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00:00Coming up on Cards and Collectibles, how collecting communities helps some people find belonging.
00:08We explain NBA card licensing and how things are changing.
00:16And press start, a home with more arcade machines than an amusement park.
00:25There's hidden treasures all over this country.
00:29Vintage sports cards, they're almost like antiques.
00:32Come on a journey with Cards and Collectibles Australia, where collectors from across the continent unite to showcase their treasures.
00:40It's got to be seven figures, it's got to be a million dollars plus.
00:43Witness the passion, the money and the stories behind Australia's most coveted collectibles.
00:50Back then they were laughing and now they're calling me a genius.
00:59Step through the doors of Nathan Walton's home and you'll feel like you've hit rewind on a time machine.
01:05In a world where everything's gone digital, he's brought back the magic of the arcade era.
01:11From classic 80s cabinets to rare pinball machines, he's transformed his house into the ultimate retro playground.
01:19I always say it's a little bit like having your first tattoo.
01:28Once you have your first one, you like it so much that you get addicted.
01:33Collectively, me and my business partner, Caesar, we have roughly 110 pinball machines and roughly 200 arcades.
01:42This is Arcade Alley.
01:49We're starting off with a couple of low boys.
01:52We've got the Street Fighter, X-Men vs. Street Fighter just here.
01:56Moving on, 1943 cabinet, we've got Blood Brothers.
01:59We've got the NBA Jam by Midway.
02:02One of the favourite games in the 90s.
02:04Anyone who's a sports fan loves this game.
02:06I kind of love the, believe it or not, the size of them, even though they are an absolute nightmare to move.
02:14The style of gameplay too back then.
02:16Some of the best games growing up were like your fighting games like Street Fighter and your Mortal Kombats, but also your side scrollers.
02:22So Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they were really popular.
02:25From a nostalgic point, collecting machines that you used to play as a kid, you have those emotions too of like, you know, I used to love this when I was younger.
02:33Or this used to be at my local fish and chip shop that might no longer be there.
02:39We've got Sunset Riders, Mortal Kombat, number three.
02:43And talking about fighters, we're going on to Street Fighter 2.
02:46Who doesn't like playing Ken vs. Rue?
02:48Donkey Kong, classic style cabinet from America.
02:51When you're a kid and you're putting your money into the machine, you might not ever make it to the final boss because you may run out of money.
02:57Now, when you own one, you can physically get to that stage and not have to worry about, oh, how many credits have I put in?
03:04Moving on to another similar arcade to the NBA Jam I showed you before, but ice hockey.
03:09You can't really get these in Australia, so I had to import it.
03:12The game is exactly the same style as NBA Jam, but ice hockey, which, you know, everybody loves too.
03:18Arcades are one thing, but pinball machines, you have a huge rule set, and that rule set compared to another rule set is very, very different.
03:26For me, like, nothing beats, you know, the touch and feel of an actual pinball going up and down.
03:31This seven-foot Lego Batman welcomes you as you enter my pinball room.
03:47Crazy Taxi is one of my favourites that I used to play when I was in high school.
03:52I've been looking for a Crazy Taxi for many years, and I finally found one, which was fantastic.
03:57You go to the Daytona, everybody's favourite driver, that is.
04:04As you move on, you're looking at the pinball machines.
04:07One of my favourite games is Funhouse.
04:09Moving on from Funhouse, you've got a collector's item in Elvis.
04:13Then we have Flintstones, awesome cartoon and great pinball machine with a cool topper.
04:18Then we're moving on to Johnny Mnemonic.
04:20Once again, awesome movie and 90s title.
04:23Then we've got Strikers Extreme, so for all you soccer fans out there.
04:27And then this one here is Atari Middle Earth.
04:29So not many Ataris were made.
04:31I think there was only seven different titles.
04:33Then you've got the Playboys, one of the classics from the 70s.
04:40It's kind of like one of those special pieces for a pinball collector.
04:44I would say the other major one from that era is Kiss.
04:47It came available, and I'd run out of money.
04:49So I told my wife the story.
04:52Bless her soul, she ended up buying it.
04:55And so technically, I don't own it.
04:56My wife does.
04:58And then the very last but not least, we've got the Lord of the Rings Limited Edition.
05:03Limited to only 500.
05:04I've always been a person that's wanted to entertain people.
05:10So I decided to try and create some sort of atmosphere that sort of felt like a miniature time zone.
05:22The 1988 Metalhawk was a machine that originated from Japan.
05:26In fact, most of the narration in the game was actually in Japanese as well.
05:29It was one of those arcades that I thought, well, it is massive, but not many people would have one.
05:35I've got to get one.
05:36As the years went on, from, say, 2010, 2012, the machine started to skyrocket.
05:42Stuff that you'd buy for $1,500 to $1,800 10, 12 years ago could be worth up to $10,000 now.
05:50Then we have the Hot Shots.
05:52Now, this is a really rare, cool game, also made by the Williams Pinball Group.
05:56It was actually set up as a redemption ticket machine, which Williams never really did back in the day.
06:02From that standpoint, made it rare.
06:07I was on Marketplace one day.
06:09This Jurassic Park gate comes up, and I'm just like, that looks awesome.
06:13And I thought, well, I could use that as the gate going into the secret room.
06:17And that's where I keep all the really cool stuff.
06:19Whether you're looking for singles, boxes, or card accessories,
06:30Sports Card World has had you covered for over 30 years.
06:33Come in and speak with their knowledgeable team about all things cards and collectibles.
06:38Each year, the Panini basketball release schedule is culminated by the high-end flawless set,
06:51with boxes retailing for between $10,000 to $15,000.
06:55In one such flawless release, Panini elected to include triple Logo Man cards,
06:59a card which includes the NBA logo from game-worn jerseys of not one, but three superstars.
07:05But one card featured three NBA logos from each team LeBron James has played for.
07:13This caused a frenzied chase within the collecting community,
07:16with multi-million dollar bounties being placed on the card before it had even released.
07:20This card was eventually pulled by a group of three friends
07:23and sold in June 2022 for a staggering $3.65 million.
07:30For more record sales or to see the value of your collectibles,
07:33download the OneThirtyPoint app today.
07:38NBA cards have long been shaped by a mix of brands,
07:42each adding their own flair to the hobby.
07:44But in 2009, everything changed when Panini secured exclusive rights to produce NBA cards.
07:53For over a decade, they defined the modern era,
07:56with bold designs and iconic sets.
07:58Now, as Panini's run ends and Topps steps in,
08:03Matt from Sports Card World unpacks the journey,
08:06Panini's impact, and what's next for collectors.
08:15From the early days of NBA licensing,
08:17pretty much any company could get an NBA license if they paid the money.
08:21Through the early 90s, there was lots of companies.
08:23There was Upper Deck, Topps, Fleer, Skybox, just to name a few.
08:30The best thing about having multiple companies with an NBA license was that each company had their own different style of cards.
08:37They were always trying to come up with a new card design just to, you know, put them above everyone else.
08:42And that was really good competition in the hobby.
08:48Some of the most valuable cards in the hobby today were produced in the sort of late 90s.
08:54Companies like Fleer put out like precious metal gems, cards that were individually numbered.
08:59In the early 2000s, Upper Deck introduced a brand called Exquizid.
09:10It was the first super high-end product.
09:14Cards in there had like pieces of the players' game-worn jerseys, autographs, and they were very limited numbers.
09:20Some of those cards, in particular, say the LeBron James rookie card, sells in the millions of dollars.
09:27I think the NBA was hard to work with lots of different companies, and they wanted to sort of have just one company get the NBA license.
09:35A company called Panini, they'd been around for a while producing soccer cards.
09:40They did a lot of collectible stickers for different like franchises and stuff.
09:44So it was a big move for them to, I guess, move into the American trading card market and get an NBA license.
09:50With Panini having an exclusive license for the NBA, not every set was just called Panini like it was in the back and upper deck and top.
10:01So it was Panini Prism, Panini Donruss.
10:04They were all different lines of Panini products, each set with their own different feel and different design.
10:10And that's what the card company Panini kept producing.
10:12When any new company comes along, people are probably a little bit skeptical about, you know, who are they, what are they all about?
10:23But, you know, Panini were pretty good.
10:25They came up with some like really iconic pay-in sets like National Treasures and Flawless.
10:32With the Prism set and the Prism golds, that was one of the first times that Panini had introduced like a color variation of the base card.
10:40So you had the base card and then different color variations, but the card looked the same, just with those different colors.
10:46Gold parallel was numbered to 10.
10:48These days, the Prism gold to 10s are probably one of the most desirable cards that Panini produce.
10:54Like a Steph Curry or a Kobe Bryant gold card to 10 might sell for close to half a million dollars.
10:59With the popularity of Prism and all different cards each year, they produce more and more parallel.
11:04So more and more different variations of that same card.
11:07There might have been a blue, a red, a green version.
11:11These days, in the new Prism cards, there's over 80 different cards to collect of that one player.
11:20Panini's, I guess, flagship set is flawless.
11:23It's a set of cards that comes in a briefcase.
11:26In those, you're expecting to get like game worn, jersey cards, autographs.
11:30And also some of the cards have little pieces of diamond in them.
11:33So for around 15 years, Panini have had that license and have brought out some amazing, iconic cards that will be for the hobby forever.
11:44But from 2025, Topps has regained an NBA license.
11:48There's great excitement with Topps getting the NBA license.
11:55They're really bringing in some, you know, real new initiatives, I guess, to collecting some great new card designs, which we've seen in other sports.
12:03So I think moving forward, they'll continue to grow the hobby.
12:06And we've seen card collecting evolve in general.
12:09If all this licensing stuff doesn't make sense to you, make sure you call into your local card shop and just ask.
12:16After the break, lifelong bonds form through a shared passion.
12:27And what's Nathan hiding behind those gates?
12:32What year did auction site eBay launch?
12:36Find out after the break.
12:54Welcome back.
12:55Did you select the right answer?
12:57Let's find out.
12:58Collecting was once a lonely passion, with many enthusiasts feeling like outcasts in their niche interests.
13:12Today, what starts as a shared hobby often turns into lifelong friendships, with communities forming around everything, from trading cards to vintage toys.
13:22For many, collecting isn't just about the items, it's about belonging.
13:32There's a great community out there.
13:34All you have to do is jump on Instagram, go on Facebook, search for gaming groups, and you'll be connected with some really, really good people.
13:40Unfortunately, eBay just doesn't have these things.
13:43In terms of finding the really rare consoles, rare games, and rare displays, you've got to join that community, talk to each other, swap things around.
13:51That's the way you find the really rare stuff, and it takes patience and time.
13:54I really feel a great opportunity that is on Facebook.
14:01There's a lot of groups you can join, and you can make some great purchases.
14:04But even just to discuss your collections, you know, even as yesterday, people are going, show us your Star Wars helmet shelf.
14:11And you just see everybody just putting up their Star Wars helmets.
14:14It's a safe place, a lot of compliments, people that just understand that it's what makes you happy.
14:22And it's just nice to see that you're not the only person who's just going crazy over a new release of something as well.
14:28So it really is good.
14:29You sign up with the Facebook group, you meet up with other collectors.
14:33Other collectors are willing to sell their stock at better prices than they are on eBay.
14:38A lot of the cool stuff you see around here, the standees, all from local collectors.
14:44As a Lego collector, I'm also a Lego content creator, so I do build, and I also love sharing it with the community so everyone can just relate to it.
14:55If it inspires people to build, that's where I get, like, a really good fulfillment out of doing it as well.
15:02I actually started my Instagram account during lockdown as a creative outlet.
15:08I wanted to take photos of pieces in my collection and style them in different ways.
15:13And it just grew from there.
15:15And from there, I made all these friends from all over Australia and the world.
15:20But we are really, really good friends.
15:23Like, we are genuinely friends.
15:24And it's so funny because we wouldn't have met any other way except we were connected through this love of Disney.
15:30So there really is this amazing community when it comes to Disney collecting in Australia.
15:36Being international, it's harder to form good friendships, but you certainly connect with guys that I really enjoy having a chat with.
15:43I've got a guy in Brazil who I know get on with really, really well, and we look after each other.
15:47Guys in the States, guys in China.
15:49So you kind of build that.
15:51And as long as everyone's trying to look after each other, then you can usually source the item that you want and everyone's happy.
15:57For me, the biggest advantage of the internet was connecting with like-minded people and the community that it was able to spawn.
16:09And I met my best friend, Darren, in the early 2000s, a fellow Masters of the Universe fan, probably the most passionate Masters of the Universe collector I've ever met.
16:22Sadly, he passed away four years ago, but that friendship of being able to connect with someone who shared the passion enriched my journey as a toy collector because I could share it with someone.
16:36Prior to that, it was just me and these sort of childhood memories and exploring those, and that has enriched my journey and my passion as a toy collector.
16:52Before YouTube highlights, NBA fans relied on VHS tapes to relieve legendary moments.
17:12Michael Jordan's dominance in the late 80s and 90s led to iconic releases like Come Fly With Me and Michael Jordan Airtime.
17:19These tapes produced by NBA Entertainment captured Jordan's gravity-defining dunks and championship runs, turning every living room into the United Centre.
17:29I remember watching Michael Jordan's Come Fly With Me over and over and over again, and one of my fondest memories is watching it with my cousins.
17:36My cousin could almost remember, word for word, the whole movie.
17:40Head to our socials and tell us what you remember about NBA VHS tapes.
17:49Earlier in the show, we saw the unbelievable arcade and pinball machines that Nathan has spent his life collecting, but it doesn't end there.
18:00Tucked away behind those Jurassic Park gates lies his secret room, a private sanctuary where only the best of the best are allowed to play.
18:09This is my secret room.
18:19Come in and I'll show you the 4K projection where me and the boys watch the latest NBA in football.
18:27The sports collection on the side to match the football.
18:29The three main pinballs, my Whitewater, my Shadow, two Bally Williams titles that I grew up loving.
18:37And also on the side, we've got Maverick in there because it's also got a topper to match the other machines.
18:42On this side, I've got the 5PC setup.
18:46I used to go to many LAN events, people that don't know what LAN is, it's a local area network, where you would bring your computer to a basketball stadium.
18:59And when I was younger, I used to go to lots of these events.
19:02They used to be called Valhalla or Reloaded.
19:04I decided I have to have a LAN set up and I did five identical sort of systems to cater for that.
19:10So I'm very happy with how it's turned out.
19:15One of my main pieces is the poker table from Austria.
19:19I managed to score this through my business partner many, many years ago when we first started collecting.
19:25And it has like 30 odd games on it, but the main game that everybody loves is Texas Holden Poker.
19:32The idea is that you put your hands on the screen and then you put your finger down and it will peel back the numbers of your cards.
19:40And I've sort of set it up with the booth, like a bit like an old diner.
19:44I love it because it's a lot of fun with your friends.
19:50When I was younger, one of the first games I ever played was White Water.
19:55I fell in love with it because there's like this giant Yeti at the top of the play field.
19:59For me back then, I was like, whoever designed this is a genius.
20:03The topper has got like a mesmerizing waterfall coming down.
20:07So you get the little flickering lights.
20:09I guess you're just immersed in it all.
20:14When I was young, I used to go to a place called Voltrek.
20:17When you went down to paintball, when you're waiting for the other teams to finish their shots,
20:23they had this little room with 20 arcade machines.
20:26And in the middle of this arcade room, they had this huge arcade machine, which was called Gauntlet.
20:32I used to love this game growing up and I would constantly go back to Voltrek to play it.
20:39I ended up deciding to go back to paintball.
20:42I hadn't been there for many, many years and it was gone.
20:45So to my surprise, I was like absolutely devastated.
20:48I asked them and they said, oh, it's actually broken at the moment.
20:52We've got it out the back.
20:53And a few months later they rang me and they said, oh, you said you can repair machines?
20:59And I said, yeah.
21:00And they said, well, some of our low boys have got issues.
21:03Maybe we can work out a deal on you buying that Gauntlet if you can fix up our machines.
21:09It was really cool because it sort of brought me back to my childhood of going there as a kid.
21:13And then even as an adult playing paintball over there, brought back so many good memories.
21:18And that's my favourite machine that I'll probably never let go of.
21:22The best thing about it is you could play with your friends.
21:24You could be a wizard or you could be a warrior.
21:27There was like four heroes you could pick from.
21:29Your whole point was that you had to go through entire maps with your friends
21:33and work together to try and get to that outcome of finding the boss.
21:37My ultimate goal with the collection is mainly to have friends around who can actually appreciate it and enjoy it.
21:43You know, they might have had a hard week at work and you could just come here, have a beer, enjoy some games
21:49and, you know, you don't have to pay a cent for it.
21:51Next time on Cards and Collectibles, we find out this soccer collector's ultimate goal.
22:04Meet the Adelaide graphic designer who is disrupting the hobby and working with the biggest athletes in the world.
22:14And a pair of podcasters who just don't talk the talk when it comes to some of your favourite childhood toys.
22:24Watch past episodes of Cards and Collectibles Australia on Nine Now.
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