.

As a constant reminder, there are some transactions which have never been measured because they have occurred in private or dealer-initiated transactions that were not published. Here is a look at the highest selling sports cards of all-time. Readers will notice that this list is actually 14 dedicated cards rather than 15 dedicated cards, and that is because a T206 Honus Wagner graded PSA 2 is closing on May 22 via Goldin Auctions and it was already at $2.25 million as of May 18, 2021.

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

#2 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#14 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 15th 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.