One of the most famous quotes penned by Charles Dickens was the opening to his novel A Tale of Two Cities that begins with, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This lament captures the magic of the antiques and collectibles trade quite eloquently in my humble opinion. Some markets in the trade are doing great, while others are struggling and the only constant is change. Right now, one of the hottest markets in the trade is the market for trading cards. Thanks to the advent of third-party grading and online social media influencers promoting the investment potential of these relics, demand for certain cards is at an all-time high. On the opposite end of the spectrum, vintage comic books that were once seen as a sure-fire investment are struggling to break free of a bear market that sent prices tumbling by about 20 percent across the board. You can make a strong argument that some of the money coming into the trading card market was once chasing after vintage comic books. That said, volatility is the name of the game, and when we look at the top five percent of any collecting category, things arent always as they seem. There is a lot of risk in these markets. Case in point, on Oct. 24, Heritage Auctions auctioned off a 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth trading card that was graded by SGC in 3 condition. There are believed to be less than 15 of these cards in existence, and back in December of 2023 this same card crossed the auction block courtesy of REA Auctions where it sold for a staggering sum of $7.2 million. Unfortunately, as is the case with items like this, only a handful of hardcore collectors can afford to shell out millions for one single item, and when the dust finally settled at Heritage Auctions, disappointment was in the air. The card hammered $4,026,000, representing a more than $3 million loss from when it sold roughly two years ago. Now you may be asking what went wrong, and I am happy to give my analysis. First, back in December of 2023, REA Auctions promoted this card extensively. Pretty much every high-end collector of sports cards knew the card was coming up for bid. Second, the importance of this card is somewhat questionable. This is a 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth card. It is not his rookie card, nor from when he played in the major leagues. Lastly, the card was graded by SGC and not the current gold standard of third-party grading, PSA. Other contributing factors that also played a role in this card losing more than $3 million at auction was the fact that Heritage Auctions did not appear to promote the card as extensively as REA Auctions did. Compounding all of this was the fact that the consignor chose to sell less than two short years after paying a record sum. An item like this, especially when buying at full market price through auction, is a long-term investment. Two years is not enough time to see a return on investment for an item like this. Still, you cannot judge the high end of the market based solely on one sale. Trading cards of all types are in a lot of demand right now, and outside of this one sale the market is booming. But wait, theres more, said my favorite late infomercial from the 1990s! On Nov. 20, Heritage Auctions auctioned a copy of Superman #1 graded by CGC in 9.0 condition. This is by far one of the highest graded copies of this comic book to ever come across the auction block. It should also be noted that Superman #1 is not the Man of Steels first appearance. That honor belongs to Action Comics #1 which is a highly sought-after book, and even low-grade coverless copies, when found, can be seen selling for half a million dollars or more. Still, this copy of Superman #1 in CGC 9.0 did have a lot of hype behind it, and Heritage Auctions, along with the grading company CGC, did a lot to promote this book. Well, lo and behold, the hype machine worked because this book sold for a whopping $9,120,000, making it the most expensive comic book ever sold! Personally, I think the buyer may have overpaid for this particular book, as again, this isnt even Supermans first appearance, but the market is going to do what the market is going to do regardless of what I or anyone thinks. Still, as soon as this book sold, certain comic book enthusiasts proudly declared that vintage comic books are back. Again, I must repeat that one sale does not a market make, but here we are. The lesson that we can all learn from this is that there are no guarantees in any of these markets. Just because one market (in this case trading cards) is going gangbusters at present time, does not mean that every item (no matter how rare or scarce) in that market will sell for a premium. On the flip side, just because the vintage comic book market is in correction territory at present time also does not mean that a high profile item cannot sell for a record-breaking sum. In conclusion, it would seem that speculators and investors like to look at record-breaking sales to justify their purchases in these markets. Unfortunately, this is a fools game. Unless it was your item that sold for that record-breaking price, these sales are almost meaningless over the long term. Do I think Superman #1 CGC 9.0 is worth $9,120,000? No, but someone obviously did. I also dont think the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth card in SGC 3 should have originally sold for anywhere near $7 million, but I dont speak for the buyers. I speak for the collectors who are trying to analyze these crazy markets. That said, even if I had the kind of money needed to play in this high-end pool, I would not be willing to risk millions of dollars to find out, so do with that information what you will. There will always be a record-breaking sale in every market, but unless you either bought or sold that record-breaking item in question, it matters very little. This is why the antiques and collectibles trade are simultaneously always the best of times and the worst of times. Until we meet again. Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.