Sneakers. Sealed cartridges. Cardboard. Somebody paid millions for every single one of these — ranked most expensive first, in every category.
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Sealed cartridges and discs that turned childhood clutter into a retirement fund.
One of only three known surviving copies from a short-lived 1986 sealing run, graded a near-perfect PSA 9.6 A++.
The same cartridge collectibles platform Rally bought for $140,100 in April 2020 sold privately for two million dollars fifteen months later.
The finest known sealed copy of Super Mario 64 sold in an online-only auction and earned an official Guinness World Record.
A factory-sealed copy of the original Legend of Zelda kicked off the 2021 retro-game gold rush at Heritage Auctions.
A CGC-certified gold NWC cartridge, one of only 26 ever produced as Nintendo Power contest grand prizes, sold through Goldin Auctions.
Game-worn pairs and one-off samples that cost more than most people’s cars.
Worn by Michael Jordan during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals, where he scored 37 points against the Utah Jazz.
The prototype pair Kanye West wore to publicly debut his Nike collaboration at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Worn during Michael Jordan's 1985 rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, sold at Sotheby's to collector Nick Fiorella.
Worn by Michael Jordan during a 1985 exhibition game in Italy, sold online through Christie's.
A hand-made prototype racing shoe built by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman in 1972, one of roughly twelve ever made.
The vintage toys and prototypes that turned into six-and-seven-figure auction lots.
One of only three surviving undamaged copies of a 1979 prototype that never went to mass production, sold via Goldin Auctions.
A hand-painted prototype from the same recalled Boba Fett line, one of only around five known to still exist.
A one-of-a-kind Barbie fitted with a genuine Argyle pink diamond necklace by jeweler Stefano Canturi, auctioned for breast cancer research.
An AFA-graded 90 example of the 1983 Castle Grayskull playset — the highest price ever paid for a production toy playset.
One of the earliest mass-produced Star Wars figures, featuring a fragile telescoping lightsaber accessory most examples lost decades ago.
The baseball and Pokémon cards that now sell for more than most houses.
The only known perfect-grade copy of an illustration-contest prize card, sold by Logan Paul through Goldin Auctions after a 41-day bidding war.
A one-of-one card featuring genuine game-worn NBA logo patches from both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, sold via Heritage Auctions.
A near-mint copy of the single most famous baseball card ever printed sold through Heritage Auctions in 2022.
A one-of-one autographed card pairing genuine game-worn patches and signatures from both LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
The most famous card in hobby history, produced around 1909-1911 in a print run cut short by a dispute with the player, sold in a private sale brokered by Goldin.
Wrists worth more than mansions, one auction hammer at a time.
The most complicated wristwatch Patek Philippe has ever auctioned, sold at Christie's Geneva to benefit charity.
Paul Newman's personal Daytona, a gift from wife Joanne Woodward, sold at Phillips and validated the entire "Paul Newman dial" collecting craze.
One of only four known steel examples of the first-ever perpetual-calendar chronograph wristwatch, sold at Phillips Geneva.
A rare pink-gold 1518 with an unusual French-language calendar display and provenance tracing to Egyptian royalty.
A rare worldtime wristwatch originally retailed through Milan dealer Gobbi, sold through Phillips.
The cars that turned garages into vaults and auctions into world records.
The most expensive car ever sold, auctioned privately by Mercedes-Benz itself to an anonymous collector at its own museum.
A genuine Grand Prix-winning Mercedes F1 car, driven by legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, sold through RM Sotheby's.
A unique Ferrari combining 330 LM and 250 GTO elements with real competition history, sold through RM Sotheby's in New York.
One of only 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs ever produced, long considered the single most desirable collector car in the world.
Carroll Shelby's personal Daytona Coupe, the only one he ever kept for himself, became the most expensive American car ever sold at auction.
Comics, coins, and stamps that quietly became life-changing money.
The only 1933 Double Eagle legally allowed in private hands, after decades of government seizures of every other known example.
Superman's very first comic-book appearance — once owned by actor Nicolas Cage and stolen from his home — sold in a private 2026 sale.
The world's most famous stamp — only one confirmed example exists — sold at Sotheby's to the same collector behind the record-setting 1933 Double Eagle.
A privately struck gold coin from 1787, predating the U.S. Mint entirely, sold through Heritage Auctions.
Superman's first solo comic, found in an attic in exceptional condition, sold through Heritage Auctions just two months before Action Comics #1 topped it.
The paintings that turned brushstrokes into nine-figure auction wars.
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction, bought by a Saudi prince acting for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — and it hasn't been publicly displayed since.
A private sale from the David Geffen Foundation to hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin made this the first painting ever to break $300 million.
A Klimt portrait with a harrowing Nazi-era backstory triggered a twenty-minute, six-bidder war at Sotheby's New York.
A Gauguin masterpiece reportedly sold in a private deal to Qatar Museums, a figure that has circulated widely but was never officially confirmed by either party.
The final and most celebrated canvas in Picasso's 15-painting series reinterpreting Delacroix's "Women of Algiers," sold at Christie's.
Manuscripts and founding documents that put a price tag on the past.
One of only 13 surviving official first printings of the U.S. Constitution, won by Citadel CEO Ken Griffin after an eight-minute bidding war against a crowdfunded crypto collective.
The oldest, most complete surviving Hebrew Bible, dated to around 900 AD, sold at Sotheby's and donated to a museum in Tel Aviv.
Bill Gates purchased this handwritten scientific notebook by Leonardo da Vinci in 1994, a benchmark sale that stood as the reference point for decades.
A 1297 copy of the Magna Carta, one of the few in America, bought by billionaire David Rubenstein and later placed on permanent public loan.
The first book printed in what would become the United States, one of only 11 known surviving copies, sold at Sotheby's.
The URLs that sold for more than most companies are worth.
Gannett Co.'s buyout of Classified Ventures' remaining stake attributed $872 million specifically to the Cars.com domain and brand, per SEC filings.
R.H. Donnelley bought the domain in 2007, beating out bidders that reportedly included Dow Jones and News Corp.
Vegas.com/Stephens Media acquired the domain in a structured deal reported at around $90 million total, paid over decades.
QuinStreet bought the domain in November 2010, kicking off a wave of high-value insurance keyword domain purchases.
QuinStreet bought Insurance.com for $35.6 million in August 2010, days before buying CarInsurance.com for even more.
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