Mike Trout has blossomed into one of the best players of his era, so it should come as no surprise that the Angels' star's memorabilia sells for a pretty penny. On Saturday, a rare signed Trout rookie card sold made history. It sold for a record-setting $3.93 million.
The card was sold by Goldin Auctions and is the highest price that has ever been fetched for a trading card. According to the official listing, the 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfactor card has a serial number that states that the card is 1/1.
@Topps 2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor @MikeTrout graded @beckett_grading 9.5 sells for $3.93 million at goldin auctions “ goldin elite” tonight. Session 2 ends Sunday night at 10pm ...highest priced ever for ANY trading card.. pic.twitter.com/axV4sXjMcC
— Goldin Auctions (@GoldinAuctions) August 23, 2020
This particular card received a grade of MINT 9 by Beckett Grading Services, which is the third-highest grade that a card can receive. Trout's signature also checked out.
Previously, the most expensive trading card ever sold was the T206 Honus Wagner that went for $3.12 million in September of 2016. The Trout card's opening bid was $1 million.
Dave Oancea, who is known in gambling circles as "Vegas Dave," bought the Trout card for $400,000 in 2018 on eBay.
"A lot of people had a lot of negative things to say, that I was crazy, you know," Oancea told Reuters prior to the most recent sale. "'You could have bought a house,' 'You could have bought this and that,' that I'm stupid and it's a piece of cardboard."
The card was released in 2009 when Trout was selected with the No. 25 pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Since being drafted, the star outfielder has won three American League MVP awards, participated in eight All-Star Games, and won seven Silver Slugger awards.
