A new record has been set in the sports world thanks to a rare collectible LeBron James basketball card that has sold for a milestone price of $1.845 million (£1.453 million / €1.613 million).
Goldin Auctions, the auction house responsible for selling the exclusive 2003-04 LeBron James Upper Deck signed rookie Patch Parallel card, broke the Guinness World Records title for most expensive basketball trading card sold at an online auction as part of their 2020 Summer Premium Auction last Saturday night at GoldinAuctions.com.
The card is considered such a marvel as it is only one of 23 total that has ever been produced and includes a piece of the game-worn jersey.
It features James, who is now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, during his 2003-04 rookie season at hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After a thorough evaluation by Goldin Auctions, both the autograph and card were rated above a 9.5 - nearing perfection in quality.
The popularity of the record-breaking card has largely to do with the NBA player it celebrates.
American professional basketball player LeBron Raymone James Sr. is known for his time on the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers teams.
A four-time NBA MVP and 16-time NBA All-star, LeBron is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, with several fan discussions ranking him as the greatest basketball player of all time and comparing his abilities to those of Michael Jordan.
With this in mind, the auction house began the bidding price at a cool $150,000, but the price quickly escalated to be one for the record books.
Goldin Auctions has conducted the two highest-grossing auctions in their history through this recent sale of LeBron’s card. The 2020 Spring Premium Auction tallied $11 million, and the most recent 2020 Summer Premium Auction event realized over $11.3 million in sales.
Goldin Auctions is currently accepting consignments for its Late Summer 2020 Auction, beginning in late August.
"We are thrilled with the prices we received in our Summer 2020 Premium Auction, especially with the 2003-04 UD "Exquisite Collection" #78 LeBron James Signed Rookie Card (#14/23) that set the modern card record," said Ken Goldin, Founder of Goldin Auctions.
"Our consignors are ecstatic, and this auction demonstrates how strong the industry is and that our bidder database is second-to-none.”
Related Articles
