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A one-of-a-kind 2024 Paul Skenes MLB Debut Patch autographed Topps Chrome Update card just sold for more than a million dollars. The sale set multiple new records and, as a result, just made an 11-year-old from California rich beyond his wildest dreams.
In case you missed it, back in January, Topps announced that an 11-year-old from California had pulled the 1/1 Paul Skenes Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card. The kid was immediately swamped with offers for the card, including a very nice one from Paul Skenes’ team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, Skenes’ girlfriend, even offered to share her suite with the kid who ended up with the card.
However, before the kid could take the Pirates up on their generous offer, famous collector Ken Goldin stated that whoever pulled the Paul Skenes rookie card should sell it, saying, “You can put your kids thru college with the money from the sale.”
So the kid ended up letting the Skenes card be auctioned off by Fanatics Collect in the company’s March premier auction. Good move.
Bidding for the card ended Friday morning and the expectations that it could go for as much as a million dollars were pretty spot on. When bidding ended at around 12:40 a.m. on Friday, the card had sold for $1.11 million. Not too shabby considering Paul Skenes himself will be making “only” $875,000 this season.
The previous record sale price for a Paul Skenes card was $123,220, a 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Autographs Superfractor (another 1/1 card) that was auctioned off in September 2024. The $1.1 million sale price also blew away the previous record for a Rookie Debut Patch card. That record was also set last year when someone paid $150,000 for an Anthony Volpe 1/1 card.
So the kid will earn $925,000 from the sale of the card and because Fanatics Collect pledged to donate their portion of the sale to Los Angeles fire relief funds, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Red Cross will get the rest.