Goldin closed its Sports Elite auction with a $1.28 million Celebrini rookie and a fresh Ohtani insert record
The live board from Goldin's Monthly Sports Elite #7 auction resolved the way extended bidding usually does: upward, and in one case into record territory. A one-of-one Macklin Celebrini rookie that sat at $400,000 with days left in bidding closed at $1,050,000 on August 15, or $1,281,000 with Goldin's 22% buyer's premium. That makes the San Jose Sharks center's 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Outburst Gold the most expensive hockey card ever sold at Goldin and the highest-selling hockey card of all time except anything bearing Wayne Gretzky's name.
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The live board from Goldin's Monthly Sports Elite #7 auction resolved the way extended bidding usually does: upward, and in one case into record territory. A one-of-one Macklin Celebrini rookie that sat at $400,000 with days left in bidding closed at $1,050,000 on August 15, or $1,281,000 with Goldin's 22% buyer's premium. That makes the San Jose Sharks center's 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Outburst Gold the most expensive hockey card ever sold at Goldin and the highest-selling hockey card of all time except anything bearing Wayne Gretzky's name.
The result also rewrote the non-Gretzky list in one night. The previous mark belonged to Alex Ovechkin's 2005-06 Upper Deck The Cup Rookie Patches Gold Rainbow 8/8, a BGS 8 with an on-card autograph that had held the top spot for a decade at $292,800. Celebrini, two NHL seasons into his career, passed Ovechkin along with Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and every other hockey name except Gretzky himself.
Here is how the rest of the board finished, starting with the lots this article showed as live bids before the close.
The three big sports lots all closed above their last public bids
Goldin's lot page now shows the 2026 Topps All Kings Gold Shohei Ohtani 1/1 sold: a $170,000 winning bid across 28 bids, $207,400 with premium. That sets the record for any Topps All Kings or All Aces insert, and it did it quietly, drawing a single bid on the auction's final day per Sports Illustrated's results coverage.
The Lamine Yamal 1/1 followed the same shape. The 2026 Panini Prizm World Cup Black Shimmer Prizm #70, graded PSA 8, sold for $212,280 including premium, with Card Ladder dating the sale to August 15. SI reported the bidding was halted three days before close, then resumed on the final day with just two bids separated by $10,000 after a half-hour extension.
Kobe Bryant content rounded out the top of the sale. Five Kobe cards plus a photo-matched, game-worn final-season Lakers jersey all finished in the auction's top 10, per SI. The five cards combined for $1,911,741, and the jersey brought $292,800, the same figure that once stood as the entire non-Gretzky hockey record.
Kobe's PMG sale gives the basketball insert market a fresh comp
The Kobe PMG result is the cleanest update since the first auction snapshot. Goldin's product data for the BGS NM-MT+ 8.5 copy lists the lot as card #16/50, and Card Ladder's public sale post puts the final figure at $368,440 including buyer's premium.
The buyer's-premium detail is not a footnote. Goldin's live listing data showed a $302,000 bid level for the lot, while Card Ladder's sale post printed the higher all-in sale number. Both figures can be useful, but collectors comparing comps need to know which number they are using.
For break buyers and slab-pack users, the Kobe sale is a reminder that the top of the market often moves on exact-card scarcity: player, year, set, serial number, grade, population, and auction venue. It should not be used to imply value for ordinary 1990s inserts, sealed basketball boxes, random spots, or digital packs.
Pikachu still anchors the TCG ceiling
The clearest closed TCG comp from the same stretch is the 2016 Pokemon Japanese XY Promo Mega Charizard X Pikachu Special Box #207 Poncho-Wearing Pikachu, graded BGS PRISTINE/Black Label 10, which sold for $175,680. The lot page shows a $144,000 winning bid across 34 bids, while Goldin's sale post prints the higher all-in number.
That result landed right after Goldin's Summer TCG Elite Auction topped $18 million and produced major One Piece and Pokemon records, and it shows trophy-card demand holding across both sports and TCG weeks rather than trading off between them.
For collectors, the useful lesson is to separate category heat from card-specific scarcity. A Black Label Poncho Pikachu is not a proxy for ordinary sealed Pokemon product, a random graded Charizard, or a break chase card. It is a trophy card with a collector base, a known history, and auction-house visibility.
Modern sports 1/1s are not staying quiet
The pattern across the sports board is that modern one-of-ones keep clearing six figures even without gem-mint grades. The Ohtani All Kings Gold closed at PSA EX-MT 6 and the Yamal Black Shimmer at PSA 8, while the Celebrini sits in a PSA Authentic holder that documents the card rather than grade it, because the Outburst Gold parallel's scarcity does the work.
Goldin's listing describes the Ohtani as the only Gold parallel, numbered 1/1, with a stated hobby pack insertion ratio of 1:1,960,280. That pull odds math plus the player, the design, and a public auction venue is what turned a $150,000 live bid into a $207,400 record sale.
Extended bidding can change the board fast
The Celebrini lot is the case study. It sat at $400,000 with days left in bidding, then blew through both the $500,000 and $1,000,000 marks on the final day of extended bidding before settling at a $1,050,000 hammer.
Goldin's listing states that extended bidding is available to everyone, with no prior bidding required, and that bids are max bids. The buyer's premium is 22% of the final bid price, with a $19 minimum.
That premium matters when collectors compare public auction numbers to private deals, eBay comps, or live-break chase claims. A $1,050,000 hammer and a $1,281,000 all-in price are different numbers, and the record headlines are written from the second one.
What collectors should take from the results
The lesson from this auction is that live-board numbers understate final prices. The three headline sports lots all closed above their last public bids, and the Celebrini more than doubled in extended bidding.
If you are using these auctions to judge break or rip hype, keep the comparison tight. A one-of-one Celebrini rookie or an Ohtani insert record should not be used to imply value for a sealed box, a random spot, or a digital pack. They do show which players, serial numbers, and insert designs the market currently treats as blue-chip, and that is the part worth knowing before spending on anything promising a similar pull.
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FAQ
Did the Ohtani All Kings Gold card sell for $150,000?+
No, and it went well past that number. The board showed $150,000 as a live bid before the close; Goldin's lot page now shows the card sold for a $170,000 winning bid, $207,400 with buyer's premium, across 28 bids.
What is the most expensive hockey card ever sold?+
Wayne Gretzky cards hold the top hockey prices overall. Among every other player, it is now Macklin Celebrini: his 1/1 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Outburst Gold rookie sold at Goldin for $1,281,000 including premium on August 15, 2026, passing Alex Ovechkin's $292,800 mark from 2016.
What is the buyer's premium on Goldin Elite auctions?+
Goldin's listing states that the buyer's premium is 22% of the final bid price, with a $19 minimum. On the Celebrini sale, that turns a $1,050,000 hammer into the $1,281,000 all-in figure quoted in record coverage.
What did the Goldin Poncho-Wearing Pikachu sell for?+
Goldin's lot page shows the 2016 Pokemon Japanese XY Promo Mega Charizard X Pikachu Special Box #207 Poncho-Wearing Pikachu BGS PRISTINE/Black Label 10 sold for $175,680, with a $144,000 winning bid and 34 bids.
Why does this auction matter for breakers and pack buyers?+
High-end public auctions help shape the chase-card conversation. They do not guarantee value in sealed product or break spots, but they show which players, sets, serial numbers, grades, and trophy cards are drawing visible collector demand.