A Jackie Robinson card graded 1 out of 10 just sold for $1.86 million. The biggest card show in history opened its doors in Chicago. And a soccer ball with a $10 million estimate is sitting in a display case next to the nacho line.

The National is in full swing through Sunday, Mega Rayquaza is taking over Pokémon's release calendar, and auction records keep falling like it's a competition.

This week:

⚾ A signed Jackie Robinson rookie sells for a record $1.86 million
🏟️ The biggest National ever is underway in Chicago
💰 The 10 most expensive things ever sold at auction (from Collectibles.com)
🐉 Mega Rayquaza takes over the Pokémon calendar
🔥 Heatseekers: Top upcoming releases

Let’s get into it.

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Last week we told you a signed 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie was closing in on $1 million. It didn't stop there.

The card sold for $1.86 million at the Fanatics Collect Premier Auction, nearly doubling where bidding stood in the final hours. It's now the most expensive Jackie Robinson card ever sold and the most expensive signed vintage sports card in history.

The records it broke, in order: The previous mark for any Robinson card ($960,000 for a 1952 Topps back in May 2021), the previous record for a signed Robinson rookie ($588,000), and the signed-vintage crown held by a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth that sold for $1.464 million in February.

Here's the part that should make every collector look twice: The card itself is graded PSA 1. Poor condition. What buyers were paying for was the autograph: a PSA/DNA 8, one of only five signed copies of this card ever authenticated. Robinson passed away in 1972, and getting cards signed was considered "ruining" them during his playing days.

Condition: 1. Rarity and provenance: off the charts. The market has spoken about which matters more.

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The 46th National Sports Collectors Convention opened Wednesday in Rosemont, and it's officially the largest in the show's 46-year history: 500,000+ square feet, 600+ dealers, and a new International Pavilion bringing soccer and F1 dealers from the UK, Europe, and Asia to the floor for the first time.

The showstoppers this year are absurd:

The show runs through Sunday. If you're walking the floor this weekend, reply and tell us what you find.

Collectibles.com just published a field guide to the record-holder in every major auction category: the most expensive painting, gemstone, car, coin, stamp, manuscript, sculpture, and instrument ever sold.

At the top: Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi." Two art dealers found it at a New Orleans estate auction in 2005, heavily overpainted, and bought it on a hunch for $1,175. Twelve years and one reattribution later, it sold at Christie's for $450.3 million, still the most expensive artwork of any kind ever sold at auction.

Other record-holders from the list:

The full list also includes a $9.48 million postage stamp, an $11.3 million Stradivarius, a $71.2 million pink diamond, and the framework connecting them all: rarity, condition, provenance, and demand.

The full breakdown is worth the read.

The sky dragon is everywhere right now.

Storm Emeralda releases in Japan, headlined by Mega Rayquaza ex. The chase card is a special illustration rare drawn by Kazuki Minami, winner of the 2024 Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest, and only the second card Minami has ever illustrated. Early pack openings are already flooding social media.

On Wednesday, Ruler of the Skies launched in Pokémon TCG Pocket with 233 cards, including 78 secret rares, bringing Mega Rayquaza ex to the mobile game alongside Mega Metagross ex and Mega Gallade ex.

And English-language collectors got their date: Delta Reign, the Western version of Storm Emeralda, lands November 6. Rayquaza has historically been one of the strongest-performing characters in the entire Pokémon market. Expect the singles to move fast.

The world of collectibles is wide and deep, and there's a constant stream of new releases. Here are some of the big ones that are coming up:

A PSA 1 card selling for $1.86 million. A soccer ball estimated at $10 million. A painting that went from $1,175 to $450 million. On paper, none of these numbers should make sense.

But they all follow the same math. The Robinson card is one of five signed copies in existence. The Maradona ball was on the field for the two most famous goals ever scored. The da Vinci is the last of its kind in private hands. Rarity, provenance, and story. Condition optional, apparently.

That's what makes a week like this one fun. Whether the record-breaker is a beat-up baseball card or a Renaissance painting, the forces driving the price are identical. And this weekend, half the hobby is walking the floor in Rosemont hunting for the next one.

See you next week!