Fanatics Collect Auction Results – Weekly Auction #235 Recap

Another Fanatics Collect weekly auction is in the books, and 61 Arthur’s Cards & Collectibles listings found new homes.

Weekly Auction #235 featured one of our most diverse lineups yet, with graded baseball, basketball, soccer, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, music, and pop-culture collectibles. The auction was led by an Ian Holm autograph from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, while Shohei Ohtani, Pedro Martinez, Ben Rice, Lamine Yamal, Cooper Flagg, and Michael Jordan also delivered some of the strongest results of the week.

For transparency: Prices listed in the written recap refer to winning bids / hammer prices before buyer premium, taxes, shipping, or any additional Fanatics Collect checkout charges unless otherwise noted. Where shown, buyer price reflects the Fanatics Collect sale price after buyer premium, before any applicable taxes or shipping, which vary by buyer.

Quick Takeaways

Weekly Auction #235 included 61 sold Arthur’s Cards & Collectibles listings with 406 total bids.

The average winning bid was $22.48, while the median winning bid was $10.00. The higher average was helped by several strong results at the top of the auction, but most of the lineup remained approachable for collectors.

The week’s strongest activity came from a mix of autographs, Hall of Fame names, modern rookies, soccer standouts, and high-grade collector pieces. Ian Holm, Shohei Ohtani, Pedro Martinez, Ben Rice, Lamine Yamal, Cooper Flagg, Michael Jordan, Nick Kurtz, and Chase Burns were among the names that attracted the most attention.

Top Auction Results

2003 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Ian Holm Autograph CGC 9 Mint — $220 Winning Bid / $264 Buyer Price

This was the clear top result of the week and one of the most unique cards in the entire lineup.

Ian Holm’s portrayal of Bilbo Baggins gives the autograph appeal across movie memorabilia, Tolkien, autograph, and non-sports collecting circles. The result also appears to be another example of non-sports collectors appearing more receptive to CGC-graded cards than many segments of the sports-card market, especially when the subject and card are already strongly associated with the broader collectibles market.

The card attracted 20 bids, showing that the interest extended well beyond one or two buyers.

2023 Topps Archives ’79 Comics Shohei Ohtani #79TC-1 PSA 9 Mint — $135 Winning Bid / $162 Buyer Price

This short-print Ohtani was one of the standout cards in the lineup and ultimately became the most actively bid-on listing of the week.

The ’79 Comics insert has a distinctive vintage design that feels different from most modern Ohtani cards. It may still be an underrated insert set today, but the combination of short-print scarcity, visual appeal, and a player like Ohtani gives it room to gain more collector attention over time.

It finished with 29 bids, the highest total of the entire auction.

2023 Topps All Aces Pedro Martinez #AA5 PSA 10 Gem Mint — $110 Winning Bid / $132 Buyer Price

This was another strong auction result for the popular All Aces insert set.

Collectors have continued to respond to the design, checklist, and pitcher-focused theme, while the popularity of the Shohei Ohtani All Aces card may also be helping lift interest in the set as a whole. Pedro Martinez continues to command a premium and is a natural fit for the set, while the PSA 10 grade helped push this example into triple digits.

2025 Topps Chrome RayWave Refractor Ben Rice Rookie #139 CGC 10 Gem Mint — $74 Winning Bid / $88.80 Buyer Price

Ben Rice has absolutely crushed the ball in his second full big-league season, sending interest in his rookie cards to new heights.

The Chrome rookie, RayWave Refractor finish, Yankees connection, and CGC 10 grade gave collectors several reasons to pursue this one. Rice entered the second half as one of New York’s leading power hitters, and the card attracted 26 bids, second only to the Ohtani short print in this week’s auction..

2024 Topps UEFA Club Competitions Future Stars Lamine Yamal #27 CGC 10 Gem Mint — $62 Winning Bid / $74.40 Buyer Price

This was one of the more surprising results of the week, as Yamal’s Future Stars card finished above his actual 2023 Topps UEFA rookie card.

The timing may have helped. Yamal had just appeared for Spain in its 1–0 World Cup Final victory over Argentina, giving one of soccer’s biggest young stars another major moment on the sport’s largest stage. Even though this is not technically a rookie card, the CGC 10 grade, strong design, and current attention surrounding Yamal helped it finish as the stronger of the two listings.

2023 Topps UEFA Club Competition Lamine Yamal Rookie #64 CGC 10 Gem Mint — $54 Winning Bid / $64.80 Buyer Price

Yamal’s actual Topps UEFA rookie also finished near the top of the week, attracting 14 bids and reaching $54.

Although it finished below the Future Stars card, the result still showed strong demand for an identifiable high-grade Yamal rookie following Spain’s World Cup victory. Together, the two listings gave buyers different entry points into one of soccer’s most closely followed young players. 

Most Active Bidding

Several listings stood out not only because of their final prices, but also because of the number of bids they attracted.

The Ohtani Archives short print and Ben Rice RayWave Refractor led the auction in bidding activity. Cooper Flagg also showed steady demand across multiple copies, while both Lamine Yamal cards drew double-digit bids, including the Future Stars card that surprisingly finished above his true rookie.

This week’s bidding showed that collectors are still willing to compete aggressively for high-profile names and cards with a clear hook. Player momentum, rookie status, short-print scarcity, popular designs, and notable autographs helped separate the most active listings from the broader auction lineup.

Collector-Friendly Results

While the most competitive bidding centered on high-profile names and cards with clear collector hooks, much of the broader auction remained accessible.

Out of 61 sold listings, 41 finished at $15 or less, while 49 finished at $25 or less. That gave buyers plenty of opportunities to pick up graded rookies, stars, prospects, numbered cards, non-sports pieces, and Hall of Fame names without having to compete at the top of the market.

Some notable lower-cost results included cards featuring Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrero, Munetaka Murakami, Chase DeLauter, Bryce Eldridge, Trey Yesavage, Mariano Rivera, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Gareth Bale, Didier Drogba, Neymar, Star Wars characters, and other recognizable names.

That split is part of what makes weekly auctions worth following. The biggest names and strongest storylines can attract heavy bidding, but collectors who look deeper into the checklist can still find interesting cards at approachable prices.

Market Notes From the Week

Weekly Auction #235 showed that a varied lineup can still produce strong results across multiple collecting categories, but the most competitive bidding continued to concentrate around recognizable names and cards with clear collector hooks.

The top result came from a non-sports autograph, while the most bid-on card featured Shohei Ohtani. A Ben Rice rookie refractor finished fourth overall, two Lamine Yamal cards landed in the top six, and Cooper Flagg generated strong bidding across multiple copies.

Hall of Fame and established-star cards also performed well. Pedro Martinez reached $110, Michael Jordan finished at $32, and multiple Ohtani cards drew meaningful activity. Those results suggest that collectors were responding to more than rarity alone. Player recognition, current momentum, strong grades, distinctive designs, and clear thematic appeal all helped separate the strongest listings.

The Ben Rice result was a good example of that combination at work. His current performance, Yankees connection, rookie status, RayWave Refractor finish, and CGC 10 grade gave buyers several reasons to compete.

Outside of Yamal and a handful of other superstar names, however, soccer results remained modest during the World Cup, with only a few event-driven spikes. This reinforces the broader theme that collectors concentrated their bidding around the category’s most recognizable names and timely storylines rather than lifting the soccer market as a whole.

At the same time, the median winning bid was only $10. The gap between the $22.48 average and $10 median reflects an auction with several strong headline results alongside a much larger group of affordable sales.

The broader takeaway is that collectors were still willing to bid aggressively when a card offered an obvious reason to care, whether through the player, performance, scarcity, design, grade, or subject matter. In our view, the current market continues to favor sellers holding high-profile names and cards with timely collector interest. At the same time, softer results across the broader checklist may be creating opportunities for buyers to target recognizable names and quality cards with longer-term rebound potential.

Watch This Week’s Current Auctions

We’re continuing to roll new graded cards through Fanatics Collect weekly auctions.

Browse this week’s auction guide to see the newest lineup, Arthur’s Picks, featured collector highlights, direct Fanatics Collect links, and the complete auction checklist.

Thanks as always for riding with us.