Given the ongoing vitriol in Washington, DC, I try to avoid getting political. It’s too headache inducing. That being said, I did watch the recent State of the Union speech.
Based on what was said, economically the US is reportedly doing gangbusters insofar as lower prices and higher wages. Maybe. Based on many auction sales prices for collectibles, some people are clearly doing better than others. With notable irony, last week’s speech followed a segment on the TV news show 60 Minutes. It featured a story about a once-thriving coal region in West Virginia where unemployment is now rampant and most barely exist on assistance. The contrast is sobering.
Some cases of the wealth gap include recent mind-bending collectible sales. The first involves a Pokemon card – an item similar to baseball trading cards. For those unfamiliar, Pokemon is a Japanese-based anime with cartoonish characters. A few decades ago, it had become the rage for young people. The concept gained more popularity through trading cards....
While particularly popular during the pandemic, the Pokemon fad seemed to wane a bit in recent years. Prices for modern Pokemon cards have experienced a double-digit decline. Consequently, speculators looking for quick profits have also disappeared. There are exceptions.
Two weeks ago, a single Pokemon “Illustrator” card with an image of the character Pikachu released in 1998 sold for a mind-boggling $16.2 million. I’m not kidding. That was for a small piece of printed cardboard which, just a few decades prior, was entirely unknown and unheard of. Clearly, the buyer has no issues with wealth and probably doesn’t live in West Virginia.
I shouldn’t sound so modernistically cynical. Such sales and phenomena are not new. For almost a century, grown men have paid top-dollar for select baseball cards. In fact, at the same time as the Pokemon card sale, there was a new discovery of a Honus Wagner baseball card.
Wagner was a famous shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and considered one of the greatest players of all time. Nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," his playing skill made him an inaugural member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. And, though many players of the time chewed tobacco, he was an early and ardent anti-tobacco advocate.
That’s important because, in the early days, baseball cards weren’t found in packs of gum. Rather, cards were attached onto packs of cigarettes. One of those cards was made for Wagner without his permission. After it was released, Wagner was angered by his inclusion and the perceived endorsement of tobacco. He demanded the cards be destroyed. The company complied though quite a few had already been distributed.
Those that survive today are considered the Holy Grails of baseball cards. None are found in particularly nice condition. One that was graded only “good” (a designation that is actually quite low on a collector grading scale) once sold for over $7 million. The one recently found in a family’s old belongings was in worse shape. Nevertheless, it just brought over $5 million.
There are plenty examples of unbridled collectible wealth other than trading cards. Once relegated to flea markets, vinyl records have made a roaring comeback, especially among Baby Boomers who grew up with them. Even many from subsequent generations concede that early rock is the foundation of so much of today’s music. And, some of the original physical records have reached lofty collectibles status.
A prime example would be the Beatle’s “White Album” released in 1968. It became a staple in the record collections of anyone under the age of 20. One thing audiophiles might not have noticed was that all the albums were numbered based on when they were made. Of those pressed, Beatle’s drummer Ringo Starr was able to receive White Album #0000001 – the first one made. Though it sounded exactly the same as the others, in 2015, that copy sold at auction for $790,000.
Another release other people actually do own with substantial value is the Beatle’s album Yesterday And Today recorded in 1966. While many average folks and collectors own that release, when first issued, the Beatles did so with what’s called the “Butcher” cover. That version contained a photo of the four musicians in meat cutter outfits with bloody raw meat and dismembered dolls around them. The public reaction was less than good.
Almost immediately, the album cover was recalled and replaced with a photo of the musicians in a simple portrait positioned near luggage. Today, surviving copies of that original album with the “butcher” cover can sell for as much as $125,000.
The takeaway is clear. While I won’t comment on the State of the Union, auction results surely attest that the state of the collector market is robust. Best of all, be it trading cards or record albums, there are plenty more valuable discoveries waiting to be made.
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