As a hobbyist or collector, what was the most you ever paid for anything you were interested in buying?

Question

What was the item stamp, coin, painting, etc...?

Honus Wagner Baseball Card Sold for $2.35M
'Holy Grail of Baseball Cards' Bought by Collector
By ANDREW GLAZER
AP Sports
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 26) - The "Holy Grail of baseball cards," the famous 1909 Honus Wagner tobacco card once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, has sold for a record-setting $2.35 million, the seller of the card said Monday.

The buyer has only been identified as a Southern California collector.

There are about 60 of the tobacco cards in existence featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, one of the first five players to be inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

The seller Brian Seigel in 2000 paid a then-record $1,265,000 for the prize card, which is in better condition than the rest.

"This particular one was preserved in spectacular condition," said Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator of Newport Beach - the company that certified the authenticity of the card. "It's the Holy Grail of baseball cards."

Still, the Wagner cards are so rare that even those in much worse condition will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, Seigel said.

The others "you could stick in middle of the street and let cars drive over it through the day, take it in your hand and crumple it up, and it still would be a $100,000 card," said Seigel, CEO of Emerald Capital LLC, an asset management company, who lives in Las Vegas.

The tobacco cards used to be included in packs of cigarettes. Collectors believe Wagner's cards are so rare because he stopped allowing a cigarette company to use his image, fearing it would encourage children to smoke.

Nicknamed the "Flying Dutchman," Wagner was the National League batting champion in eight of his 21 seasons and finished his career with a lifetime .329 average. He retired in 1917 with more hits, runs, RBI, doubles, triples steals than any National League player.

Answer 1

Personally, I am not a collector but my hubby is and has a baseball card collection. He has been looking for a baseball card with Mel Ott. He knows it's out there because he has seen it before.
I would love to be able to find it for him but I just don't know how to go about it.
I have heard about Honus Wagner and read of his ability to hit the ball so well in what was called the "dead ball era". He must have been one he.. of a player! Not that I would pay that price for his card though!

Answer 2

Well,it has nothing to do with me myself, but my calculus teacher- a huge historian buff- once bought an original copy of the first calculus text book ever written, Analyse des Infiniment Petits (it's french, I believe).

Didn't say hw much, since he didn't want any students stealing it, of course, but I'd imagine it would be for a fairly high price since the book was in pristine condition.

Answer 3

boxing gloves worn by rocky balboa 42,000