The Attic Update Vol. 4 - Where's Dmitri, Fear and Greed, and VC Star Power
Beyond Alternative Assets
Thanks for reading the Attic Update, a weekly look at the exciting world of collecting, investing, and alternative assets.
The Attic Update is broken down into three sections. Past, Present, and Future. Each week, I will deliver:
PAST - Interesting ideas about the history of collecting, investing, and markets.
PRESENT - Ten of the most relevant stories over the last week in collecting and investing in alternative assets.
FUTURE - Where are we headed? We will look at what’s next for alternative assets and the people working hard to make visions into reality.
Let’s begin!
PAST
What Happened to the Dmitri Young Collection?
I can remember when someone told me Dmitri Young was building one of the greatest baseball card collections in the world. This was way back in the day.
I thought, “Dmitri Young is a major leaguer for the Cincinnati Reds, what’s he doing collecting baseball cards?”
Long story short, Dimitri Young collected baseball cards when he was a kid, and once he became a professional ballplayer, his childhood hobby found him again.
In 2000, Young and his teammate Danny Graves were asked to appear at a card show. Rather than accept the $2,000 appearance fee, Dimitri asked for a Pete Rose rookie card instead.
One thing led to another, and Dmitri teamed up with Dave Bailey, a well-known memorabilia collector. The duo amassed one of the largest collections of rookie baseball cards in the world - all PSA 10 Gem Mint rated.
Dmitri sold the entire collection in 2012 for $2.4 million. He used the proceeds from the sale to start the Dmitri D. Young Foundation in Ventura County, California.
What would the Dmitri Young collection be worth today? Depends on what day. Each new day would bring a new and insane value for his collection - if he still owned it.
For example, the 1955 Roberto Clemente card in the above picture is still the only Gem Mint PSA 10 card in the world. Dmitri sold the card as part of the auction in 2012 for $432,000. Just a few months ago, one of the eleven PSA 9 Clemente cards sold for $1,107,000. Can you imagine what the PSA 10 Clemente is worth today??
The quality of the Dmitri Young collection is astounding. Historically epic baseball rookie cards in the absolute finest condition.
Looking back, 2012 was not the best time to auction off an entire collection of the greatest rookie cards in existence, but that’s what makes collecting so much fun. Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.
Check this out - at the 7-minute mark of the video below, Dmitri Young @DaMeathookYoung discusses his amazing collection. I cannot believe how this video only has 800 views. It should have 8 million. It’s the legend himself talking about building one of the greatest collections on earth. Respect, Mr. Young.
PRESENT
Video Games, Fear & Greed, Banksy Strikes Again -
Here’s the ‘Attic Top 10’ - a list of ideas across alternative assets to provoke deeper thought, investigation, curiosity, and fun!
Fractional Ownership - $2 million buyout offer for sealed Super Mario Bros. video game accepted by Rally shareholders. That’s more than a 900% return in less than a year.
Memorabilia & Collectibles - Basketball ticket stub from Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game sells for $87,000 at Goldin Auctions.
Sports Cards - Get a recap of this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention from the Sports Cards Nonsense Podcast.
Rare Books - Check out the Top 10 trending comics of the week with Comic Tom 101. Do you love comics? You need to check out Comic Tom; this guy is brilliant.
Crypto & NFTs - OpenSea, the marketplace for NFTs, sees record daily trading volume, up over 300% MoM, just weeks after raising $100 million in Series B funding from A16Z and Ashton Kutcher. Yes, One-Hundred-Million Series B.
Watches - The secondary market for 2021 Rolex models is soaring. Flipping new Rolex watches bringing in 60% - 90% returns! Dealers say the frenzy has reached a “fever pitch.”
Wine & Whiskey - Liv-ex price updates - Burgundy 150 Index up 8% in 2021, followed by the Rhone 100 Index (+6%), the Rest of the World 60 (+6%), and the Champagne 50 (+5.5%). Read the global fine wine market report by Richard Woodard.
Markets & Investing - Equity markets are at all-time highs, yet the Fear & Greed Index says “Fear,” - WTF?
Collector Cars - The Hagerty classic car Market Rating hits its highest level since May 2017. Used car values are soaring, private sales are soaring. Four-month win streak for the Hagerty Index.
Art - Possible Banksy street art appears in a coastal town east of England; the anonymous artist has yet to comment on the authenticity. Keep an eye on the Banksy Instagram for clues.
Featured Pod - Collecting Cars Podcast with Chris Harris
Chris Harris from TopGear has a great Podcast discussing some recent collector car sales. Chris is the freaking man, check him out at @harrismonkey
Fear & Greed - Learn more about the 7 components behind the ‘Fear & Greed Index’
FUTURE
Own a Lunar Meteorite, VC Celeb Star Power
Not sure about you, but I’ve always wanted to own my own meteorite. It’s estimated that nearly 500 meteorites reach the earth's surface each year, but less than 10 are recovered. Coming soon to Rally, it’s your chance to own a piece of a $350,000 lunar meteorite.
MakersPlace, an NFT market announces a Series A funding round of $30 million. Not only that, but the list of investors is impressive. They include Pantera Capital, the venture arm of Coinbase, Sony Music, Sotheby’s CEO Bill Ruprecht, Larry Fitzgerald, and Eminem. Major VC muscle and celebrity star power gathered on this one!
BONUS
Quote from the legends -
“My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil.” - J.P. Getty
Tweet of the Week -
This was a fascinating Twitter thread on one of the most famous investors in Japan, Hiroto Kiritani.
Kiritani is not your average wealthy investor but a frugal professional chess player who just happens to invest in Japanese stocks that award shareholders with coupons and vouchers. He’s lived off his shareholder perks, called “kabunushi yutai” in Japanese, for over 36 years.
Want to go down the rabbit hole of the seldom-discussed world of ‘shareholder perks to encourage long-term ownership?’ check out this killer Thread by @DividendGrowth
A Question for You -
What new categories would you like to see more discussion about each week? Solar power plant dividends? Garbage Pail Kids? Civil War Muskets?? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading!