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Fake sealed iPhones, Top Shot's future & more
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🏀 NBA Top Shot’s uncertain future
NBA Top Shot settled a class action lawsuit this week, agreeing to a settlement of $4 million after years of legal battles. While parent company Dapper Labs frames the result as a victory for the NFT platform, it is coming off its lowest sales month since December 2020, and many question whether the company is headed in the right direction. We investigate the past, present and future of the once-promising business.
📱 Despite record sales, sealed iPhone market rife with fakes
Sealed iPhones have become one of the hottest emerging collectibles on the market, generating significant buzz, thanks to major sales like the $190,373 record in July 2023. But as our Will Stern reports, a cllct investigation uncovered multiple instances of auction houses and sellers fooled by resealed iPhones that garnered massive sums.
The rise of the sealed iPhone as a collectible has been one of the splashiest trends in collecting over the past few years, thanks to multiple six-figure sales and mainstream media coverage.
It also has been one of the most controversial, in large part due to the opaque nature of guaranteeing authenticity. Buyers have generally taken the word of auction houses the product is as advertised, sealed as it came from the factory.
But, as cllct has uncovered, multiple sales involved iPhones that were likely resealed and made to look brand new, fooling auction houses that failed to verify easy points of reference before placing items up for bid.
🏀 Caitlin Clark’s card market rebounds
Despite a slow start to her WNBA career and weeks of negative price movement, Caitlin Clark cards have started to recover.
💰️ Auction preview
🏀 Jordan prototypes make auction debut
Possibly the earliest pair of Air Jordans ever sold publicly, the 1984 prototypes have already reached over $165,000 with three days left.
🌎️ FDR, Churchill and Stalin autographs
The “Big Three” signed a presidential card during the Tehran conference in 1943. Last sold for $27,500 in 2010, it now holds an estimate of $60,000 and up.
🎸 Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” guitar to sell at Bonham’s
This guitar was used by Eric Clapton to compose multiple songs, including “Wonderful Tonight,” throughout the late 1970s. He became so attached to it he called it “[his] best friend at the time.” Estimate: $380,000 to $510,000.
⚾️ Orel Hershiser opens memorabilia gallery
Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser is putting parts of his personal collection on display at his new sports memorabilia gallery and store Legends’ Attic.
The pitcher’s massive collection includes his World Series Trophy and World Series MVP Award, as well as cards he acquired based on life events, such as the Cy Young card he purchased after winning the award in 1988.
🗓️ D-Day anniversary: 'Into the Jaws of Death' remains among greatest wartime photos
“Into the Jaws of Death” is an iconic photo of a group of young American soldiers, whose odds of dying that day in France were among the most likely of any battle in United States history.
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