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Autographed Card Sells For A Million Dollars!

Okay, so...maybe that headline of that was a little fib. The card actually sold for $922,500. And of course, we now know that it won’t be long until a card sells for more than the famous Honus Wagner card. It’s amazing to think a card from 2009, which isn’t that long ago, could warrant such a price.

It’s a Mike Trout Red Refractor Autograph, that was graded 9.5 out of 10. The price realized for this rookie card was certainly helped by the fact that it was autographed. And, nobody held it against the owner of the Honus Wagner card that sold for just over $3 million, when it was only graded a 5. A card that old isn’t going to be in mint condition.

In 2018, a Mickey Mantle, 1952 Topps card (graded 9), sold for almost $3 million.

There are only five of these Red Refractor Autograph made cards of Mike Trout. As of now, none of the other four have popped up. Perhaps one or two are in an unopened pack. If you’re interested in seeking out some unopened packs in search of one -- they are a few for about four thousand on Ebay right now (2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks and Prospects). There is a signed Trout card listed at $299,999, if you have the means.

Trout has won the MVP three times, and he has finished first or second seven times in his eight seasons playing. So nobody is doubting this is a future Hall of Famer that will be in conversations about the GOAT if he keeps up his impressive numbers.

I’ve said this before, but I love speculating. When kids play Little League, and they do team photos, some companies will make fake baseball cards with your kid. They’re adorable. They put some stats on the back, and the photo in the front. Well, if one of these kids becomes a huge baseball star, imagine a person in the family having one of those cards, when there are only a handful ever made, and they’re all owned by family. It’s a card that’s nine years before their “rookie card”. Imagine a Mike Trout baseball card from when he was 10-years-old, with an autograph from a kid who could barely write his name. Of course, it would probably be hard to prove authenticity on the autograph, but...if the seller is someone related, I’m sure they’d still make half a mil from it.

Tags: Bowman, Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Red Refractor, Topps

1 member likes this

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on May 21, 2020 at 6:10pm: A Mike Trout Orange Refractor in the same grade sold for $186,500 in March 2019.

Comment by Josh Board on May 21, 2020 at 6:12pm: Then that person got a deal! hahahaha.

I'm not much of a baseball fan, but I'd rather have a trout (the fish) signed by Catfish Hunter. But that's just me.

Comment by BC on May 21, 2020 at 7:42pm: The guy that sold it is infamous, known as Vegas Dave. You may know the name. A google search brings up quite a bit and can get interesting.

Here is what he said:

"My Mike Trout rookie card sells for a record breaking $900,000!! I paid $180,000 for this card a little over a year ago. Everyone said I was crazy for spending this kind of money on a piece of cardboard. You cannot even buy a piece of real estate and flip it for a $720,000 profit in one year. The $400,000 1/1 superfractor Mike Trout rookie I bought for $400,000 last year is now worth around 3 million dollars. No stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401ks, gold, silver, and real estate pays these returns in 365 days. I remember all the haters laughing at me when I dropped 400k on a piece of cardboard instead of buying a house. I guess he who laughs first gets laughed at last "

Comment by Josh Board on May 21, 2020 at 10:12pm: Holy cow! That's insane. The guy that bought the Buckner ball isn't saying that...but this guy sure can.

Comment by terrier8HOF on May 22, 2020 at 6:10am: I'd rather have a signed Mantle rookie

Comment by CJCollector on May 22, 2020 at 6:19am: I read about this yesterday.

Insane!!!!

Comment by Al on May 22, 2020 at 8:09am: People are insane. If I had that kind of expendable income I'd invest in fine art or something worthwhile

Comment by Josh Board on May 22, 2020 at 8:30am: It's not the amount, necessarily, that makes me think they're crazy. I mean, let's say you were rich and someone had a signed Magical Mystery Tour album, and you spent $500,000 on it -- you'd have friends thinking you were crazy, right? What's crazy though is.....Trout is STILL playing. So, let's say this year of baseball is cancelled. And they play next year, and let's just say...he sucks. And the following year, he gets injured. And the year after that, he's good, but not great. And he plays another 10 years, not being as good. All of the sudden, the value of his rookie card/autograph, just aren't the same. I mean, I remember as a kid, the rookie card of Dale Murphy being so valuable, and then he kept playing and wasn't as good, and the card years later, wasn't worth as much. So, somebody overpaid big time for this item.

Comment by Al on May 22, 2020 at 8:41am: You make some good points, and
From $180k to $922k within a year...thats a speculator with too much money, not a wise investor.

Buying the highest graded always seems like a gamble unless it's vtg and the pop hasn't changed in decades--who's to say another doesn't get Gem Mint some years down the line

Comment by terrier8HOF on May 22, 2020 at 12:01pm: to each his own. I would rather have the magical mystery tour signed by the group that changed the music world. If I had the trout card I would look at it and say" Crap, is that all there is?"

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