Morning, Collectors. One week out from The Mantel Hobby Awards, and the team has been hard at work producing the show with our partners at Yahoo Sports. Someti
Morning, Collectors.
One week out from The Mantel Hobby Awards, and the team has been hard at work producing the show with our partners at Yahoo Sports. Sometimes you work on something for ages and have no idea how it will be received, or if it will have been worth the effort, but we’ve had some moments this past week where those fears have completely evaporated. We’re building something special here, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it on December 18th.
Credit: Collector Club
Panini and Fanatics have been battling for the hearts (and wallets) of collectors for years at retail, and more recently in court. And per The Athletic, Panini is telling two very different stories at once. In court, it argues that losing major league licenses to Topps cripples its ability to compete. In private sales pitches, it claims the opposite—that it can thrive, even outperform, without licenses. That contradiction sits at the center of its legal fight with Fanatics and raises major questions about credibility, competition, and who ultimately controls the future of the sports card hobby.
Our guy J.R. Fickle jumped the prediction-season gun with early 2026 hobby forecasts: expect momentum shifts toward Beckett and Degree grading, Olympic-fueled price spikes for figure skaters Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn, backlash against inauthentic influencers, a TV-style reinvention of breaking, and Sophie Cunningham hitting full mainstream stardom. It’s chaotic, opinionated, and very on-brand.
In past prognostications J.R. Fickle has championed WNBA cards, but even he couldn’t have predicted the monster growth the category had this past year. According to Whatnot’s latest trends report, WNBA search volume grew 1,670% in 2025, triple the growth rate of NBA cards, on top of an 870% jump in 2024. Caitlin Clark led the surge, but players like Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Aliyah Boston, and A’ja Wilson all saw massive gains. Autographed WNBA items jumped 1,000%+, with Atlanta emerging as the platform’s fastest-growing hub.
Credit: Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Fantasy and Arena Club have launched weekly Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Slab Packs, dropping real graded NBA cards tied to top fantasy performers. Each Tuesday, collectors can choose Silver packs at $59 or Gold packs at $159, with every pack containing a graded active player card and a chance at limited chase cards valued up to 20x the pack price. This week’s lineup included Tyrese Maxey, Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, and Scottie Barnes, blending fantasy performance with card-market upside.
CBS’ 60 Minutes pointed a spotlight on the art, craft, and business of the watch industry in a Sunday segment filmed in Switzerland. Correspondent Jon Wertheim profiled watchmakers like Philippe Dufour and Max Büsser, alongside brands including Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The focus isn’t hype or scale, but craftsmanship, obsession, and mechanics over efficiency. A big cultural moment for horology. You can watch the full segment below.
One watch brand NOT covered by 60 Minutes? Seiko. But the brand still made some interesting news this week after two beat-up watches owned by the late actor, Gene Hackman just sold for $21,000. Normally $300–$400 watches, they rode a perfect mix of product, publicity, and celebrity provenance to a 4,000% premium. Hackman wore them constantly, flaws and all, turning scratches into value. As we always say, most of the time, it’s the story that makes something collectible, and this certainly supports that case.
Credit: CoinWeek
A bureaucratic mistake turned into numismatic legend. In 1834, Andrew Jackson ordered silver dollars dated 1804 for diplomatic gifts, unaware no such coins had been struck that year. The result became the “King of American Coins.” On Tuesday, a Class III 1804 dollar sold for $6M at Stack’s Bowers. Only eight original diplomatic examples are believed to exist, and we’re assuming the owners of the others are seeing more than just dollar signs when they look at their silver dollars.
Category: General Sports
