Sotheby’s will begin hosting live and online auctions for sports trading cards valued at $100,000 and above through its new partnership with the sports collectibles and retail giant Fanatics.
The upcoming Fanatics Collect marketplace will host its first live auction with Sotheby’s in New York this September and will include bidding for a 1948 Leaf #79 Jackie Robinson card. The card’s condition was graded as an eight by the authentication company PSA and is estimated to be worth between $275,000 and $350,000.
Sotheby’s launched its sports and modern-collectibles department in 2022 and sold sneakers worn by Michael Jordan for a record-breaking $8 million in February. Leading sports trading-card company Topps was acquired by Fanatics in 2022 for a reported $500 million.