Baseball card sells for record $5.2M

NEW YORK – A 1952 baseball card has sold at auction for $5.2 million, auction house PWCC Marketplace said Thursday (Friday, Manila time), setting a new record for the most expensive trading card ever.

American actor and entrepreneur Rob Gough bought the card of New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, a seven-time Major League Baseball World Series winner.

The sale continues an impressive run for collectible baseball cards, which have been around since the late 19th century and started to fetch high prices in the early 1980s.

In August, a card featuring Los Angeles Angels great Mike Trout, widely considered the best player of the last decade, sold for $3.93 million, a then record, during a sale organized by Goldin Auctions.

"The trading card market is booming," PWCC Marketplace marketing director Chris Callahan told AFP.

He said average card prices have increased "two to three times" over the past year. 

Traditionally associated with baseball, the trading card business has expanded to other sports too, most notably basketball.

In September, a card of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was purchased for $1.81 million.