Video games, trading cards, sports, animation art, Americana and numismatics all contributed to Heritage’s strongest mid-year result.
By Intelligent Collector Staff | July 8, 2026
Heritage Auctions reported more than $1.41 billion in total sales through June 30, the highest mid-year total in company history and a nearly 47% increase over the same point in 2025.
The first-half results show how widely the collecting market has expanded. Video games produced one of the year’s defining moments when Super Mario Bros. – PSA 9.6 A++ Sealed [Gloss Sticker, Second Production], with Control Deck realized $3 million, establishing a new world record for a video game sold at auction.
Trading card games also reached new heights. A complete Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set Complete Set of 102 PSA Trading Card Game Gem Mint 10 sold for $1.218 million, setting a public auction record for the set and reinforcing global demand for the hobby’s rarest modern material.
Beyond popular culture, Heritage set major benchmarks in history, sports and numismatics. The Hsuan-t’ung silver Specimen Pattern Short-Whiskered Dragon Dollar Year 3 (1911) SP64+ PCGS realized $4.88 million, becoming the most valuable world coin ever sold by Heritage. Animation art also continued its rise when a Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas production cel set a world-record result for Grinch artwork.
For sellers, the broader takeaway is that Heritage can be the best place to sell collectibles across categories when an object has rarity, cultural relevance and a story collectors understand. The first-half results do not point to a single hot category; they show a platform capable of supporting record outcomes in video games, cards, coins, animation, sports, art and Americana at the same time.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (July 8, 2026).