A definitive ranked list of the 25 highest-priced collectibles ever sold at public auction, across every category — from cards to watches to wine.
The all-time top 10
- 1933 Double Eagle gold coin — sold for $18.9M+ (Sotheby’s, 2021). The most valuable coin ever auctioned.
- Honus Wagner T206 (PSA 5) — $7.25M+ in recent sales. The single most iconic baseball card.
- Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps (SGC 9.5) — $12.6M (2022). Highest sports card sale ever.
- Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication — $24M (2014). Most expensive watch.
- Action Comics #1 (CGC 8.5) — $6M (2024). Highest-priced comic book.
- 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar — $10M+ (2013). Believed first-ever US dollar.
- Magic the Gathering Black Lotus (Alpha, BGS 10) — $540K (2021). Top trading card outside sports.
- 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé — $143M (2022). Most expensive car ever auctioned.
- Salvator Mundi (Leonardo da Vinci, attrib.) — $450M (2017). Most expensive painting.
- Sealed copy of Super Mario 64 (WATA 9.8 A++) — $1.56M (2021). Highest video game sale.
11–25
The next 15 entries span an Apollo 11 American flag, the Stradivarius “Lady Blunt” violin ($15.9M), a Pokémon Illustrator promo card (~$5.275M), an inverted Jenny block of four ($4.86M), the Codex Sang Sang of Buddhist scripture, the British Guiana 1c Magenta stamp ($9.48M), and others.
What this list teaches us
Three patterns emerge: (1) provenance multiplies value — items with documented chain-of-ownership outperform; (2) condition is binary at the top — only the single highest-known examples reach these prices; (3) cross-category records keep rising as global wealth seeks scarce, transportable assets.