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Kobe/LeBron Topps Gold Refractor sets record in PWCC Premier Auction
A 2008 Topps Chrome Gold Refractor Kobe Bryant/LeBron James card sold for a record $312,000 in PWCC Marketplace's November Premier Auction.
The card, which features LeBron guarding Kobe, was found by a collector in a shoebox among other cards from the 2000s. When he presented it to PWCC at The National in Chicago in July, the company suggested he have it graded immediately.
It came back a PSA 10. Numbered 46/50, it was recently featured on PSA’s website and is one of only six on the PSA pop report.
“This is an absolute grail,” said Justin Wickizer, the partnership manager at PWCC. “This is a true masterpiece.”
The card features the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron guarding Kobe, the former Lakers star and Hall of Famer who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
The fact that the valuable card was found in a shoebox among other Topps Chrome insert cards only adds to its mystique.
“This is one of those stories about grandpa’s attic that actually came to life,” Wickizer said.
The card was one of 274 in the multi-sport auction, which generated more than $12 million in sales.
Other top-selling cards in the auction included:
• A 2000 Upper Deck Game Jerseys 2 Kobe Bryant Patch Auto #8/8 BGS 9 Mint that sold for a card record $288,000.
• A 2020 National Treasures Justin Herbert Rookie Patch Auto DNA 10 /99 #158 PSA 10 sold for $240,000, the second-highest amount ever paid for a Herbert card and the highest price for a Herbert card not numbered 1-of-1.
• A 1999 Pokemon English Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Booster Box for an all-time record $432,000, the highest price ever paid for a sealed box of Pokémon cards.
