Sports trade cards may seem like a foolish hobby for some, but for those who know what they are looking for, it will be a life -changing industry.
And that was exactly what happened to Aaron Morgan after he had packed a rare Lamine Yamal 2023/24 tops Chrome UCC Superfractor.
Aaron, from Melbourne, Australia, had booked herself a £ 147 ($ 300 Australian dollars) for a tops Chrome Box Break with Trident Collectables.
But the 35-year-old electrician, who has always been a sharp card collector after he started with Pokemon cards, finally dedicated a huge Yamal TOPPS card.
The map was assessed as a gemst stone mint 10 by the Professional Sports Authenticator before he went to sale with Godlin Auctions.
Aaron actually missed the opening of the map because he slept because of the time difference, but said he was flooded with messages when he woke up.
Exclusively speaking to Sunsport, he said: “And I didn't really see it live, I slept in bed.
“Yes, well, my first thought when I woke up with all the messages, I had something like that, I don't know, they didn't really tell me what the card was.
“So I had to go back and look.
“And then I saw the card and I had something like that, ok, that's a pretty expensive card, but I had no idea what it would be worth.”
Aaron admitted that he expected the card to sell for just under £ 10,000 ($ 20,000 AUD).
He then revealed that he set off offers of £ 12,000 ($ 25,000) and £ 32,000 ($ 65,000) before he brought the card to the auction.
And that jump of faith was rewarded because the offer of the card was after just a few days to nearly £ 50,000 ($ 100,000 Aud).
The winning bid saw the card selling for a stunning £ 80,000 ($ 103,000 USD – $ 163,000 Aud).
Aaron's wife had actually attracted more interest in the cards, despite the fact that it was originally not thinking much of the hobby.
Aaron said on her reaction: “Well, she doesn't think it's a foolish little hobby now. So that's pretty good.
“She was packed, she was like having a joke? And then she looked at the auction and she had arrived to tell me that there was still an offer and I didn't even look at it.”
Aaron revealed that his previous record for selling sports trade cards was a relatively modest £ 5,000 ($ 10,000 AUD) in a triple order of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
On his plans for the money, Aaron said: “No, I haven't spent any money yet, (I will) probably buy more tickets more.
“But no, I and my partner are currently looking for a house. So it's going a long way and we can probably get an extra bedroom in the house.
“It should be nice because real estate is at the moment quite expensive in Australia.”
The sports trade card industry is located in the middle of a huge increase in growth.
In 2023 it was estimated that the industry was worth around £ 34 billion and would grow to around £ 78 billion by 2027.
Aaron added: “Well, I'm glad I started gathering now, it's great for the hobby. You can see the excitement and it's not just one age, one gender, one all, anyone can collect these cards.
“In the US they are like $ 30. So you can just go to a store that sells tickets, buy a box for $ 30 and then you can change your life, and it's just fun.”
In addition to football and Pokemon maps, Aaron is also a sharp collector of cards of baseball, basketball and Formula 1, who reveals that he thinks he has more than 5,000 cards in his collection at home.
On cards that he monitors, he said: “So I gathered a lot of baseball rookies.
“Many Wembys (Victor Wembanyama). So I am about it that they have a great career …
“I have bought a lot of Jason Dominguez at the moment.
“He was a rookie last year, so I hope that when the baseball season starts, he will have a good year because I think he is a fairly good player.
“I also still collect Lamine Yamal -smokies.
“They are not as crazy as the one I have sold, but I have a nice image variation from Topps Merlin product that is numbered up to 25 and I sent it to PSA and it got a gemst stone mint 10.”
Deputy from cards, Aaron and his wife also like to collect F1 -Memorabilia, where his wife is a big fan of George Russell -even buy a signed photo and VIP -helmet with a written message from the Mercedes driver who was published in Silverstone.
While Aaron and his wife keep the Yamal money aside for their future house, they will attend the season opening F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Aaron also revealed that he will be present at Collectfest, a festival for all the collective objects, which takes place in the summer, which expects no fewer than 10,000 fans to appear.
London has its own version of Collectfest, the London Card Show, which takes place at Sandown Racecourse in Surrey.
Tickets from different series, including Yu-Gi-Oh! And magic: the meeting can also be sold for incredible amounts.
A rare Jackie Robinson -smokie card stands in line for more than £ 310,000 next week after reaching the auction.
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