Stocks, bonds, bitcoin or baseball cards?
In the midst of all the losses of this pandemic, prices for collectible baseball cards seem to be ... outta here.
A mint-condition 1952 Mickey Mantle card has sold for $5.2 million; a Mike Trout card for $3.9 million.
Speculators have scooped up the rookie card of Spencer Torkelson a 21-year-old Arizona State infielder recently drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He may be an All-Star one day — or maybe he won't be able to hit a big-league curve. But Spencer Torkelson's rookie card is worth thousands right now, before he's swung at a single major league pitch.
Collectors are buying out the Topps 2021 Series 1 baseball card hobby boxes at $149. Those who trade in baseball cards typically don't even open the packs to see what players are in them. They keep the cards sealed and stored, like vintage wines, for future sale; which puts them almost out of reach for children, who used to be the market for baseball cards.