A Solution to Theft in The Hobby

Be careful out there, Collectors.

We’ve written a TON in these pages about crime in our collectible corner of the world, but this week we published a piece that hit close to home. Mantel’s Mike Metzler had a package with just-graded cards stolen, and through some admirable sleuthing, found a few of them cycling though the hobby.

And that alerted Mike to a problem worth solving- how can the hobby keep an eye out for stolen cards that pop up at shows and on marketplaces? So he teamed up with Nick Jarmin and the Certified Trading Card Association (CTCA) to launch the Global Trading Card Registry.

If you’ve ever had a card stolen, or want to check if a card you’re looking to buy is clean, sign up for the registry. It’s a great service to the hobby that will become even more useful the more people use it.

Shohei Ohtani’s signed, game-worn Tokyo Series cleats sold for a record $440,055 on The Realest, making them the most expensive baseball shoes ever auctioned. Worn in Ohtani’s MLB debut in Japan, the cleats combined rare Kanji signatures, debut signature-shoe status, and historic provenance to redefine the market for game-used footwear. Ohtani didn’t record any steals while wearing the cleats, but we think, despite hitting a record price, the auction winner got one here.

via NYT

Dick’s Sporting Goods made major waves last year when they spent $1.1M to buy the Paul Skenes Rookie Debut Patch card, and it was pretty clear at the time their interest in the hobby extended beyond just that one card. The master plan is now coming into view, as the sports retailer continues a major expansion into the trading cards by using collectibles to drive store traffic. Along with building collectible experiences and selling wax, the strategy includes sending buyers out to card shows across the country to buy singles for store shelves.

Michael Jordan’s photomatched Game 3 jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals will headline a JOOPITER auction with a $10–15M estimate. Worn during the Bulls’ record 42-point Finals victory, the jersey could challenge the all-time auction record. The Utah Jazz only scored 54 points that game, still an NBA Finals low, which should add to the jersey’s mystique.

French soccer club Dijon FCO has replaced traditional season tickets with NFC-enabled scarves, allowing supporters to enter the stadium, make concession purchases, and reinforce club identity with a single wearable. Given the steady extinction of paper tickets, we applaud this effort to provide fans with a keepsake tied to the games, however there’s no way these scarves will fit in PSA slabs once the season wraps.

via WSJ

Over the last few years we’ve seen collectors we respect peg vintage t-shirts as The Next Big Thing. Now the Wall Street Journal is pouring gas on that growing fire by alerting the world to the fact that vintage graphic tees have become serious collectibles, with nostalgia, rarity and cultural significance driving prices. A 1967 Grateful Dead shirt sold for $17,640, a bootleg Lauryn Hill tee fetched $4,500, and an ultra-rare Nirvana tour shirt sold for $55,000 in 2025, as just three examples mentioned in the piece. Take a minute to rummage through your closet to see what you may have hiding in the donation pile… we’ll be here when you get back.

Our Mail Day newsletter has been talking up ascendant tennis player Alexandra Eala, whose cards continue to climb in value as she herself climbs the WTA rankings. J.R. Fickle then started looking at tennis cards more broadly, and stumbled upon a nugget worth sharing: Jennifer Capriati’s rookie card market remains surprisingly overlooked despite her Hall of Fame career and cultural impact. Her 1991 SI for Kids rookie sells for under $5, while signed 1992 Classic cards can be found for under $20, making them inexpensive buys if renewed interest in the tennis legend continues. A big “if”, but a compelling take nonetheless.