On July 12, a copy of the Nintendo 64 classic "Super Mario 64" sold at auction for a whopping $1.56 million, instantly making it the most expensive video game on the planet.
Less than a month later, it was bested by a previous entry in the same series: a sealed copy of "Super Mario Bros." for the original Nintendo Entertainment System that sold for $2 million.
On July 12, a copy of the Nintendo 64 classic "Super Mario 64" sold at auction for a whopping $1.56 million, instantly making it the most expensive video game on the planet.
Less than a month later, it was bested by a previous entry in the same series: a sealed copy of "Super Mario Bros." for the original Nintendo Entertainment System that sold for $2 million.
Trading cards were historically the province of sports obsessives who could quote statistics of baseball legends like Carl Yastrzemski or Cal Ripken, Jr.
But the days of Major League Baseball having a monopoly on those little pieces of cardboard are long past. Indeed, in the 21st century, National Basketball Association and National Football League stars (with a little help from savvy card companies) have turned this once-innocent hobby into a multibillion-dollar asset class. Card conventions attract thousands, valuations for the rarest cards can hit seven figures and some financial firms have popped up to offer fractional investing.
So how did this most American of pastimes go so Wall Street?
Let’s be honest, it’s hard enough to get your hands on a convention exclusive, a hot new Funko Pop!, or a retailer-exclusive Star Wars The Black Series figure — The idea of owning something as rare (and expensive) as a copy of “Fantastic Four No. 1” or the legendary Alpha Black Lotus Magic: The Gathering card is almost laughable. But a company called Mythic Markets has created a new way for fans to own the one-in-a-million, nerdy collector’s items that sell for a small fortune… or, rather, to own part of them.
Mythic Markets offers fans shares in these valuable items, and those shares are available to buy, sell, and trade on the Mythic Markets platform. Usually, the items are broken down into about 1,000-2,000 shares, which makes the price far more accessible. Few people can invest $50,000 in an A-grade Metroid cartridge, but how about $25 to own a share of it? And, as in any stock market, you may be able to sell that share at a higher price if the value of the cartridge goes up. (Mythic Markets determines the value of its stock via peer-to-peer bid and ask activity.)
