The ordinary brown brick building, tucked away in a dingy block on a street in Delaware, probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention without razor wire and armed guards outside – suggests that something important lies within, perhaps even very precious.
Fort Knox does not. But without a doubt, the treasure trove of collectibles the building holds is well worth protecting.
There’s a rare Pikachu card and a centuries-old baseball great Honus Wagner card, which recently sold for $7.25 million in a private sale. In addition to the trading cards, there are baseball bats and basketball shoes, including a pair of sneakers worn and signed by NBA great Kobe Bryant.
In total, $200 million in collectibles is stored in two vaults inside the building, equipped with some of the latest technology to keep precious caches safe from intruders or thieves.
“A lot of people don’t keep their jewelry at home. Ross Hoffman, chief executive officer of Goldin Co., a division of the industry’s giant collectors that runs the vault, a high-security facility dedicated to protecting collectibles. .
The building is unsigned, and the company asked not to disclose any indication of its location. Inside is a technologically advanced facility with a guard vault, equipped with seismic motion detectors that will sound an alarm if anyone tries to squeeze through the wall.
Ross Hoffman, CEO of Collectors Vault, shows a shoe worn and signed by NBA legend Kobe Bryant. The shoes are among hundreds of items stocked at Collectors Vault, a new venture that makes it easier for collectors to store and buy memorabilia. (AP Photo / Davidde Corran)
To move from room to room, the security guard will take you through a card-activated double door entrance, leaving the first door closed before going through the next. There are surveillance cameras everywhere.
Behind one of the two 7,500-pound (3,400 kg) hatches, each more than a foot thick, are rows of shelves extending to the building’s rafters. Rows of boxes filled with collector’s items – including some that are of relatively small value but represent sentimental value to their owners or may someday be valuable Moreover.
Hoffman calls the facility a “pain killer”.
“There is pain when everything is lost. Hoffman said.
The hobby of collecting sporting goods and souvenirs has exploded in recent years, with not only high-ticket items but also rediscovered items that have been stashed in lofts or basements. . In August, a mintable Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million, surpassing the $9.3 million paid for Diego Maradona’s jersey when he scored. Controversial victory “Hand of God” at the 1986 World Cup of football.
ComicConnect founder Stephen Fishler, who has tracked the growing rise – and profitability – said: across auction houses.
Stacks of collectibles piled up on shelves placed in a safe at the Collectors Vault. (AP Photo / Davidde Corran)
But some people don’t want the burden of insuring their assets, which they view as investments like stocks, Fishler said. These storage facilities help better verify collections by treating them as assets that can be more easily bought and sold.
Hoffman, whose parent company also runs one of the leading classification and authentication services, said his latest project is an acknowledgment of the large amount of money currently involved in collectibles.
Before the pandemic, the sports memorabilia market was estimated at more than $5.4 billion, according to a 2018 Forbes interview with David Yoken, founder of Collectable.com.
By 2021, that market has grown to $26 billion, according to research firm Market Decipher, which predicts the market will grow astronomically to $227 billion within a decade — driven in part by a surge in growth. proliferation of so-called NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are digital collections with unique data encrypted fingerprints.
While digitized NFTs do not require a vault for safekeeping, the sale of physical collectibles is expected to remain busy and lucrative.
“For a lot of people who buy the card, they intend to sell it,” said Hoffman, “so keeping it liquid and safe is a great thing.”
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