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00:00Coming up on Cards & Collectibles, how Australia's versions of comic books can have super values.
00:10The COVID Card Boom, a frenzy of skyrocketing card prices, but where does it all sit today?
00:19And gotta catch them all, this Pokemon collection will knock you out.
00:30There's hidden treasures all over this country.
00:34Vintage sports cards, they're almost like antiques.
00:37Come on a journey with Cards & Collectibles Australia, where collectors from across the continent unite to showcase their treasures.
00:45It's gotta be seven figures, it's gotta be a million dollars plus.
00:48Witness the passion, the money and the stories behind Australia's most coveted collectibles.
00:55Back then they were laughing and now they're calling me a genius.
01:00It wasn't that long ago that Pokemon cards were thought of as a fad or a hobby just for kids and nerds.
01:12But the industry has seen a seismic shift in recent years and now you'll find Pokemon card collectors in all walks of life,
01:19throwing their hats into the ring like heavyweight champions.
01:24My father is Lester Ellis, he won an IBF super featherweight world title back in 1985.
01:36My dad was a massive inspiration to me.
01:38Again. Good. I had my first amateur fight at 12 years old.
01:43I turned professional at 19 years old and done my first professional boxing event at 18 years old.
01:51We've done now well over 50 promotions. It's been a wild journey.
01:55What your average person visualises in their head when they think of the average Pokemon card collector is probably more of a nerdy, geeky type guy
02:07that probably still lives at home with his parents at 35 years old.
02:11I can tell you from experience people would just laugh at me.
02:15I remember there was one point in time my net worth was $12,000.
02:18I had a $2,000 civic and $10,000 in Pokemon cards.
02:22And you know for the most part people were just gobsmacked.
02:26First of all because they didn't really understand that what I was seeing in it which is the investment potential.
02:32Back then they were laughing and now they call me a genius.
02:39You know so I'd like to think I'm somewhere in between.
02:41You know a joke and a genius.
02:43You know I'd be happy with somewhere in between that.
02:48I'd say the better part of 15 years it's taken me to amass this collection.
02:55When I tell you it swept the country by storm I am not exaggerating.
02:59You know it was a true obsession.
03:02And now 15 years later I have the biggest and most complete set in the whole country.
03:08So this is my PSA 10 sets.
03:11Right here we have the base set.
03:13Doesn't need much of an introduction really.
03:15It's the set that started it all.
03:16It's got the coveted first edition base PSA 10 Charizard.
03:20That is definitely the most recognizable trading card from the year 1999.
03:25And probably one of the most recognizable and desired cards of all time.
03:28There is 103 cards in the set.
03:35It was the first TCG or Pokemon cards in general we seen here in Australia.
03:40And there would be less than three sets in the whole country.
03:46There is serious investment potential there.
03:49If you had been buying just Pokemon cards from 2019 to 2024 from your local game shop.
03:56Just bought the box and put them away.
03:58It would have performed better than the S&P 500.
04:01I remember getting a call from my cousin one day Azza.
04:09He goes there's this company in California called Professional Sports Authenticators.
04:13AKA PSA.
04:14Traditionally they only grade sports cards.
04:17And he said now they've just started grading Pokemon cards.
04:20And he went on to explain to me what that meant.
04:23And the fact that you know this company it gives them a grade from you know.
04:27One being poor.
04:28Ten being gem mint.
04:29Which is close to perfect condition.
04:31Just went on to explain the investment upside.
04:34That phone call when my cousin called me.
04:39At the time a first edition base PSA 10 Charizard was worth 500 Australian dollars.
04:44It might as well have been 5 million dollars to me at the time you know.
04:47I didn't have 500 dollars.
04:49And that same card just sold for 255,000 Australian dollars.
04:57If I can work out something here where I can you know make it make sense financially.
05:01While also pursuing something I love.
05:04Which is the journey of you know got to catch them all so to speak.
05:11Whether you're looking for singles, boxes or card accessories.
05:15Sports Card World has had you covered for over 30 years.
05:19Come in and speak with their knowledgeable team about all things cards and collectibles.
05:31When it comes to superheroes.
05:33One of the most well recognized names has to be.
05:36The Man of Steel.
05:37Superman.
05:38Whilst most people were introduced to Superman via modern movies and animation.
05:42Superman's true origin story didn't begin on the planet Krypton.
05:45Instead it began in a comic titled Action Comics number 1 in 1938.
05:50This comic book is considered the holy grail for collectors.
05:57And always commands a premium when sold.
06:00With even single pages selling for tens of thousands of dollars.
06:03But in April 2024.
06:05One of the finest known examples of Action Comics number 1.
06:08Grated to CGC 8.5.
06:10Sold for an eye watering 9.14 million dollars.
06:14For more record sales or to see the value of your collectibles.
06:19Download the 130 point app today.
06:24Many of you at home might remember the 90s card craze from your childhood.
06:28And you might be surprised to hear that trading cards are bigger and more valuable than ever.
06:34So what better source to explain where the hobby is at today.
06:38Than the oldest card shop in Australia.
06:41Sports Card World.
06:42Sports Card World opened in 1994.
06:55We sell a large range of AFL, NBA, NFL cards.
06:59As well as Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!
07:02And then all your card accessories.
07:08A lot of people remember how many card shops were around in the early 90s.
07:11And don't really realise that the hobby's a lot bigger than what it was back then.
07:15Some people just think of it as a piece of cardboard, but it's much more than that.
07:19People do not realise how much some of these cards are actually worth.
07:28Trading cards were big in the early 90s.
07:30And I guess over the last, you know, 20, 25 years, we've seen lots of ups and downs in the hobby.
07:34But when COVID hit, there was nothing like it.
07:37And the hobby absolutely boomed.
07:40It's been called the biggest sports card craze in a generation.
07:43Prices for lots of cards tripling or quadrupling in value in the past 12 months.
07:48People got into the hobby if they hadn't been into the hobby before, I guess because of box breaks and stuff.
07:54People watching on YouTube became popular, so it was stuff that you could do at home.
07:58I guess you couldn't get out and about.
08:00People that collected before, it reignited their passion for a hobby that they did maybe when they were younger.
08:06Someone like Drake was really into the hobby with the amount of followers and everything that he has.
08:13And, you know, he's pretty cool.
08:15So if Drake's collecting cards, it was a cool thing to do.
08:18Influencers like Gary Vee, Steve Aoki, Logan Paul is another one.
08:22So, yeah, there's lots of guys like that that, you know, people look up to and follow
08:26and created a perfect storm there for the hobby.
08:29In the boom, those card prices for LeBron James rookie cards, some of the vintage Mickey Mandel baseball cards.
08:38Prices really rise.
08:42For instance, the Michael Jordan rookie card, like I can personally remember seeing it in 2018.
08:48A PSA 10 was $10,000.
08:51Fast forward before COVID, that card was selling for $45,000.
08:57Fast forward another year in the peak of COVID and that card sold for $840,000.
09:06The amount of people that get into the hobby and investing and just the whole buzz of the hobby created that hype of these cards.
09:16That's what pushes these prices.
09:18More and more people get in.
09:20Higher demand increases.
09:22Coming off the back of the high peak of COVID, the market was just way too crazy.
09:29The values of cards, how hard it was to buy boxes of cards and supply.
09:34It was ridiculous.
09:35And the prices were just overinflated.
09:40As the hobby and, you know, the world went back to normal, the hobby sort of normalized a little bit as well.
09:45And those prices started to come back down, but they're still way higher than where they were prior to COVID.
09:52So I guess the market's leveled out, but still like collecting and pricing is still, you know, a lot higher than where it was.
09:59But yeah, it has fallen from that COVID peak.
10:02People that collected maybe, you know, 10, 15 years ago or even like late 90s, if they didn't realize this boom, they would look back at their collection now and not realize that a card that they thought maybe was, you know, $100 card could be worth $10,000 just because of how the market's pushed.
10:21I've seen it firsthand where guys have literally got out their old folder and gone, wow, I didn't realize that these cards are selling for so much and their collections are worth, you know, tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
10:36If you're thinking about getting into the hobby, it's probably a perfect time and some of the key cards are probably at that right price to really invest in.
10:43You definitely got to do your research or, you know, go into your local card shop and ask questions because there is a lot to get your head around and it's good to get the right advice to find out how you want to collect because there's so many different ways you can go about it.
11:04After the break, some superhero comic books with superhuman values.
11:08And Jake shows us more of his impressive Pokemon collection.
11:15Which of the following Pokemon cards was the first secret rare in the official trading card game?
11:22A Charizard, B Shining Mewtwo, C Dark Raichu or D Pikachu Illustrator?
11:31Find out after the break.
11:32Welcome back. Did you select the right answer? Let's find out.
11:39Many Australians see comic book collecting as an American hobby. But did you know that Australia and other countries produce their own unique variant editions of popular US comics?
11:46These localised versions often featured the work of local artists on the covers. And in some cases, they're even more valuable than the originals.
11:47Many Australians see comic book collecting as an American hobby.
11:49Many Australians see comic book collecting as an American hobby.
11:50But did you know that Australia and other countries produce their own unique variant editions of popular US comics?
11:51These localised versions often featured the work of local artists on the covers. And in some cases, they're even more valuable than the originals.
12:08The reason I first started buying, right, was the story took you on a journey and gave you some escape. But at that point in time, I wanted to be an artist myself and I used that as an excuse to be able to copy every cover that I could find.
12:27I tell my girlfriend I own about 10,000 comics, but I probably own about 20,000. From a graded perspective, I probably have around 600 graded comics.
12:43They say never meet your heroes. But if your hero is Kevin Eastman, you should meet him because he's absolutely incredible.
12:48I'm a lifelong turtle fan. This is the first appearance of turtles from 1984, but second print because the first print was only about 500 copies.
12:58I love finding a bargain. I don't like paying retail. So on a Saturday morning, we're going on a road trip to Bendigo or we're going to Moldura or something because there's a comics on Marketplace or Facebook.
13:09So La Masa No. 4 is one of my favourite foreign variants. This features the first appearance of Wolverine, but it also includes Hulk 180 and Hulk 181, which is the cameo as well as the first appearance with a cover totally repainted by Espy, which was a local Spanish artist.
13:24And in honor of the original, he kept the same composition, which is really, really good.
13:29Over the past seven or eight years, the foreign market's really been legitimized by the endorsement of grading companies.
13:36People find out, oh, this is actually worth something. And then everybody wants one.
13:40What happened during the whole Marvel cinema advent, some of those comics organically became to be worth more.
13:46And I was like, this is exciting. It's an industry I'd like to be in.
13:49And I set myself the target around 2015 that I want to own all the Marvel first appearances.
13:54It's almost incomprehensible to think that X-Men 1 was a $200, $300 comic 20 years ago, and now it would reach $500, $600,000 for issue one if it's a high grade.
14:04When it comes to modern grails, Miles Morales stands up head and shoulders above all.
14:09This is the 1 in 25 incentive cover signed by the entire creative team as well as a little bit of a remark there.
14:15The grading has changed the game from a comic perspective. And as a result of that, the assurance that if I sell you a grade 9.8,
14:22you know it's a 9.8 because professionals told you it's a 9.8. It's not my opinion.
14:30Hulk 181 is my favorite comic in my collection from a Marvel perspective.
14:34What makes it perfect for me is it is the first appearance of Wolverine who happens to be my favorite X-Men character.
14:40And it being an amazing cover by an amazing artist, it's just iconic.
14:44My Daredevil one is very special. I own the American one, but the Daredevil one that's actually close to my heart is an Australian print from 1965.
14:54According to the census and GPA, there's probably 10 in the world.
14:59I know about probably 20, 25 that's floating around in Australia, but I'm sure there's more under people's beds or in their sheds or somewhere that remains undiscovered.
15:09I'd love to be able to explain why 99.9% of the comics are worthless, especially to people on Facebook Marketplace.
15:16Because everybody thinks they're sitting on a thousand dollar comic, right?
15:19Think about the fact that every month about 400 to 450 new comics are released through distributors.
15:25Go back 80 years and you'll see that it's basically like a pyramid or a spear with a very sharp tip.
15:31The top tier ones are really worth a lot of money in the millions.
15:35And as you go down the spear, it goes lower and lower.
15:44Amazing Fantasy 15 was the last issue of what was a mystery horror series.
15:49And because they were cancelling it, Stan Lee convinced Marvel to create a new character called Spider-Man and pop him in there.
15:55It won't hurt anybody because the series is cancelled anyway.
15:58It was a massive success and that was followed by Spider-Man number one four months later.
16:02In the collecting circles, there's a very common saying, better low grade than no grade, and it is 100% true.
16:11For me, that 0.5 represents a well-loved comic.
16:14It's been read, it's been passed around by friends before I even existed, and a lot of people enjoyed it.
16:19For me, that 0.5 represents the actual story of why comics are important, more so than an investment grade of a 9.8.
16:26The big difference though is it's a $20,000 comic versus a $2 million comic.
16:31So, budgetary perspective, I also like it.
16:48Who remembers the Atari 2600?
16:51The Atari 2600, released in 1977, revolutionised home gaming.
17:00This legendary console brought classics like Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Pitfall into living rooms worldwide.
17:08By the early 80s, it was the must-have system, selling millions and defining an era.
17:14Though the video game crash of 1983 slowed it down, the 2600 remains a true gaming icon.
17:20I remember unboxing this bad boy on Christmas Day and then playing my favourite games Pitfall and River Raid.
17:27Head to our socials and tell us what you remember about the Atari 2600.
17:32Earlier, we heard from Jake about his journey into the world of Pokemon.
17:41Now, with the explosion of card grading in the last decade, he isn't satisfied with just one PSA 10 card.
17:49Instead, he's put together one of the most impressive collections on Earth.
17:54If I could put it in one word when I hold a Pokemon card, the word would be nostalgia.
18:00I grab it and I get such nostalgic feelings and warm, soulful feelings, to be honest.
18:06A couple of the other notable sets I have.
18:10Here we see the Jungle set, which was the second release of Pokemon.
18:14I believe it was 64 cards in this set.
18:17Again, a stack of rookie cards within the set.
18:19In 2016, cards that were worth $400-$500 started shooting to tens of thousands of dollars.
18:32And the first boom really hit everyone by surprise.
18:36Fast forward another four years, 2020, Logan Paul took a liking to Pokemon cards.
18:42And he shed so much light to the hobby.
18:44And then everyone started appreciating it.
18:47Moving on to Fossil set, where again, only 62 cards in this set.
18:54So quite small sets.
18:59But that basically wraps up the whole 1999 all in PSA 10.
19:04So in the year 2000, Pokemon decided to come out with a Team Rocket set.
19:11Where the theme was the dark, basically evil, villain Pokemon.
19:16It was the first time we ever seen anything to do with really anything outside the Pokemon.
19:20Team Rocket are actually the villain in the TV show.
19:27So in the year 2000, Pokemon thought, you know what?
19:30We'll go back to the base set and jungle set, the two sets that everyone knew and loved.
19:34And we'll do a reprint of them.
19:36So they've done a massive set of 130 cards, which is bigger than the Fossil and jungle set combined.
19:43And basically used artworks from the jungle and base set.
19:46This set is notorious for being super hard to grade.
19:50Like this card here, for example, the Wigglytuff.
19:52There's only seven in the world.
19:54So that makes this set one of only a handful that could possibly be complete in the PSA 10 examples.
20:00These were a set of 54 cards ranging from the year 1999 all the way up to 2002.
20:11It's a 54 card set.
20:13Unique sort of one-off artworks that we didn't see in the sets.
20:17And a set that's extremely hard to put together.
20:20I only know of one other person in the world that has this set.
20:24I'd never seen the collection together.
20:26This was the first time in my life that I'd seen them.
20:29You know, I think the last time I'd seen them, there was only two sets and now we're up to, you know, close to 10 sets.
20:35My dad would always tell me that, you know, if there was no passion, there's no point.
20:39And if you are going to do something, it doesn't matter that other people might have different opinions to you.
20:44You know, having dad as an example, you know, a kid from a commission flat at 12 years old, started boxing.
20:49At 19 years old, won a world title and was getting paid, you know, in houses per fight, you know.
20:56And again, a lot of people would have just laughed at him and said, oh, you want to do boxing?
20:59Oh, you're going to be Australia's 10th world champion, are you?
21:05A lot of people don't know, but you can actually get the packs themselves graded as well.
21:09So these base set packs are actually very unique and they could potentially have a PSA 10 first edition base Zard.
21:16To me, I think the set wouldn't be complete unless you've got the packs in PSA 10 to go with them.
21:21I'd love to have some type of museum. I know it probably sounds crazy talking about something that's only 25 years old.
21:26But I truly think that they're some of the most recognizable artworks in the world.
21:31And I think art traditionally as we know it has changed.
21:36As soon as you start explaining the value of them, it's very hard not to take serious.
21:40Even if you don't understand it or what not, when you're here in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, all the way up to millions,
21:47it's very hard not to take that serious, you know.
21:50Next time on Cards and Collectibles.
21:58How a dreamer created an AFL card game that has kicked goals for over 25 years.
22:06A father and son duo who struck gold through their bonding hobby.
22:10And a game-worn jersey collector preserving history one thread at a time.
22:40How a dreamer can be.
22:43Watch past episodes of Cards and Collectibles Australia online now.
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