The hunt for rare sports trading cards can feel like a search for buried treasure. There are “chases” and “bounties” and card values that rise and fall like waves. So it makes perfect sense that, at the heart of one of the pastime’s most-hyped pursuits, is a lanky, towering and mustachioed (Pittsburgh) Pirate.
The card in question is singular in nature. Produced by Topps, it features Paul Skenes, a 22-year-old pitcher whose remarkable rise led him from being drafted out of Louisiana State University to being a major league superstar in a span of 10 months. The rookie card is autographed, but what makes it unique is that it includes the “MLB Debut” patch from the uniform he wore in his first major league game.
The card is the most sought-after type in collecting — a so-called one-of-one, with no possibility of being replicated — and it could fetch more than $1 million at auction.
But first, someone has to find it.
Released on Nov. 13, the card is hidden inside a rippable foil pack of Topps cards. It could be tucked on a shelf at a card shop in Kansas City, sitting in the fumbling hands of an excited teenager in London, or wrapped-up under a Christmas tree in Chicago.
“I’ve had more people asking me about this card specifically, and cards in general, than I have had in my entire life,” said Chad Weldon, chief executive of Sports Card Junction, a trading shop north of Pittsburgh that his family has operated for 29 years.
