Overview
- Goldin Auctions reported two headline sales that together exceeded $5 million with LeBron James’ 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite rookie patch autograph selling for $2.93 million and Shohei Ohtani’s one-of-one 2018 Topps Chrome SuperFractor selling for $2.56 million.
- LeBron’s card is No. 9 of 23 from the Exquisite Collection and the $2.93 million result is a new public-auction high for a LeBron rookie though higher private sales have been reported.
- Ohtani’s SuperFractor was graded 9.5 and its $2.56 million price marked the highest publicly recorded sale for an Ohtani rookie after the same card sold for $139,200 in 2022.
- Buyers’ premiums are included in the prices and collectors cited one-of-one status, serial numbering and high professional grades as the main drivers of the sharp price gains.
- The results show public auction records rising and could attract more investor capital to top-tier cards even as private sales remain opaque and may still exceed public benchmarks.