A rare LeBron James card reportedly sold for $5.2 million, tying it for the most expensive trading card ever sold, according to PWCC Marketplace.
With that James ties, Mickey Mantle for the most expensive trading card ever sold. A 1952 Mantle card set the record at $5.2 million in January. That card also received a 9 rating. The Mantle card previously sold for $2.8 million in 2018, but its value skyrocketed since then.
James claims the throne for most expensive basketball card, knocking off the $4.6 million one-of-one 2018-19 Panini National Treasures Luka Doncic Logoman RPA sold in March.
“Exquisite was a revolutionary product when it came out in 2003,” said Jesse Craig, PWCC’s director of business development. “It was the most expensive retail product that had ever been released, at $500 a box, and they were only made from 2003 to 2009; the rarity of those assets carries a lot of weight for collectors and investors today.”
Most owners of the rarest James cards simply don’t want to part with them. At least not yet.
“The majority don’t want to sell,” Craig said. “There are a select few that want to capitalize on the rise of the market, but it has to be kind of the perfect storm for someone to release a card of this magnitude.”
If you have this James rookie card, now might be a great chance to cash out.
