Top 10 Biggest Sports Card Sales on Pristine LIVE! — June 2026
As a Gen-Xer who still believes the best NBA was played during the 1990s, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that no sports cards from the King James version of the modern NBA made Pristine Auction’s top 10 sales for June 2026.
However, last month’s top sales feature four Michael Jordans, including three rookie cards (official and unofficial) from the mid-1980s. He’s the GOAT, after all.
But while Jordan may have dominated the Pristine leaderboard last month, he certainly didn’t have the month to himself. June’s biggest sales stretched from early legends of baseball to a pair of the current greats, including appearances by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Aaron Judge, and Shohei Ohtani.
There was also a Fernando Mendoza sighting, proving that collectors are just as interested in chasing potential as they are getting their hands on sure-fire value.
Taken together, this is the kind of list that aligns with today’s card collecting hobby. Icons command eye-popping prices and modern superstars remain as strong as ever, yet there’s a side that’s always chasing the next big thing.
Here’s the complete list of the 10 biggest sports card and memorabilia sales from Pristine Live! during June of 2026:
1. Michael Jordan 1986-87 Fleer #57 RC (BGS 9.5)
Final Sale Price: $53,639.15
Some sports cards don’t need an introduction. The 1986-87 Michael Jordan Fleer Rookie Card is the literal poster for these types of cards.
Nearly four decades after its release, the Jordan Fleer rookie remains the card that defines basketball collecting. It's the benchmark against which virtually every other modern basketball card is measured, and pristine examples continue to command premium prices.
This BGS 9.5 gem, for example, sold last month for more than $53,000, proving that demand for Jordan's most recognizable card continues to soar. Collectors have plenty of choices when it comes to cards of His Airness, but when someone wants the Michael Jordan rookie, this is still the one they chase.
2. Michael Jordan 1984-85 Star #101 RC (BCCG 8)
Final Sale Price: $51,457.77
Some collectors consider the 1984-85 Star #101 to be Michael Jordan’s actual rookie card, and they have a pretty strong case. After all, it was issued during Jordan’s first NBA season, two years before the famous Fleer #57 reached collectors.
Officially, though, the hobby still generally recognizes the Fleer as his rookie, while Beckett classifies the earlier Star card as an XRC — an extended rookie card. You can learn more about this here.
However, this distinction did little to slow bidding in June. Despite receiving a BCCG 8 grade, this copy sold for more than $51,000, finishing about $2,200 short behind the top sale. Call it a rookie, an XRC, or Jordan’s true first card — collectors clearly know its value.
3. Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig Dual Signed Reclaimed Customs #1/1 (BGS | Autographs Graded 9)
Final Sale Price: $22,207.59
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig spent a decade together near the top of the Yankees lineup. Yet finding their signatures together on one collectible remains a much tougher proposition than you might expect.
Ruth’s powerful swing turned the home run into baseball’s main attraction, while Gehrig built a reputation for steady excellence that made him the backbone of six Yankees championship teams. Their careers, personalities, and places in baseball history remain forever linked.
This one-of-one Reclaimed Customs creation brings the two legends back together through authenticated autograph cuts, each graded a 9 by Beckett. With both signatures presented on a single custom piece, this sale offered something closer to a miniature monument than a conventional baseball card.
4. Fernando Mendoza 2026 Topps Now Red Autograph SP RC #2/5
Final Sale Price: $20,010.97
Fernando Mendoza has yet to throw his first official NFL pass, but that hasn't stopped collectors from betting big on his potential.
The former Indiana quarterback transferred from Cal before the 2025 season and quickly found himself in the national spotlight, winning a national championship and becoming the first overall pick of the NFL Draft.
His 2026 Topps NOW rookie autograph commemorates this rise, capturing a specific moment rather than serving as part of a traditional card release. Limited to five copies, this Red parallel commemorates the moment he was drafted by the QB-needy Raiders franchise. It’s exactly the type of rarity-inducing print that can ignite bidding when collectors believe they're getting in on the ground floor.
By breaking $20,000, this sale serves as a reminder that today's hobby is as much about prospecting as it is about celebrating established legends. Like the Raiders, sometimes you have to be willing to gamble if you want to earn a big payoff down the road.
5. Michael Jordan 1986-87 Fleer #57 RC (BGS 8.5)
Final Sale Price: $16,464.36
Ope! There’s another Michael Jordan rookie card.
Did you know that in reprints of this card, Jordan’s tongue was edited from the photo? It’s true.
Starting in the 1990s, so-called “tongue-out pics” were disallowed on licensed cards featuring MJ. The look became so closely tied to the Jordan brand that these images were reserved for personal brand-endorsed items, and this did not include sports cards.
The more you know…
6. Jackie Robinson 1952 Topps #312 (PSA 3)
Final Sale Price: $16,202.74
The 1952 Topps set has long been considered baseball's most iconic release. And while Mickey Mantle's card often steals the spotlight, Jackie Robinson's No. 312 belongs in the same conversation.
By 1952, Robinson had already changed baseball forever, breaking the color barrier five years earlier and establishing himself as one of the game's top stars. The Robinson card comes from Topps' coveted high-number series, which was printed in smaller quantities and has become especially difficult to find in respectable condition.
So, whoever bought this card for just over $16,000 found themselves a bargain while nabbing a piece of card collecting history. Even as a PSA 3, collectibles like these are becoming harder to find, especially as experts contend that Jackie Robinson cards are due for a growth spurt.
7. Michael Jordan 2023 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Black Diamond Gemography Pure Black #BDGMJ #1/1
Final Sale Price: $15,970.50
Jordan collectors don't only chase vintage cardboard. They chase scarcity, too.
This one-of-one Pure Black Gemography autograph from 2023 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions checks nearly every box modern collectors look for: an on-card Michael Jordan signature, a Black Diamond design, and the ultimate rarity of a true 1/1.
Unlike his rookie cards, which derive much of their value from history and widespread recognition, cards like this appeal to collectors who want something almost no one else can own. That's a different kind of exclusivity, and one that helped this Jordan autograph card climb to nearly $16,000 in June.
8. Aaron Judge 2017 Donruss Optic Rated Rookies '87 Retro Signatures Holo #10 RC #1/5 (PSA 10 | Autograph Grade 10)
Final Sale Price: $15,185.43
Aaron Judge broke into the Majors in 2017 and immediately started hitting bombs. His 52 home runs set a new MLB rookie record at the time, earned him a unanimous American League Rookie of the Year Award, and gave collectors one of the decade’s most memorable rookie-card classes.
This Donruss Optic autograph pairs Judge’s breakthrough season with the throwback design of the 1987 Donruss set. It then added a Holo finish and a print run of only five. PSA awarded perfect 10s to both the card and autograph, giving its value quite the bump.
That combination of rookie-year history, extreme scarcity, and mint condition helped send the final price of this card high and deep, comfortably clearing the $15,000 mark.
9. Shohei Ohtani 2024 Topps Archives Signature Series / '22 Topps Chrome #1 #1/1
Final Sale Price: $14,608.40
It's Shohei Ohtani, it's signed, and it's a one-of-one Topps card. That combination practically guarantees a high floor.
Topps Archives Signature Series takes existing cards, has the featured player sign them, then seals each one in a tamper-proof case with a unique serial number. In this case, Topps chose Ohtani's 2022 Topps Chrome card and turned it into a true 1/1.
Add in the fact that Ohtani continues to redefine what's possible on a baseball field, and it's easy to understand why collectors pushed this card past $14,000. When a one-of-one autograph belongs to the biggest star in the game, strong bidding usually follows.
10. Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron Signed 1954 Topps #128 RC (PSA 3.5 | Autograph Grade 10)
Final Sale Price: $14,222.34
There are rookie cards, then there are cornerstone rookie cards. Hank Aaron's 1954 Topps debut firmly belongs in the second category.
The colorful portrait has long been one of baseball's most recognizable card images, representing the beginning of a Hall of Fame career that ultimately produced 755 home runs and one of the game's most enduring legacies.
This particular card adds another layer of value by featuring a bold autograph that earned a perfect 10 grade from PSA. Pairing one of the hobby's most celebrated vintage rookie cards with a flawless signature is enough to command attention in any auction.
June's Top 10 is proof that the hobby's biggest names never go out of style — and that a great card will find its price no matter the era it came from. Every sale on this list happened live, in real time, on Pristine LIVE!
What is Pristine Live?
Every card on this list sold during a Pristine LIVE! sports card auction — our daily live bidding platform running from 1pm to 2am EST. Every auction starts at $1 with no reserves, meaning any collector has a shot at the hobby's most coveted cards. In addition to our daily shows, Pristine LIVE! features specialty programming throughout the week including Pristine LIVE! Elite, NASCAR card shows, Pokémon shows, and mystery pack rips. Whether you're a vintage baseball collector, a modern wax enthusiast, or somewhere in between, Pristine LIVE! has a show for you.
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