It is generally believed that only 50 to 200 of the cards were ever produced. The images below do not necessarily represent the individual specimen sold but are representative of the given cards. Thus, for example, the T206 Honus Wagner is represented on this list by one particular card's 2021 sale and does not include the same card's 2012 sale for $1.2 million or the Jumbo Wagner and its $3.12 million sale price.Ĭards are evaluated by third-party services, most often Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Sportscard Guaranty (SGC), and given a grade on a ten-point scale based on condition. This list includes only the highest price paid for a given card and does not include separate entries for individual copies of the same card or multiple sales prices for the same copy of a card. This list of items as of August 20, 2021 is ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value (in bold) in millions of United States dollars in 2022. The 2 priciest cards are baseball cards, followed by 3 basketball cards. As of May 2020, the industry brings in over one billion dollars annually for manufacturers and retailers. The first sports card to sell for one million dollars was a T206 Honus Wagner which went for $1,265,000 at auction in 2000 (equivalent to $2,149,644 in 2022). The earliest sports cards were promotional materials usually included with tobacco products and candy and often bearing an advertisement on the reverse. Sports cards are a variety of trading card, small cards usually made of cardboard, which feature an image of an athlete or athletes along with identifying text. The current record price is the US$12.6 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card ( Topps #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records. This is a list of the highest known prices paid for sports cards. Mickey Mantle (left) and LeBron James (right) are the subjects of some of the most valuable unique sports cards ever sold

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