Just released: The Art Market Auction & Asset Class Report Fall 2023
Photo: Thimo Pedersen
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
The most graded athlete at PSA in September was Shohei Ohtani, with just under 28,000 cards graded.
Pikachu laughs at those numbers. In his best Matthew McConaughey voice, he says, "You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers."
Charizard is cackling fire too. In September, over 46,000 Pikachu cards and 40,000 Charizard cards were graded at PSA per data from GemRate, which we'll quote frequently over the next 3-5 minutes.
Trading card games have become a juggernaut in grading volume, and a dichotomy of trends is forming between TCG and sports cards. PSA has set all-time monthly records for TCG grading volume in each of the last three months, contributing to a third quarter that saw TCG volume grow 92% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the company's sports card grading volume declined 13% year-over-year in the same period. The contrasting growth has driven shifts in grading mix. TCG represented 48% of cards graded in September. Last September, that figure stood at a mere 26%.
It's not just PSA.
In September of 2022, SGC graded only about 1,500 TCG cards, accounting for 2% of all cards graded. This September, those figures reached 10,000 cards and 9% of volume. September of 2022 saw Beckett grade 17,800 TCG cards, accounting for 31% of volume. This year? 30,500 cards and 50% of volume. You'd spot similar results in the preceding months too.
Which game is driving the surge?It's not a trick question. It's Pokémon.
The gargantuan franchise remains as relevant as ever, accounting for all 10 of the top 10 most graded TCG sets at PSA in September. Importantly, four of those sets are 2023 releases, while only one of them was produced before 2019 (the OG 1999 Pokémon Game, of course). Nearly a year after its release, the 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword and Shield vStar Universe set continues to add nearly 40,000 cards to its population per month. Sets from the Sword and Shield series, which debuted in late 2019 and 2020, have driven significant grading uptake in both American and Japanese cards; 8 of September's top 10 most graded sets were Japanese.
To better understand the scale of Pokémon's dominance, consider this. Among 2022 sets, the most graded TCG set is the Japanese Sword and Shield vStar Universe, with nearly 296,000 cards in the population. There are 17 Pokémon sets from that year with over 10,000 cards graded.
How many non-Pokémon card sets from that year have exceeded 10,000? Just two.
The most graded non-Pokémon set is "One Piece Japanese Romance Dawn," with 22,500. It's difficult to overstate the strength of the Pokémon franchise, and these numbers put that strength in a sobering context. Ready to sober up even more? The total amount of 2022 basketball cards graded by PSA is 141,201, less than half the total of just one Pokémon set.
Year-over-year softness in sports card grading volume accompanies the reduced frenzy for ultra-modern cards. Gone are the days when collectors rushed to find an acrylic home for every Prizm base card. The economics simply aren't what they were in the days of massive backlogs and climbing card prices. Still, things aren't dire: graders are processing tens or even hundreds of thousands of sports cards per month.
If you're a grading agency, though, when it comes to growth, there's no alternative. You gotta catch 'em all.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
.jpg)
Photo: Delaney Van
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
"I started collecting VHS that were sealed in the box like three years ago because I was really high one night. In 2026, it'll be 20 years since the last VHS was made. So 20 years goes by, that's enough time for people to be like, 'Oh, that was cool. Remember?!'...like vinyl."
Ever so charmingly, Pete Davidson introduced the concept of sealed VHS collecting to an incredulous audience at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Laugh though they did at his self-effacing explanation - including the admission that he bought 3,000 to 5,000 tapes - those laughs quickly turned to gasps when Davidson revealed that some of these tapes were now selling for "20 to 30 grand a pop."
He specifically cites a 2023 sale of Rocky. A VGA 85-graded copy of the movie sold at Heritage in February for $27,500. Imagine knowing very little about collectibles and then learning that - of all things - a sealed VHS tape of Rocky - of all movies - sold for almost 30 grand! It would be hard to believe. But then again, so is Pete Davidson's dating record! These are confusing times we live in.
Davidson, promoting his new movie Dumb Money about the GameStop saga, refers to the collection as his GameStop. Silly as it may seem, his thesis is looking remarkably prescient....for the moment. And people have taken notice after his appearance. In the days following the show, the Google Trends charts for "sealed VHS" queries were hockey sticks. A blog we wrote shortly after that Rocky sale received more than twice as many Google Search impressions in a week as it did in the prior three months.
Incredulous curiosity, though, does not automatically translate to dollars spent. The difference in sealed VHS sales activity on eBay over the last week versus the week before is negligible. It's a bit of a relief to learn that Davidson doesn't have that much juice.
The next big auction event featuring VHS is LCG's Fall Premier Auction, closing at the end of the month. It doesn't appear it will be replete with heavy hitters, though, and it's unclear if the attention spans of the Jimmy Fallon faithful would even last long enough to remember sealed VHS is a thing by the time Halloween rolls around. Speaking of Fallon, this isn't the first time a guest - or the host, for that matter - has showcased a collectible.
Back in January of 2022, Fallon and Paris Hilton showed off their Bored Apes on the Tonight Show. Back then, the floor price for the NFT collection hovered around $200,000 - $250,000. Today, it's under $40,000, and the pair - in addition to other celebrities - are defendants in a lawsuit regarding their alleged roles in promoting the project.
While influence and provenance can play a role in collectible markets, major monetary decisions should not be made based on what a celebrity says or does. But if you needed to be told not to base your life choices off the actions of Pete Davidson, there are likely matters more important than sealed VHS that need tending to. Plus, Davidson - the Buffett of Blockbuster - already has the market cornered.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
Altan Insights x The Realest
The Art of Collecting Music's Biggest Moments
This is the fifth edition of a multi-part blog series produced in partnership with The Realest on the key events and factors shaping the modern music memorabilia market. The Realest is the first dedicated authentication standard and marketplace for music memorabilia.
Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" video, released in 1984, is a quintessential rock 'n' roll masterpiece.
Produced at a rising moment within the MTV era, memorabilia related to the production and performance of the "Hot for Teacher" video has long piqued the interest of collectors. In 2020, the scaled-down version of Eddie Van Halen’s red, black, and white guitar used by Bryan Hitchcock sold for $50,000 at Juliens. The pint-sized strings were shredded by the child actor in his role as a young Van Halen in the video. Consider that Eddie Van Halen never played or even touched that non-playable guitar and it still sold for $50,000 - that’s the power of the MTV generation.
If that sale left anyone wondering what the full-sized Van Halen-used guitar would sell for, Sotheby’s provided an answer in April 2023. The auction house presented the custom made guitar with an estimate of $2 million - $3 million with the lot officially selling for $3.9 million.
The Live Aid concert, organized by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Utravox vocalist Midge Ure in 1985, was a historic global music event aimed at raising funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The televised tribute featured a legendary lineup of artists like Queen, U2, and David Bowie while attracting an audience of more than 1.5 billion viewers.
In turn, Live Aid memorabilia, including original tickets, posters, and even stage-used instruments, have become valuable collector's items. Signed programs command hundreds of dollars at auction while prices for slabbed ticket stubs have neared five-figures in recent years. As is often the case with music memorabilia though, it's the instruments and stage-worn clothes that, if made public, command the top prices. Christie’s sold the guitar used by Pete Townshend of The Who for nearly $43,000 in 2011 and in 2021, the grail of the show finally emerged.
Played by the legend himself, Elton John's Steinway Model D Grand Piano, which carried nearly 20 years of use, including an appearance at Live Aid, sold at Heritage Auctions for $915,000. In more recent news, earlier this summer, Sotheby’s sold a plethora of stage-worn Freddie Mercury attire including a sleeveless top worn by Queen’s late lead vocalist during Live Aid rehearsals for more than $50,000.
"We Are the World," a song and music video released in 1985, brought together an all-star ensemble of artists to raise funds for African famine relief. The video featured the likes of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, and other decorated stars.
Memorabilia associated with "We Are the World" often includes autographed items such as sheet music, with various copies tallying more than $10,000 at auction. Add provenance to that equation, and the value increases exponentially: Kenny Rogers’ sheet music, signed with personal inscriptions to him from the other artists, sold for $156,000 at Julien’s in 2022. Other rare grails that have realized top dollar at auction include trophies such as the "We Are The World" MTV Moonman Video Music award which hammered for $72,000, or 9x its pre-auction estimate at Juliens in 2009.
As we've explored the iconic moments that shaped music history, from Woodstock to "We Are the World," we've witnessed how these events have become a gateway to the world of music collectibles.
In recent years, the music memorabilia market has seen continued appreciation in the value of specific items associated with noteworthy events and influential videos. In a trend replicated across markets like game-worn sports memorabilia, collectors have demonstrated an ongoing willingness to invest substantial sums in owning a piece of history, a tangible connection to the music, videos, and moments that once defined an industry and today, define a market.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
News: We have just released a 30+ page report detailing this last quarter’s sports collectible market performance. The report covers everything from sport specific performance, to category records, and broader market trends.
Broad Strokes: Six-figure and seven-figure auction sales have declined by 30% and 36% year-over-year, but six-figure sales witnessed a 15% growth from Q2 to Q3. Baseball collectibles saw a substantial increase in its share of the top 100 sales, jumping from 9% to 27%. However, while vintage volumes increased, their values were pressured, with indices falling; concurrently, grading performance was mixed with some companies seeing volume growth and others witnessing a decline.
Check out the full report now! ALTAN INSIGHTS
News: Fractional ownership platform, Rally Road, has announced their acquisition of Mickey Mantle’s childhood home. They purchased the home in Commerce, Oklahoma for $175,000 in June of 2022; the asset will IPO on the platform at some point in the coming months for $329,000.
Valuation: Rally attributes the valuation premium relative purchase price to a combination of factors including $60k sitting in the asset’s bank account for ongoing expenses, other investments into the property, a premium ascribed to the recently hot market for Mantle memorabilia, and due to “The American Heartland Resort” being developed nearby. If you're in the market for a new home and interested in moving to the sleepy town of Commerce, Oklahoma but don't want to pay Mickey Mantle multiples, there is another 2Bds/1Ba up for sale on Zillow across town listed at $45k; priced at about $46 per square foot, a little less than 10% the Mantle home IPO price of…$489 per square foot. RALLY
Sports Card Investor is building a 14,000 square foot card shop in Atlanta, just outside of the Braves stadium. They hope to raise the bar for collector experience at card shops and will open in early 2024 SPORTSCARDINVESTOR
Panini files a 94 page amended complaint in the Panini vs. Fanatics antitrust action. Paul Lesko breaks it down for us. TWITTER
Roman Abramovich and his ex-wife Dasha Zhukova amassed a $963 million art collection, considered one of the most significant private modern art collections. Information has come to light from a leak at MeritServus, a Cyprus-based offshore financial services provider. THEGUARDIAN
The earliest known edition of Christopher Columbus's letter, announcing his alleged discovery of America and sent to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1493, is anticipated to sell for $1.5 million at a Christie’s auction. The letter contains numerous inaccuracies and fantasies, with Christie's providing clarification on many of the false claims Columbus made. ARTNET
The Art Institute of Chicago has deaccessioned the 1948 painting "Solitaire" by Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, known as Balthus, which is expected to auction for up to $18 million at Sotheby's in New York. The painting, which had been in the museum's collection for nearly six decades, was sold to acquire new works, marking a significant moment for art collectors due to its long-standing history with the museum. ARTNET
MLB Debut patches to begin appearing in 2023 Topps Chrome Updates set. SPORTSCOLLECTORSDAILY
eBay is updating its listing process for trading cards by eliminating the "new/used" label and introducing specific details about whether a card is graded or ungraded, with additional information requirements for both. This revamp aims to provide buyers with comprehensive information on card conditions, and these changes are already being implemented for current and new listings. SPORTSCOLLECTORSDAILY
Scientists have used X-rays to examine a tiny speck from the Mona Lisa, revealing a unique chemical composition in the oil paint, distinct from Leonardo da Vinci's other works and those of his contemporaries. The discovery of the rare compound, plumbonacrite, suggests Leonardo utilized lead oxide powder in the Mona Lisa, supporting theories that he experimented with techniques while creating the masterpiece. ARTNEWS
Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, is laying off U.S. employees amid a shift to focus more on its Otherside gaming metaverse, citing the need to streamline its projects. This decision comes during a downturn for crypto and Web3 companies, with Yuga Labs witnessing a significant drop in royalty revenue and potentially more layoffs on the horizon. ARTNET
Feel free to reach out to Keenan@Altaninsights.com for any questions/comments.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
Photo: Sotheby's
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
Provenance from China's best known art collectors, Liu Yiqian and his wife Wang Wei, could not reinvigorate a tepid art market last week.
At Sotheby's Hong Kong, the couple was selling works from The Long Museum, which they founded, and the reception sent clear signals about the current Chinese appetite for fine art. Sales from the somewhat unusual and surprising deaccession amounted to just $69.5 million, falling about $26 million short of the $95.5 million low estimate even with fees included. Gulp.
39 works were offered, with 10 failing to sell, delivering a discouraging sell-through rate of 74%. The marquee lot was Modigliani's Paulette Jourdain, which was estimated to fetch $45 million but ultimately settled for just $34.8 million. The event's hammer ratio of 0.76 (per Artelligence) to the aggregate low estimate flashes warning signs about the state of the market, with ratios near 1.0 a year ago seeming energetic by comparison.
Of course, this was just one event. The market can have an off night, right? Particularly under these odd circumstances of deaccession?
Unfortunately, the weakness carried over to Sotheby's multi-owner Contemporary Evening Sale, also in Hong Kong. Just 18 of 26 offered lots successfully sold, generating an even lower sell-through rate of 69%, while the event's hammer ratio also trailed the Long Museum event at 0.71. Even Yayoi Kusama, whose market has enjoyed great success in recent years, saw 2 of 4 offered works go unsold.
The Sotheby's events had their challenges, but Phillips delivered results closer to on par with recent seasons, selling 22 of 23 lots for 96% sell-through. However, four lots were withdrawn, perhaps in light of choppier results elsewhere, and though sell-through was strong, bidding still wasn't energetic overall in an event roughly half as large as the Sotheby's Contemporary Evening Sale.
Action in Hong Kong was not without its highlights, limited though they were. Several artists set record highs for sales in Asia, and Lucy Bull's Flash Chamber sold for 13,760,000 HKD against a low estimate of 4,000,000 HKD after spirited bidding, notching an overall record high for the artist. 8 of her top 10 sales have now come in Hong Kong.
Lackluster results in Hong Kong follow similarly uninspiring results at mid-season New York sales. The market - and, importantly, estimates - continue to adjust to an environment where the post pandemic boom has well and truly ended and economic circumstances are less favorable to collecting. Estimates still appear trained on results from more prosperous times, setting a high bar for events to hurdle. A higher interest rate environment has forced collectors and investors to reconsider the opportunity cost of deploying capital in art. On a similar note, many high-end collectors avail themselves of collection-backed lending, which are typically floating rate facilities. To the extent they haven't hedged those exposures, liquidity realized by borrowing against their collections has become significantly more expensive.
This week, the art sale circuit makes its way to London, where observers will be hoping for more optimistic signs of bidding appetite. But if the fall's early sales are any indication, encouragement is not on the way.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
Photo: Christie's
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
When you hear a watch collection has been dubbed "The OAK Collection," you might assume it's a robust assortment of Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks. Really, that would be impressive enough. It turns out, though, that OAK is not a reference to the watch models at all.
It stands for One-of-A-Kind. To label a collection with that moniker, you must have an unassailably remarkable horde of horology grails. In fact, that's exactly what Patrick Getreide has. And that horde is coming to auction at Christie's starting next month in what will likely become the most expensive single owner watch sale of all-time.
Last week, we detailed the unparalleled collection of 25,000 bottles of wine heading to the block. This week, it's a collection of over 500 watches, painstakingly assembled to meet the highest of criteria. Getreide, a French entrepreneur, has been collecting from a young age, first discovering his passion in the shop windows of Geneva while at boarding school.
The collection leans heavily into Patek Philippe, though all the expected representation is there. Among the criteria for acquisition are aesthetic condition, rarity, and provenance. Essentially all of the most desirable Patek specs find a home within the OAK Collection, as well as some totally unique rarities others wouldn't even be familiar with or have a chance to purchase. For example, his closeness with the brand compelled Patek's President, Thierry Stern, to make him two unique Yellow Gold and Rose Gold 5196 Calatravas to match the 570s in Getreide's collection. That's a borderline untouchable level of rarity.
OAK boasts five Patek Philippe pieces formerly owned by Henry Graves, Jr. Graves, an American banker, was one of the most important watch collectors in history, particularly of Patek Philippe timepieces. Graves is believed to have commissioned 39 watches from the company, with an estimated 30 surviving. Outside of the Patek Philippe Museum, which has 13 of them, the OAK Collection possesses the most. For collectors, enthusiasts, and historians alike, that's a big deal.
Getreide exhibited 160 watches from his collection back in 2022 on a global tour. This practice is uncommon in the watch world and takes a page from fine art. From a sense of honor and obligation, Getreide believed watches of this museum quality are meant to be shared, seen, and appreciated, rather than stored away in a vault, out of the public eye. Now, the watches will not only be seen by the public, but the public (at least the very wealthy public) will have its chance to bid on them. Christie's will sell over 500 watches from the collection, with 142 pieces comprising Part 1 of the sale in Hong Kong next month. While the first event won't feature the heaviest of hitters, at least one piece has a very strong chance of crossing the million dollar mark: an 18k gold Audemars Piguet perpetual calendar (Ref 5516). The watch is just one of nine produced and stands among the very best in condition.
For Getreide, it seems it's imperative to ensure these treasures end up in hands that will cherish them just as much as he did. His children reportedly do not share the same passion for horology, a reality which he's comfortable with. Alas, the time has come for the watches to pass time in new collections.
While Getreide chased provenance, in the process, he's created a powerful provenance all his own, one that will very likely flex its merit as his treasured pieces entertain bidding.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
News: It is that time of the month again! GemRate released their numbers for September ‘23. Overall grading activity was flat month/month, but up 12% year/year. CGC and SGC grading volume shot up 62% and 66% year/year respectively; an impressive sign of continued growth for smaller players.
PSA: In the month of September TCG represented 48% of card graded (vs. 43% in August); trading cards gained this share by both increasing the number of cards graded, but also due to a dip in grading activity for sports cards. Baseball, Football, and Basketball fell by -6%, -15%, and -8% respectively. PSA seems content to exercise pricing power on sports cards and let TCG grow share of the mix.
Volume Mix: Due to promotions by smaller players, sports cards have seen year/year upticks of 62% and 136% at SGC (105k cards graded) and CGC (56k cards graded). TCG growth seems to mostly be accruing to PSA—with volume of 606k cards graded in September up 8% m/m. Whereas both CGC and Beckett’s monthly volumes fell. GEMRATE
News: Healthcare entrepreneur and noted Twitter poster, Will Manidis, dropped a thread this week outlining how investing in certain Lego sets upon release would have driven greater returns than the majority of venture capital firms.
Data: Will pulled data dating back to 2000 on 16,000 Lego set releases, which was trimmed down to around 10k after deduping and removing promotional sets. He then pulled prices for these sets from Bricklink to get an estimate of current values. He then compared the lego pricing data with VC benchmark data from Cambridge Associates.
Analysis: His findings showed that purchasing sets randomly would allow for greater IRR than the median venture fund. If you were morte discerning with your theme choice, you could outstrip even that performance; BrickHeadz, Avatar The Last Airbender, Scooby-Doo, and Batman sets achieved 15%+ IRRs. Numbers only bested by the most elite VC returns from 2007 and 2008 vintages.
So what? The analysis is certainly interesting, but the easy criticism is that you couldn’t feasibly deploy hundreds of millions of dollars into Lego without completely destroying the market. Or could you? Mr. Manidis seems to think he could. TWITTER
Topps confirms a production error led to 95 different 2023 Bowman Chrome SuperFractors have 2 copies instead of 1. They announce a buyback program. TOPPS
Panini America secured a preliminary victory when an arbitrator declined the NFL Players Association's request to immediately halt Panini's production of player cards, allowing Panini to proceed under its current contract until February 2026. This follows a similar denied request by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) against Panini, amidst various legal battles between Panini and sports merchandise company, Fanatics. SPORTSCOLLECTOR
Geoff Wilson of SportsCardInvestor announces he is writing sports card collecting and investing for dummies. TWITTER
Propstore is auctioning a screenmatched C3PO head from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) with an estimate of £500,000 - £1,000,000 (~$600,000 - $1.2M). The sale also contains relics from other Hollywood classics like Indiana Jones, The Shining, Pirates of The Caribbean, and Titanic. PROPSTORE
Private collectors Julie and Matthew Halbower are in a dispute with their insurance company, Hiscox under the Lloyds of London umbrella, over Claude Monet paintings worth an estimated $45 million that were destroyed in a Michigan house fire in 2022. While the insurance company has paid out for some artworks, the Halbowers allege it has not reimbursed them fully for three paintings and has not compensated them at all for two additional artworks covered under their policy. ARTNET
Public shrek call video YOUTUBE
Public launches music royalty investing on their platform for US investors. The initial offering is $SHREKROYALTIES, a financial product representing the royalty cashflows from the Shrek franchise’s original music. The size of the offering is $889,700 and it yields 8.23%; public receives fees of 5% on royalties and 10% carry on the sale of the asset. DECK YOUTUBE
The auction of the Long Museum founders’ collection at Sotheby's Hong Kong, despite setting sales records with works like Amedeo Modigliani's "Paulette Jourdain," failed to meet presale expectations with many premium lots remaining unsold. Although the Modigliani painting garnered significant attention, even this sale was considered disappointing when its previous sales history was taken into account, leading some insiders to label the event as a "bloodbath." ARTNET
Yuga Labs is partnering with Avant Arte to offer CryptoPunks owners a chance to purchase physical prints of their NFTs during a 48-hour event, reflecting a trend of NFT projects exploring physical editions amidst shifting interest in the digital art space. Each print is a single 60 by 60 framed Cryptopunk priced at $500 for anyone. ARTNET
Feel free to reach out to Keenan@Altaninsights.com for any questions/comments.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
Left: Pikachu inspired by ‘Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat’, Naoyo Kimura (1960), The Pokémon Company International, ©2023 Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK. Right: Vincent van Gogh, ‘Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat’, 1887, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
Vincent van Gogh x Pikachu.Now that is an ambitious collaboration! In celebration of the Van Gogh Museum's 50th anniversary, it partnered with Pokémon to open special exhibits reimagining the artist's work to incorporate Pokémon characters. The idea was to create an interactive and fun way to learn about Van Gogh through a familiar lens.
Imagine waking ole Vinny up from a deep slumber to break the news. "Hey bud, long time. So you know your Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat? Yeah, great work on that. Solid piece. Just had some ideas though. Like we thought maybe we'd tweak it just a little bit, so we swapped you out for something called a 'Pikachu.' Now it's perfect. Gotta catch 'em all, right?!"
Artists rolling in their graves aside, it's a fun collaboration to establish a connection between old, beloved art and new audiences. You know what would make it even more fun? If they gave away a Pokémon promo card to those that follow clues and complete a quest in the exhibits! At least that's what they thought...
We live in 2023, where the idea of some wholesome funtivities for children quickly takes a backseat to the monetary interests of eager resellers. The museum was absolutely swarmed with chaotic and frenzied efforts to lay claim to the card. Just like the bleachers when a historic home run ball is belted over the fence, this was not a safe and fun environment for children.
It was only last week when we detailed the recent strength of sums paid for special, limited edition Pikachu cards. But "Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat" is no Trophy or Illustrator card. Already, nearly 5,000 copies have been sold on eBay, doubtless including countless fakes. Still, prices approached $1,000 per card in certain instances last week, and they still hover over $100. Not awful for a €20 museum ticket.
Those prices only grow more ridiculous upon understanding that the frenzied scene at the museum has already led Pokémon to apologize and confirm that they're working to provide even more promo cards to customers. The antidote to reseller shenanigans? Print, print, and print some more.
This isn't the first example of an artist collaboration with a more modern franchise; the Van Gogh Museum and MoMa have been active in threading the artist through more contemporary fabric. We've seen Van Gogh Lego sets, Bearbricks, Swatch watches, you name it. And guess what? Very few of these items trade on secondary markets for significantly more than retail price.
Basquiat and Warhol have graced similar products, and the story is largely the same. Why? Because they're really fun collectors' items, but they're not the source material. Or even reproductions of the source material commissioned by the artist while still alive. The supply of any one knick-knack might be fixed, but the potential supply of any variation of the reproduced work is effectively infinite. It's the same reason people are skeptical of the staying power of Bowman's new Retrofractors. Sure, they say Ruth will never be featured in Bowman again, but do people really think they've seen the last of modern Ruth prints? Dubious.
You can rest assured that certain riches will not elude you if you don't secure a card, so maybe let the kids enjoy the Pokémon exhibit, huh? Unless you happen to be in Amsterdam and want to enjoy the Pokémon Adventure too. No judgment here!
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
Photo: Sotheby's
This article was featured in our newsletter, Alts & Ends. Click here to subscribe for free and receive the best collectible market insights straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!
"There is currently more wine in his cellars than any one individual could ever hope to drink in a lifetime."
A lifetime?! As in one?! Singular?
But Taiwanese billionaire Pierre Chen's collection of bottles is believed to number well into the six-figures. We're going to need more lifetimes...25,000 bottles - a mere fraction of Chen's total archive - are heading to auction at Sotheby's over the next year, starting next month in Hong Kong. The strong likelihood is that "The Epicurean's Atlas" (what a name) will become the largest single-owner sale of all-time. Events will also take place in Paris, Beaune, and New York, with a second sale in Hong Kong. The events will be regionally focused, with the exception of the first Hong Kong event which is slated to be the ultimate wine flex.
The crown jewels of the collection include coveted vintages from La Tâche in Burgundy. Two 1985 methuselahs (six liter bottles) are estimated to sell for between $120,000 and $190,000, while a methuselah from the 1996 vintage may fetch $100,000 to $130,000. A 1971 jeroboam (double magnum) is also expected to breach six-figure territory with an estimate of $110,000 to $140,000.Those are just four bottles of twenty. five. thousand.
Two years ago, Sotheby's sold 364 bottles from Chen's cellar, amassing approximately $15 million in sales. Some of the same vintages settled towards the top of that event. The 1985 La Tâche methuselah sold for $163k, while a 1971 jeroboam sold for $146k. We'll soon find out just how much the market for these rarities has appreciated.
The news comes amidst a challenging 2023 for the wine market. Macro Liv-Ex indices including the Lix-Ex 50, 100, and 1000 are all down over 10% year-to-date, and there are few regional standouts. While wine proved relatively resilient in 2022, momentum began to shift in the second half of the year, and the slide has continued into 2023 with markets persistently grinding lower on a monthly basis.
The collection also enters an auction environment plagued by lukewarm bidding in recent months, particularly for trophy lots. Results haven't been weak, but enthusiasm has been lacking. Take a few recent events as examples. Just Monday at Sotheby's Hong Kong, the "Colossal Formats" event - named for the comically large methuselahs and jeroboams - offered DRC as well as Bordeaux staples. The top ten estimated lots delivered an average hammer ratio to the low estimate of 0.97, with only one lot delivering a hammer price above the low estimate. Not a disaster! But not indicative of a dynamic bidding environment.
Yesterday, "The Impeccable Burgundy Collection" event closed in Hong Kong as well, with three of the top ten lots going unsold, and most of the others failing to impress. The aggregate hammer ratio of the top ten lots was a mere 0.68, and the average among the sold lots was 0.93.
While tepid demand in Hong Kong is concerning, this is not merely an Asian market concern. Results were similar at the "Monumental Cellar" event last month in New York, and the composition mirrored that of the Colossal Formats session. The top ten estimated lots there, also featuring plenty of large format DRC, offered mix results. Two of the lots went unsold, yielding an aggregate hammer ratio of 0.71. Among the lots that did sell, the average hammer ratio was 0.92.
It's a small sample of top lots, but it paints a clear picture of a market not currently ravenous for high-end supply nonetheless. Ready or not, Sotheby's and Chen will soon unleash significant supply from an epic collection onto an uncertain audience. The hope would be that The Epicurean's Atlas can do for the wine market what the Paul Allen Collection did for art: provide an injection of activity and enthusiasm to a market otherwise wobbling on unsteady ground. The events of the Allen Collection proved somewhat anomalous, though, rather than demonstrative of broadly resurgent market appetite.
Should the results not accumulate as hoped, at least Chen can find consolation drowning his sorrows in any of his remaining tens or hundreds of thousands of bottles.
Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more like it in your inbox weekly!
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
