A Gatorade Jordan Just Sold for $70,725. REA's September Auction Set Records From Mantle to Cobb.

The Quiet Auction That Set Ten Records

The headlines this month have belonged to seven-figure modern cards: the $2.44 million Ohtani Red Refractor, the $3 million photo behind the 1952 Topps Mantle, the Kobe-LeBron dual Logoman. Meanwhile, Robert Edward Auctions ran its September Auction from September 10 to 20 with more than 4,600 lots, and it quietly produced a long list of price records for classic cards that ordinary collectors actually own or chase.

Sports Collectors Digest published the results on September 21. The short version: Mickey Mantle and Michael Jordan led the sale, and the records came across every price tier, from $76,875 down to about $18,000.

The Top Results

• 1956 Topps #135 Mickey Mantle (Gray Back), PSA 8.5: $76,875. A record for the grade, beating the previous mark by more than $20,000.
• 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle, PSA 1.5: also $76,875. Yes, a Fair-grade '52 Mantle brought exactly what a near-mint-plus '56 did.
• 1985 Star Company "Gatorade Slam Dunk" #7 Michael Jordan, PSA 8: $70,725, an all-time high for the card.
• 1962 Topps #300 Willie Mays, PSA 8.5: $64,575 (record).
• E92 Croft's Candy Ty Cobb, PSA 3: $56,580 (record).
• 1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle rookie, SGC 3: $34,440 (record).

Further down the list, REA logged grade records for a 1920-21 W514 Joe Jackson in PSA 2 ($23,370), a 1921 E121 American Caramel Babe Ruth in SGC Authentic ($22,755), a 1914 Cracker Jack Eddie Collins in PSA 4 ($20,910), a 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie in PSA 6 ($20,295), and a PSA 7 1956 Topps Mantle Gray Back ($21,525). A 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie in PSA 8 sold for $20,910.

Complete Sets Were a Story of Their Own

Some of the strongest money went to finished sets rather than single cards:

• A 1971-72 Topps Basketball set graded PSA 9 and 8: $61,500
• A PSA high-grade 1988-89 Fleer Basketball set with 122 PSA 10s: $49,200
• A 1987-88 Fleer Basketball set with 65 PSA 10s and the full 11-card sticker subset: $35,670
• A PSA-graded 1959-60 Topps Hockey set: $33,210

REA President Brian Dwyer said the company was pleased with "strong results across the board" and pointed to demand for all types of cards and collectibles.

One Modern Oddity Worth Noticing

A single modern lot slipped into the top tier: an unused redemption card for a 2026 Topps Tribute "Calling the Shot" Shohei Ohtani and Joe Davis dual autograph Black 1/1, which sold for $22,755. That is a buyer paying five figures for a piece of paper that promises a card Topps has not delivered yet. If you pull a redemption for a big name, this is a reminder that the unredeemed card has its own market, and sometimes a strong one.

What This Means for Everyday Collectors

"Record for the grade" is the phrase that matters

Most of these results were not all-time records for the card. They were records for a specific grade. That is how vintage actually trades: a PSA 3 Cobb and a PSA 7 Cobb are different assets with different buyers. When you price your own vintage, compare the exact grade and grading company, not the card's headline sale.

Low-grade icons are holding real value

A PSA 1.5 1952 Mantle matching a PSA 8.5 1956 Mantle tells you the market pays for the name and the year first. If you have beat-up cards of Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Cobb or Ruth, get them authenticated and graded. "Poor" condition does not mean worthless when the subject is a first-tier Hall of Famer.

Complete sets are not dead

The set collector is often treated as a relic of the 1990s. Six-figure-adjacent prices for Fleer basketball sets packed with PSA 10s say otherwise. If you have been slowly finishing a vintage or junk-wax-era basketball set, condition consistency across the whole run is where the value is.

Thinking about selling a vintage card, or wondering what yours is worth? A local shop with a vintage buyer can look at it in hand, which no online estimate can do. Use The Card Shop Finder to find a card shop near you that buys and appraises vintage.