The earliest sports cards were promotional materials usually included with tobacco products and candy and often bearing an advertisement on the reverse.
The first sports card to sell for one million dollars was a T206 Honus Wagner which went for $1,265,000 at auction in 2000 (equivalent to $2,238,133 in 2023).
[1] As of May 2020[update], the industry brings in over one billion dollars annually for manufacturers and retailers.
[3][4] This list of items as of August 20, 2021[update] is ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value (in bold) in millions of United States dollars in 2023.
Cards are evaluated by third-party services, most often Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Sportscard Guaranty (SGC), and given a grade on a ten-point scale based on condition.