Sports, Pokemon, and Trading Card Statistics

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Sports card collecting has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, while for some of us, it never faded. This article is an ever-growing list of sport card statistics.

Sports Card Statistics

What is the Most Expensive Sports Card of All Time?

  • The most expensive sports card of all time was a 1952 Topps Mantle in a 9.5 grade from grader SGC. It is the “finest known example” of the most iconic card in the hobby. The card was sold through Heritage Auctions for $12.6 million, including the buyer’s premium.
  • The $12.6m Mantle card was also the most expensive sports memorabilia ever.

(Source, ESPN)

What is the Second Most Expensive Sports Card of All Time?

  • The second most expensive Sports Card of all time is an SGC 2 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card which sold for $7.25m

(source, WSJ)

What was the First Sports Card Set?

  • The first sports card set appeared in 1896, a cricket series by W.D. & H.O. Wills of 50 cricketers

(Source, Wikipedia)

eBay Sports Card Statistics (top picks)

  • Around 500 million trading card transactions occur annually in the USA alone.
  • In 2020, the global sports card market grew 162%
  • Australia was the most prominent growing trading card market (379% growth) and China was the second largest in growth (205%)
  • Pokemon card sales increased 547% from 2019 to 2020
  • Soccer was the most significant growing sports card market with sales on eBay growing 1586%

(Source, eBay)

How Big are Sports Cards in Australia?

  • In the first two months of 2022, eBay, saw a 649% growth in sports trading cards and a 365% growth in collectible card games, including Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z (source, eBay)

Worldwide Card Game Statistics

  • Revenue in the Card Games segment amounts to US$7.00bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 7.44% (CAGR 2023-2027).
  • In total, the most revenue is generated in China (US$1,528.00m in 2023).
  • Concerning total population figures, per-person revenues of US$0.91 will be generated in 2023.

(Source, Statista)

Sports Card Growth Statistics (Best of)

  • The Sports Trading Card Market size was valued at USD 7,878.16 Million in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 20,480.66 Million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.01% from 2023 to 2030.

(Source, VMR)

  • 36 Sports cards sold for over a million dollars in 2022

(Source, Beckett)

Google Trends Data for Sports Cards

  • Whilst not at it’s highest, Sports Cards are trending upward over the past five years.

Panini Group Statistics and Facts

  • Panini Started in 196o
  • Panini sold 15 million packets of figurines in 1961.
  • 29 million units sold in 1962
  • In 2019, Panini signed with the NBA as the basketball card manufacturer.
  • Panini bought Donruss in 2019

(Source, Wikipedia)

Pokemon Card Statistics

  • To date, the Pokémon TCG has produced over 43.2 billion cards and is available in 13 languages.
  •  9.1 billion Pokemon cards were produced in 2022

(Source, Pokeguardian)

  • If every Pokemon card ever produced was spread evenly, every person would own over 4

 

 

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