Joe Montana is one of those athletes whose importance is actually larger than his memorabilia market. Four Super Bowls, four Super Bowl MVP awards, the San Francisco 49ers dynasty and one of the most important quarterbacks in NFL history should probably produce a market that feels completely untouchable. The prices are certainly strong, but they … Read more
I have opened a lot of packs, but I had never pulled a redemption card before. That changed with a Topps Series 2 box, and honestly, I still do not really know where to put the feeling. It was a redemption for a Munetaka Murakami 1991 Topps Baseball Autograph Gold Parallel, card 91B2-MUR from Series … Read more
David Beckham is one of the few athletes where I am not entirely sure whether collectors are buying the football career, the celebrity, or both at the same time. Of course Beckham was a great footballer. Manchester United, Real Madrid, England, free kicks, Champions League, the No. 7 shirt, the red card against Argentina in … Read more
Michael Jordan is one of the biggest names in sports cards, but his card market is not one clean market. The 1986 Fleer rookie card, the 1986 Fleer sticker, rare 1990s inserts, Upper Deck autographs, game-used cards and important high-grade copies live in a completely different world than ordinary late 80s and 90s base cards. … Read more
I went through Catawiki again after writing about Etsy, and the difference is pretty obvious. Etsy gives me this strange feeling that almost anything can be uploaded if the photo is clean enough. A framed Jordan, some COA nobody knows, “authentic” in the title, decent seller page, done. Catawiki feels different, but not because I … Read more
I was looking through Etsy again for sports memorabilia, and it is one of the stranger places to search for autographs. The selection is huge: Jordan, Brady, Ohtani, Kobe, Messi, framed jerseys, signed photos, balls, helmets, display pieces. A lot of it looks good at first glance because Etsy is built for presentation. Nice photos, … Read more
A cracked PSA slab does not always mean the card inside is damaged. I know that grey area myself. I have a cracked PSA 5 Markelle Fultz Prizm slab in my collection, and for that kind of card, I can live with it. But a cracked or badly scuffed holder is still not the same … Read more
The Miami Heat are an interesting memorabilia team. Not every Heat item is automatically valuable, but Miami has championships, a strong visual identity, and a few players who matter in the wider collectibles market. And then there is LeBron James. That changes the discussion. His Miami years were short compared to his full career, but … Read more
Today I want to look at a question that matters a lot in modern sports memorabilia: Are Fanatics COAs legit? I am using a real example from my own collection: a signed Victor Wembanyama basketball from Fanatics. Wembanyama is already one of the most important young names in basketball, and after becoming one of the … Read more
Today I want to talk about something very simple, but also very important: How many real hits are actually inside a sports card box? That question comes up all the time in the hobby. Collectors discuss it constantly. Are blaster boxes better? Are hanger boxes better? Should you buy retail at all? Or should you … Read more