Auction houses

Heritage Auctions, the world’s third-largest auction house for Pokémon and comics

If the scope is broadened to include all collectables, the US firm takes the bronze medal behind Christie’s and Sotheby’s

by Teresa Scarale

16 July 2026

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3' min read

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Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In the year of its fiftieth anniversary, Heritage Auctions recorded total sales in excess of 1.41 billion dollars as at 30 June 2026: this is the highest half-yearly figure in the company’s history (+47 per cent compared with the same period in 2025). Thanks to its (almost) exclusive focus on pop culture and non-fine-art collectables, the US auction house – founded in Dallas in 1976 – has joined the elite ranks of its 18th-century ‘cousins’ Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips (founded in 1744, 1766 and 1796 respectively).

Luke Skywalker

From the oldest sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. and the rarest Pokémon cards, to works by the illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894–1978), to artefacts from the American War of Independence, as well as numismatic rarities, Heritage continues to break records and cater to the evolving tastes of collectors. Its success “bears witness not only to the strength of the current market, but also to the extraordinary variety of interests among today’s collectors,” says Steve Ivy, CEO and co-chairman of Heritage.

Pokémon and Star Wars

Cards, sports memorabilia and video games with a retrofuturistic feel are, more than ever, the gateway to a new generation of collecting. Just think of the Pokémon craze: Pikachu and his friends can fetch millions of dollars even as single cards, provided they are graded at the highest levels by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) (Pikachu Illustrator PSA Mint 9, $1.406 million; complete set of the Pokémon Base Set, PSA Gem Mint 10, $1.219 million – a new public auction record for this type).

The auctions held to mark Star Wars Day raised more than 3.6 million dollars. The top lot was a ‘rookie’ card of Luke Skywalker graded PSA Gem Mint 10 (selling for $687,500 online on ‘May the 4th’, needless to say). In sports collecting, a rookie card is the first official collectable card printed featuring an athlete in their first professional season. This Luke Skywalker rookie card sets a new all-time record for cards from the saga.

The Golden Age of Comics

Comic books have once again proved to be one of Heritage’s key strengths. Forging an intriguing alliance between superheroes, the company hosted a private sale of two first issues: one of Batman and one of Superman, for 13 million dollars. A copy of Action Comics No. 1 also set the world record for a comic book graded ‘Conserved’ ($1.4 million). Excellent results were also achieved for original art, ranging from the Golden Age (1938 – early 1950s) to the present day.

Grinch

Not Disney and not anime

The ‘Art of Everything Cool Auction’ was the highest-grossing non-Disney, non-Japanese animation auction ever, thanks largely to the Dr Seuss lot ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’ (US$115,900, a record). On the fantasy front, part of a book collection (J.R.R. Tolkien’s *The Hobbit* , a set of first editions of *The Lord of the Rings* and *I, Robot* by Isaac Asimov, from the ‘David Aronovitz Collection of Important Science Fiction and Fantasy’) fetched the seller $3.35 million.

Consolidating our leadership in sports memorabilia

Heritage’s sports memorabilia division contributed to the company’s strong half-year results, with the ‘Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction’ raising over 38.6 million dollars. The star lot was the historic and legendary (in the US market, given its baseball theme) T206 Honus Wagner card, known as the “Garagiola Wagner”, dating from 1909 and sold for $3.6 million. Other standout lots included the first ‘one-of-one’ Michael Jordan Masterpiece card from the Ultra series (1997; $2.1 million); and a card featuring jersey fragments and autographs from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant ($869,250). The yellow boots worn and autographed by Hulk Hogan fetched just over $1 million, setting the record for a wrestling memorabilia item.

Numismatics, and more

Batman 1. by Heritage Auctions

The numismatic division’s performance was spectacular: $89,817,041 was taken in during the month of January 2026 alone. Notable items included: a Class III Draped Bust dollar from 1804 ($3.5 million), an extremely rare Chinese ‘Short-whiskered Dragon’ coin from 1911 ($4.88 million), an 1879 Coiled Hair Stella (2.1 million dollars) and a Victorian-era ‘Una and the Lion’ five-pound coin (915,000 dollars). At the auction marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, a silver Continental Dollar from 1776 stood out (US$1.31 million).

There’s a touch of luxury too: one item worth noting is a Kashmir sapphire ($906,250). Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage: “One of the most interesting developments is that collectors no longer draw rigid boundaries between popular culture and traditional collecting categories.” As things stand, 2026 could be the sixth consecutive record-breaking year, the best year ever for Heritage Auctions: in 2025, sales totalled $2.15 billion.