Sports memorabilia is somewhat of a lost art, especially card collecting. The sports cards business was a billion-dollar industry in the 90s before it completely collapsed. Long gone are the days when you could go into a shop, pick out a mouthwatering sealed box of Topps cards and ravenously tear through it with your pals, hoping to pull a rookie card or a jersey swatch.
Steve Aoki is now reviving the art with a retail shop called “Cards and Coffee.” The store on Hollywood Boulevard will buy and sell rare sports memorabilia, Pokémon cards, and modern art. Aoki’s newly minted enterprise, which he founded alongside Dan Fleyshman and DJ Skee, boasts a collection that the trio values at $2 million. Check out the announcement below.
Among other rare items, The Coffee Breakers have 77 Kevin Durant rookie cards, all graded at a PSA 9 or 10. For those of you who aren’t familiar with sports card collecting—not only is a Durant rookie card extremely valuable as a standalone piece, but keeping it in mint condition from his rookie year in 2007 is a nearly impossible feat. The card has to be sealed in a case like this, or else it will surely get damaged due to wear and tear. If there is even a microscopic scratch or one corner is dented, it is essentially worth nothing. However, a Durant rookie in mint condition can fetch anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000.
To stay in the loop with “Cards and Coffee,” you can text 323-310-1351 for information about free giveaways and industry news and follow the shop on Instagram here.
