Exquisite LeBron Rookie RPA to 99 Tops $2 Million
He didn’t make what seems like an annual appearance in the NBA Finals this past season and he’s now 36 years old, but that hasn’t stopped collectors from chasing high-end LeBron James cards. Goldin Auctions set a new record price for one of his best late Saturday night when a 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph graded BGS 9 sold for just over $2 million.
It’s the most ever paid for the same card in that grade. Part of the attraction was the quality of the patch piece itself, which formed part of the lettering in “Cavaliers.”
In April, Goldin had sold another BGS 9 copy for just over $1.7 million. The most expensive reported sale of a James card also took place that month when a BGS 9 Exquisite Patch Parallel changed hands for $5.2 million. That’s also the record for any basketball card.
Among the other James cards in Goldin’s August auction was a 202o-21 Prizm Gold (#/10) graded PSA 8 that sold for over $99,000–a record for any 2021 Prizm card.
The online catalog also included a 2000 Tom Brady Contenders Championship Ticket Rookie Autograph graded BGS 7.5 with a 10 autograph grade. It sold for $799,500, a record price for the grade.
The auction, which featured more than 1,200 rare, collectible items closed with $12 million in total sales.
Among the other cards reaching six-figure prices: a PSA 10 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card at $295,200, a 2013-14 Prizm Giannis Antetokounmpo Gold parallel at $270,600–a record for the grade, a 2019-20 Topps Finest UEFA Champions League Erling Haaland at $210,330–the most paid for any Finest soccer card and a 2016 Bowman Chrome Prospects Autograph Red Refractor Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at $186,960, the most ever paid for a card featuring the Toronto Blue Jays young slugger.
“The big headline of the night was obviously LeBron. His Exquisite Collection rookie, one of the hobby’s flagship cards, broke another record but we also saw the 2020-21 Panini Prizm Gold sell for nearly $100,000,” said Ken Goldin, Founder and Executive Chairman of Goldin Auctions. “Soccer items continue taking off also. With Ronaldo announcing his return to Manchester United, we saw a surge in bidding for his items, including a new record set for his rookie card.”
That would be a 2003 Upper Deck Manchester United Gold graded PSA 7 that sold for over $59,000.
Goldin also set a record for the most expensive F1 trading card with the sale of a 2020 Topps Chrome Red Refractor Lewis Hamilton auto at $59,040.
In all, 12 items sold for over $100,000. So far this year, the company has already done over $260 million in sales.
Prices include a 23 percent buyer’s premium, which will be reduced by three percent as long as the buyer pays on time and doesn’t use a credit card.
