KING OF CARDS

Sports trading cards are having a moment. And no one promotes the industry like Ken Goldin

- Lucas Shaw

KEN GOLDIN ARRIVED AT HIS OFFICE in Runnemede, N.J., at about 8:30 p.m. on March 6 and ordered a Philly cheesesteak with pizza sauce from Luigi’s restaurant. Goldin is a former triathlete and normally a health freak, but he’s also superstitious, and the pizza steak—no onions, extra sauce on the side—had brought him luck recently. In November his company, Goldin Auctions, sold $16 million worth of sports memorabilia, a personal record at the time. In January he booked $36 million, more than he’d done in all of 2019.

For March, Goldin had a bigger number in mind: $40 million. Thousands of potential buyers had started placing bids that week on more than 2,000 items, including a bat used by Cal Ripken Jr., sneakers signed by Michael Jordan, and at least five trading cards Goldin thought could earn more than $1 million each, including rookie cards featuring LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Roberto Clemente.

On auction day, Goldin speaks with only a handful of buyers and sellers, serving for those VIPs as part financial adviser, part therapist. He sets expectations for sale prices, counsels on when to bid and hold, and calms nerves as prices escalate. One buyer, who agreed to be identified by only his first name, Spencer, wanted to discuss three cards: the Bryant, the Clemente, and a 1952 Mickey Mantle. Spencer started buying from Goldin two years ago, initially spending $40,000. Now he’s up to about $3.5 million. “You’re going to make sure I get something?” Spencer asked. Goldin assured him he would.