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Losing Our Marbles
- Presidents Cup: U.S. chips away
I have so much fun putting this newsletter together every week. I get to read dozens of articles about our crazy hobby and the business of collecting. And then I get to pick the best and share them here.
The variety is what keeps writing Above the Mantel fun for me. I've been doing this weekly for nearly three years now, and no two newsletters have been all that similar… heck, this one dives into vintage marbles, game-worn Women's Pro Baseball League jerseys, 7-figure comic books and digital repacks.
Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy putting it together.
Treasure Trove, the new collectibles investment firm led by AJ Scaramucci, followed its record-setting $16.5M purchase of the Pikachu Illustrator card by acquiring the only CGC 9.8 copy of Tales of Suspense #39—the first appearance of Iron Man—for $2M. Scaramucci has a pretty clear investment thesis, is thinking long-term and has surrounded himself with some of the hobby's heaviest hitters (e.g. Ken Goldin, Chris Ivy, Buster Scher and Jeremy Padawer). I'm encouraged by Scaramucci's desire to have these objects displayed for the public via museums… Always better when we have access to experience grails ourselves.
The Athletic: Why Fanatics' Live-Selling Platform is Making Shows That Don't Sell Anything
Fanatics Live is expanding beyond box breaks with Collect Originals, a slate of hobby-focused shows featuring creators, collectors and athletes like Tom Brady, Bobby Witt Jr. and Dana White (not a bad starting roster…). The strategy appears to be working, with weekly viewership up 98% since July. Rather than selling products, the programming aims to educate collectors, build community and make Fanatics Live a year-round destination for hobby content. Though when you want to buy something…
Yes, a lot of Whatnot is live sellers breaking sports cards, but if you dig a little deeper, the platform is full of interesting and engaging niche communities. You haven't lived until you've watched someone sell vintage marbles or slice open rocks to unveil geodes! This piece calls out a few communities and sellers worth checking out, especially if you want to discover passionate experts and hobby communities you never knew existed. Now to check my bank balance before I bid on a 'wet mint' 3/4″ Spotted Purple Single-Pontil Navarre marble.
The original Type I photograph used for Mickey Mantle's iconic 1952 Topps card sold privately for $3M, setting a record for a PSA-authenticated Type I photograph. Previously discovered in a newspaper archive and sold for just under $60,000 in 2012, but since then Type I photography collecting has exploded, as has the value of the '52 Mantle. And it makes sense: if the card is prized in part because of the photo, shouldn't the photo also be prized?
Many digital repack platforms have earned a reputation for opaque odds and poor value, but Trove is betting collectors will embrace a more transparent model. The platform combines PSA Vault-backed physical cards with verifiable odds, 100% fair-market buybacks, multiplayer pack battles and a minimum 2% annual collection dividend. Whether those features can rebuild trust in digital repacks remains to be seen, but they mark a notable departure from many existing offerings.
JustWomensSports: Denae Benites Jersey Fetches Record $15,000 at 1st WPBL Auction
The Women's Pro Baseball League's first memorabilia auction, run by The Realest, was led by a $15,000 sale of Denae Benites' game-worn New York Heights jersey from the league's inaugural game, where she went 4-for-4 and hit the first home run in WPBL history. Nearly 3,000 bids were placed across 111 items, with all proceeds going directly to players. The results suggest strong early collector demand as the league heads into its first championship series.
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