Wall Street is piling into trading cards as prices soar

The spike in prices has caught the attention of a wider class of investment professionals, flush with cash following unprecedented stimulus measures from governments and central banks. Rock-bottom interest rates have also made it harder to find lucrative investments, bolstering interest in creative alternatives.

“Funds are being created. They’re getting investors involved and pooling five, 10, 15 million dollars,” said Jesse Craig, director of business development at PWCC Marketplace, a top seller of premium cards.
Josh Luber, the co-founder of sneaker resale startup StockX, left the company last year to form Six Forks Kids Club, an alternative asset management company focused on cards. The moment, he said, was simply too big to pass up.

“It’s hard to find someone [in] my generation whose first business wasn’t buying baseball cards when they were 10,” Luber, who is 42, told CNN Business. “We’re all of the age where we have a little bit more money, but we’re also in positions of decision-making for investment funds.”

Mickey Mantle baseball card shatters record, sells for $5.2 million

Don’t put that in your bike spokes!

A Mickey Mantle baseball card has shattered a 5-month-old record for highest-selling sports card of all time, going for $5.2 million, PWCC Marketplace announced on Thursday.

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 9—PSA is a grading system that ranges from 1-10—took the record from a one-of-one Mike Trout rookie that sold for $3.94 million in August. It’s believed that there are only six PSA 9s of that Mantle card still in existence.

Rob Gough, the actor who acquired streetwear brand Dope in 2017, purchased the ‘52 Mantle, which former NFL lineman Evan Mathis sold in 2018 for $2.88 million.

“The 1952 Topps Mantle is the holy grail of sports cards,” Gough said. “As a kid ripping packs in the ‘90s, I always dreamt of owning one. ... I felt this Mantle was highly underpriced.”