All the Collectibles Records Broken in 2021
Sports cards, video games, sneakers, comics...
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
🎁 FYI: This will be the last issue of the year — we’ll be back in your inbox on January 4. Happy holidays!
🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
Collecting had a banner year. Here’s a rundown of some of the record-breaking sales of 2021
A high-grade copy of the first appearance of Spider-Man sold for $3.6 million in September, a world record for a comic book sale.
A rare 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card, one of only 60 in existence, brought in $6.6 million at auction in August.
A pair of 1984 Nike Air Ships worn by MJ himself went for around $1.5 million in October.
A sealed copy of Super Mario 64 (with a 9.8 A++ from Wata) sold for nearly $1.6 million over the summer. It was the most expensive game ever sold, until a copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $2 million a few weeks later.
Our Take: The large number of record-breaking sales this year show that, even with all the attention paid to NFTs and the metaverse, physical collectibles are still booming.
A host of new startups have grown the market for collectibles and large auction houses are getting in on hype-worthy markets like streetwear and sneakers. That’s helped push the market for physical collectibles to new heights — even as vaccination rates climbed and the world began to open up again.
Sneakerheads struggle with spike in demand after Virgil Abloh’s death
The sneaker market went haywire in the days after Virgil Abloh’s death, as hypebeasts snapped up Off-White sneakers made by the iconic designer.
A pair of Off-White Jordan 1’s sold for $10,500 on StockX on the day of Abloh’s death. They originally retailed for $190 and resale prices had previously capped out at around $7,500.
While sneaker resellers are profiting from the massive jump in prices, some are putting restrictions in place to stop these kinds of sudden increases.
Our Take: An artist’s work always becomes more valuable after they pass away. In the hyperactive sneaker market, that increase happens fast.
When Abloh died at the end of last month, he stopped producing new products. With future supply suddenly diminished, the value of existing items went up exponentially. Add onto that Abloh’s unique ability to generate hype, and the sudden increase in price makes sense. We wouldn’t be surprised if Abloh’s sneakers see record-breaking sales at auction in a few years.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
Investors in an NFT project run by 6ix9ine say they were scammed by the rapper. Not surprising given his checkered past.
Is price and value the same thing in the art world? Increasingly the answer seems to be a resounding “no.”
Logan Paul dropped a cool $3.5 million on a box of first edition Pokémon cards. Still unclear what he plans to do with it, but Paul does have a pattern of auctioning off purchases like this to fans.
Adidas Originals is making bank on its NFT project. The brand reached the No. 2 spot on OpenSea, netting $43 million on its debut collab.
PSA had one hell of a year. The company graded and shipped 7 million+ cards in the first 11 months of the year and averaged nearly 25,000 cards a day in November.
Steph Curry dropped a surprise NFT after he broke the NBA’s three-point record. The 2,974 pieces include sketches by animator Floyd Norman and buyers will get autographs and other treats in the future.
The sports card industry is booming and its future is in the digital world.
Birkin bags have made it to the metaverse. Mason Rothschild, a Los Angeles-based artist, is selling “MetaBirkins” — basically reimagined Birkins that are available as NFTs.
We are being trolled by Zoomers. According to one TikToker, this iPod Shuffle is a “vintage” accessory.
