A one-of-a-kind Mike Trout rookie card broke a record on Saturday when it sold for $3.84 million at auction. Including the buyer’s premium, the card sold for $3.94 million. Honus Wagner’s 1909 T206 card, which fetched $3.1 at auction back in 2016, was the previous record holder.
While the buyer’s identity is still unknown, the seller is a well-known sports bettor and Mike Trout card collector. David Oancea — aka Vegas Dave — has now broken two trading card sales records in less than a year.
‘Vegas Dave’ Scores Millions from Trout Card
In May, Oancea sold a 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Mike Trout Red Refractor card for $900,000. The Goldin Auction sale net Oancea more than $700,000 and broke the record for a modern-era baseball card.
That sale came at a good time for Oancea, who had just pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gambling charge. As part of his agreement, Oancea was banned from sportsbooks for three years and forfeited $550,000.
Now, less than three months later, Oancea made an even bigger score. In 2018, Oancea picked up the one-of-a-kind Superfractor on eBay for $400,000. As a result, Oancea’s profits topped $3 million after Saturday’s record sale of the Trout card.
Even Soccer Sizzles in Hot Sports Memorabilia Market
Baseball isn’t the only sport bringing the heat in the trading card market. On Saturday, Goldins’ also sold a Kylian Mbappé 2018 Panini Prizm World Cup Soccer Gold Prizm Rookie Card for $121,200.
A basketball trading card also broke a record this year. In July, collector Leore Avidar bought a LeBron James Patch Autograph Parallel Rookie Card for $1.845 million. The limited-edition card was one of only 23 issued.