King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

[suspenseful music playing]
[security device beeps]
[security device beeping]
I think it is, dude. It's definitely…
-No way.
-We gotta see this.
[dramatic music playing]
[man] There it is.
[woman] span style="style2"That is Ken Goldin.
And that piece of paper in his hands
is worth enough to buy you a jet.
Maybe two.
That contract sent Babe Ruth from the
Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees,
inflicting an 86-year curse on Beantown.
And when it goes to auction,
it could fetch as much as $15 million.
Money's gonna come ♪
You just focus on your great news… ♪
I'm motivated by three things.
Competition, ego, and money.
Goldin Auctions is the world's
largest collectible marketplace.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ken] We find the greatest collectibles
in the world
and we sell them on our platform
for our consignors.
Somebody in Japan,
Australia, the United States,
they can all be bidding against each other
for a rare collectible.
Last month alone,
you did a little over $40 million.
-Correct. [laughs]
-Which is insanity.
-Show me why you're worth half a billion.
-[laughs]
If I had a collection,
this would be the crown jewel.
What about rock, paper, scissor for it?
-Yeah.
-Yes!
Ken is the most intense person
I've ever met in my entire life.
[both] Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.
-[laughs]
-Ooh.
-What do you think all this is worth?
-Five million dollars or more.
-So let's go.
span style="style2"-Yeah.
-How do you know all this?
-Been doing it since I was 10.
They call him the Hobby Godfather.
That's not by accident.
-I'm with, like, Don Corleone.
-[both laugh]
When I started Goldin in 2012,
I needed a top-tier team.
-Let's make some money.
-Okay.
From consigning to selling to marketing,
we know how to close a deal.
Are you ready to start selling?
We have a multimillion-dollar item.
One of the craziest items
we've ever had here at Goldin.
Make sure you get your bids in.
[man] Looking forward to seeing
what he's got.
-Thanks for having us.
-Can't wait.
What really gets me excited the most
is the chase.
There it is.
-Seeing it in person.
-[man] Amazing.
Hidden treasure exists out there
that you couldn't possibly imagine.
I flew you guys down here in person
because the offer's $750,000.
[man] Ooh.
[Ken] Nothing makes me happier
than telling normal folks
that what they have in their hands
is going to change their life forever.
["Good Times Roll"
by Altitude Music playing]
-Let the good times roll ♪
-Let the good times roll ♪
Let the good times roll ♪
Let the good times roll ♪
Let the good times rollspan style="style1"… ♪
-What up, Dave? You're here early.
-[sighs] I got some big packages to open.
[Ken] Dave, he's my number two.
He manages the team
and runs all the auctions.
Dave is Goldin's rock.
[Dave] My role is to emulate
what Ken would do,
and think like Ken,
and then to be able to transfer that
to the team of sales reps.
I help build the auctions.
I help style the auctions.
I pretty much
do a little bit of everything here.
What you got?
-That is a 1988 Dodgers--
-[Myesha] That's a pendant.
Yeah, a World Series pendant.
We get a ton of packages every day
from potential sellers
who have contacted us.
When an item comes through on consignment,
we receive it,
it gets filed for inventory,
then we can put it into our auction.
Within a few weeks, you're paid,
we're paid, everybody's happy.
Oof.
1938 Pasadena Junior College yearbook,
signed three times by Jackie Robinson.
-What?
-[Dave] Yeah.
It's legit someone's yearbook from '38.
Pasadena was junior college,
but Jackie went to junior college there
and then went to UCLA.
-Varsity baseball. Look at him.
-[Myesha] There it is.
-He's like three years old. [laughs]
-Varsity basketball. [chuckles]
-And varsity football. That's nuts, right?
-And football? That's so sick.
Who's ever this was, was smart.
"Let's get Jackie to sign it three times."
-Right. All of them.
-[Dave] That's huge.
So what do we have,
like 60, 70 grand mail day this morning?
It's all right.
-First ten minutes, $70,000.
-Not bad.
-I gotta get like you, Dave.
-[Dave] You'll get there.
[hip-hop music playing]
If he says he wants $250 to reprint it,
give him $250 to reprint it. I don't care.
But we need that immediately. Thanks.
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na… ♪
Yo, Ken. Got the Jackie Robinson yearbook.
Cool. Very good.
[Dave] Yeah. Three Jackie signatures
from Pasadena College.
-[Ken] Beautiful signatures too.
-[Dave] Look at that. Amazing.
Jack Robinson. Before he was Jackie.
Let me show you
what I've gathered so far for the auction.
[Ken] Okay.
We are approaching the 75th anniversary
of Jackie Robinson
breaking the color barrier in 1947.
So we're putting together
an amazing Jackie Robinson auction.
This is his 1949 All-Star Game-used bat.
It's the only time he played
an All-Star Game at Ebbets Field
because it was in Brooklyn.
But what's so cool about this
is Jackie brought the bat home,
and he was so proud of it,
they built a special display case
in his house,
and there was an arm that extended here,
so the bat aged differently
in that little spot.
But this easily could be
a million-dollar bat.
This… This is my favorite item so far.
This is a 1969 handwritten letter.
It is signed on the back.
What's incredible is the content.
He talks about race relations.
He talks about six million Jews
dying in the Holocaust.
Over a hundred million slaves dying.
So it's, like, really powerful stuff
that, you know, sports guys don't say.
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier,
but it was still a period of segregation.
When he was a member
of the Brooklyn Dodgers,
he was their teammate,
but wasn't treated the same.
He had to stay in a different hotel.
He had to eat at different kitchens
when he was on the road.
Martin Luther King once said,
"Without him, I would never
have been able to do what I did."
All this is amazing,
but if we want
the best Jackie Robinson auction ever,
there's one thing missing.
-I've got it lined up.
-Okay.
It is a 1951 home game-used
Brooklyn Dodger jersey.
I expect it to break the record for
the most valuable sports item ever sold.
However, until a contract is signed
and it's in my hands, anything can happen.
It's a private seller.
He's using Scott as a broker.
-Our mutual friend.
-Oh God.
-How quickly can you get to New York?
-Tomorrow.
Call Scott.
See if you can get him tomorrow.
You need to promise me one thing.
You are not getting in that car
without the jersey.
-You got it.
-Okay. Thanks, Dave.
[funky music playing]
Oh, oh… ♪
Where are we? Did you put the, uh,
address into the navigation?
I got everything written down right there.
You say navigation. This ain't a boat.
-[laughing]
-[chuckles] What are you talking about?
[Ken] The Robbies. They are really
what I would call collectible warriors.
Ten, fifteen years
before I even started Goldin,
I knew about them
and about their business.
We've been in business over 30 years,
and we buy and sell memorabilia.
We look for items for Goldin Auctions.
We're like the bird dogs.
We scout the stuff
before we bring it to the man.
[Robbie Sr.] I'm happy we're
getting out here doing this.
I love to get out on the road
and see memorabilia.
This means so much to me,
when we get out together and do things,
and find stuff we haven't seen before.
Da, da, do, di, di,
Da, da, do… ♪
-That was a sweet statement you just made.
-Okay, what was that?
You really enjoy
doing these little road trips with me?
-Did I say that? [laughs]
-[laughing] Yeah.
We're on the way to Ed Gold's house,
and Ed has been collecting
for a lot of years.
The thing about guys like Ed Gold
that have been our customers for so long,
is the guy is constantly
adding top-notch memorabilia.
So when you go to the door,
you don't know what to expect.
-How long have you known Ed?
-I've known Ed… How old are you?
-I'm your son. You don't know--?
-[laughs] Not quite.
-You know when I was born?
-[Robbie Sr.] I've known Ed for a minute.
-How many times you been to his house?
-Um… I can't say I have.
You know,
he was, uh, trying to get a feel for me.
I said, "Ed,
I was selling vacuum cleaners two years
before electricity was invented."
They didn't even have electricity.
I was the top vacuum cleaner--
That might not be the line you want
when selling his memorabilia.
I think Ed is finally ready
to move on from some of this memorabilia.
-Gentlemen. How are you, bud?
-[Robbie Sr.] Eddie.
Let's not make any mistakes here.
We've known Ed for 30 years.
We've never looked at
any of the memorabilia.
Now we're in line with Goldin Auctions.
Ed knows what's up.
He knows what day it is.
He's having us over here for a reason.
[Ed] So, what do you think?
-Here's our home.
-Wow. So this is it.
-[Ed] This is it.
-[Robbie Jr.] This is Ed Gold's man cave.
I've waited too long to get in here.
I've been trying for years.
-What do you think? All my footballs.
-[Robbie Jr.] Wow.
[Robbie Jr.] Montana. Ray Ray.
Peyton Manning. Namath.
-[Robbie Sr.] Randy Moss.
-Man, you got some serious guys.
-[Robbie Sr.] Looking at the baseballs.
-[Ed] My pride and joy.
-[Robbie Jr.] All the 500 home run club?
-[Ed] Every one of them. All 27.
When I see baseballs like this,
it reminds me back in the day.
When I see something I really like
and I say those magic words,
-"You got me jingling, baby."
-All right.
-I don't want you to be jingling near me…
-[laughs]
…but I do want them baseballs.
-I jingle with the best of them.
-I bet you do.
[Ed] Let me show you something
that'll get you jingling.
-The Babe.
-[Robbie Sr.] Babe Ruth.
There it is.
[Robbie Jr.] Anybody in the world
will know who Babe Ruth is.
Hey, Ed, you called us over
to look at some things.
Just tell me right now,
is that one of the items
I'm gonna leave here with
and come back with money?
[heartfelt music playing]
I'm… I'm not… I have to think about it
'cause I'm emotionally tied,
but I did call you over for a reason.
-I… I've got one more thing.
-[Robbie Sr.] I gotta see what it is, Ed.
We're not leaving empty-handed. I know Ed.
He didn't call us over for a photo shoot.
We're walking away with something.
I'm telling you,
it's gotta be off the hook.
So let me…
Let me show you what I got here.
[curious music playing]
I've got…
a hell of a collection of Beanie Babies.
[chuckles]
I've been collecting these for,
I don't know, maybe 25 years.
I've got 50 of them.
-Princess Di, Valentino.
-Who?
-I've got-- Beanie Babies.
-[Robbie Jr.] Oh, I know what they are.
[woman] span style="style2"In 1993, Ty created a line
span style="style2"of stuffed toys called Beanie Babies.
The toys are stuffed with plastic beans
rather than conventional stuffing,
giving them their unique shape
and coining their name.
Often considered to be
the world's first Internet sensation,
Beanie Babies became
a major fad in collectibles
during the second half of the 1990s.
Because of the high prices
some of the earliest editions commanded,
lines formed around the country,
as people saw Beanie Babies
as an attainable investment
that they hoped to profit from.
Arguably, the most famous Beanie Baby
is the Princess Bear,
which was released just a few months
after the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
-We went from Babe Ruth to a Beanie Baby.
-I'd like to know what this is worth.
[Robbie Jr.] I'm… I'm at a loss for words.
I really can't believe it.
How am I gonna
show Beanie Babies to Ken Goldin?
You see this as an annoyance.
I see this as an opportunity.
He wants to see
what we can bring to the table.
We get these Beanie Babies done,
and I know that Ed will be in our corner.
I don't know what I have,
but I'd be interested.
That's why we're here,
to get the most for you
for whatever you do have.
We'll get an expert, somebody that knows
exactly what every Beanie Baby is worth.
After you get the money for this,
and we show you how good we are,
we'll come back for those baseballs
and get you some real money.
Let's work on this first.
["No Stopping Us"
by Stephen Cornish playing]
Uh, yeah ♪
Yeah, we gon' make it ♪
Push through
Too cool, they can't take us ♪
Break through, be the winner
It's what they afraid of, afraid of… ♪
The collectibles world can take you
anywhere on earth at the drop of a hat.
And today I'm flying to Toronto
because I've been
looking for a one-of-a-kind card
that is going to shake up the industry.
The LeBron James Triple Logoman.
Ain't no stopping us
We do the impossible ♪
Yeah… ♪
[woman] span style="style2"In 2020, Panini,
span style="style2"a prestigious trading card company,
created the LeBron Triple Logoman card,
featuring three authentic NBA logos
from his game-used jerseys.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat,
and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Panini subsequently released
hundreds of boxes,
one of which contained
the LeBron Triple Logoman card.
This literal golden ticket
is potentially worth millions.
Since then, box breaks
have happened all over the world
in search of this rare card.
And it's still uncovered,
making the LeBron Triple Logoman card
one of the most highly coveted
modern sports cards in existence.
I've been in this industry my entire life.
I have never seen a mania
like LeBron Triple Logoman mania.
Hobbyists, celebrities alike,
are looking for this one card.
I first met Drake
through one of my auctions,
and now he is deep into trading cards.
Drake found out
I was looking for this card,
so he invited me up
to do a live break with him in person,
and hopefully find that LeBron James
Triple Logoman card.
[hip-hop music playing]
So what happens if somebody
comes up and touches the Jackie jersey?
I'll take care of it.
The Sopranos?
-[mischievous music playing]
-[laughs]
If they get close to us with the box,
you'll see what happens.
-Did you ever kill anyone?
-What, are you writing a book?
Each auction needs a signature item.
That signature item is what will
bring the bidders to the auction.
This jersey will be
the major press-getting item.
-Scott.
-What's up, man?
I've known Scott going back
to my early years in the business.
He's known for being
a shrewd and sharp business guy.
Scott knows what he wants,
and I'm either there to agree with him,
or we'll see if I leave with anything.
[grunts softly]
There it is. There it is. Woo!
This is the actual Jackie Robinson jersey
that Jackie wore
throughout the 1951 season.
[woman] span style="style2"In 1997,
Jackie Robinson's number 42
was retired across the sport,
making this Jackie Robinson
1951 MLB jersey
an iconic piece of Americana.
It's one of a handful
of known Jackie Robinson jerseys.
His 1947 rookie jersey
sold for 2.6 million in 2018.
So this is going to be one of the most
expensive jerseys ever sold at auction.
[Dave] Look at that. Just thick wool.
I can't imagine this thing
on a hot summer day being comfortable.
Do you know how many people
would love to have this?
This is real American history.
I mean, this is…
That is legitimately Jackie's blood.
-[Scott] Oh, yeah, yeah.
-[Dave] It's literally blood on it.
I love that in the collar
there's an actual bloodstain.
Jackie Robinson was being hit by pitches,
he was being spiked.
This jersey shows
the war Jackie went through
just to play the game of baseball.
You would only get one,
maybe two of these jerseys a season.
And you can see how much it's been washed.
This is great, man.
We'll find a happy home for the jersey,
but it has to be at the right number.
I'm sure we'll get to the right number.
You know that.
I understand, but we are
at a $10 million minimum bid.
[tense music playing]
-Ten million?
-Yeah, ten million.
-Ten? Scott--
-That's the number.
For the auction in general,
reserves stink.
A reserve is something we honestly
rarely speak out loud about
here at Goldin, and we really don't like.
A reserve means
we can't sell the item below that amount,
or at least the seller
needs to net that amount
for it to be a completed sale.
We could go through all the marketing,
all the presentation,
if we fall one bid shy,
no sale, no money, start from scratch.
The record for a jersey sale
is a little over $5 million.
We're looking at a Babe Ruth jersey.
Now we're trying to double that.
Double what any
baseball jersey has ever sold.
The person that I'm representing
is not gonna let this thing go
for less than a $10 million bid.
You're not going to hold another 42 jersey
that looks like this,
that Jackie Robinson wore
for an entire season.
Dave, there's somebody out there
that will want this.
This is Jackie Robinson--
Can we call him? Can we call him and talk?
See if we can get him down to five?
It's not happening.
He doesn't want a discussion about it.
If Ken wants the jersey,
at the end of the day,
that's where it'll land.
Well, I… I trust you, Scott, man.
And I trust our bidders,
I trust our auction site, like…
Let's… Let's do it.
When Ken puts a task on you
to get something done,
you gotta get it done.
And for me, being his number two,
it's even more pressure.
Ten million dollars. Can you believe that?
-Good luck.
-[Dave scoffs] Thanks.
["Direct Deposit" by DJ Pain 1 playing]
Direct deposit
Gotta stack the Benjamins ♪
Direct deposit
Gotta count those dividends… ♪
Direct deposit… ♪
I first met Drake when he was bidding
on a Tupac item in one of my auctions.
Drake did not win that
because he fell asleep during the auction.
However, since then
he's gotten into trading cards,
and he had never done
an in-person box break before,
and invited me to fly up
and do one with him.
So today we'll open up many cases
of 2021 Panini Flawless basketball,
where hopefully
the LeBron Triple Logoman resides.
Gotta stack the smartie right ♪
Gotta get to it
No matter whether day or night ♪
Direct deposit… ♪
-First time? Never opened one?
-Huh?
-Not even once?
-No. This is a big night.
A box break basically means
that you're opening up
a box of sealed cards
and you have no idea
what the contents are going to be.
Box breaks can literally
be considered the hobby form of gambling.
It can cost as much as $20,000
to open up a box,
and there's no guarantee of return.
[man] First-timer.
Oh, ho, ho, ho. That felt good.
All right, here we go.
Spud Webb, Gary Payton, Isaiah Stewart,
Desmond Bane, Ja Morant,
Larry Bird, Kareem.
Two out of three.
If Drake pulls this card,
you better believe I'm convincing him
to auction it with Goldin.
You got something?
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Who is it?
Anfernee Hardaway.
[shouting excitedly] Logoman!
[Ken] We ended up getting
a Penny Hardaway Logoman,
which is great,
but it's not the LeBron Triple.
I don't want to disappoint a client.
This is Drake's first-ever live box break,
and I wanted to surprise him
with the ultimate classic.
A box of 1986 Fleer.
Inside could be
Michael Jordan rookie cards.
But when you open up a box of cards,
there are no guarantees.
Kevin Willis.
Sam Perkins.
Albert King. Terry Cummings.
[Ken] We need a really,
really big card here.
[Drake] Gus Williams. And--
[both scream ecstatically]
Oh my God! Oh yes!
Show us.
-Oh my God!
-Yes!
Phew.
Thank God. Drake pulls a Michael Jordan,
and my heart rate just went down 30 beats.
-What do you think?
-I feel good. We had a great night.
Now we've got an amazing new ambassador
for the hobby, who is into cards.
However, I still need to find that damn
LeBron James Triple Logoman card.
[action theme music playing]
[plane engine revving]
[upbeat music playing]
Hi, everyone,
I'm Alex Giaimo at Goldin Auctions.
The Jackie Robinson auction
is in full swing.
The current bid on
Jackie's 1951 game-used jersey
is up to $5 million.
And today, I'm joined by the Dave Amerman.
Today we're here to talk about
the Jackie Robinson auction.
Number 42.
A mythical number in all of sports.
Now, in baseball,
all players, on Jackie Robinson Day,
wear the number 42.
That itself speaks volumes.
There's no Ty Cobb Day or Babe Ruth Day.
There is a Jackie Robinson Day.
His own teammates signed a petition
to not allow Jackie to play.
Miraculous. It takes a special human
to do what Jackie did.
-He broke the color barrier.
-Yeah.
He paved the way
for baseball the way it is today.
So how rare is it
to have a jersey like this?
[Dave] This is one of the only
Jackie Robinson jerseys
you'll ever see and be able to buy.
I think this will double in value
over the next decade.
Our secret sauce here at Goldin
is always creating an event.
In the Jackie Robinson case,
we've had an incredible campaign.
We've done social media campaigns.
A lot of media outlets are covering it.
[newscaster] span style="style2"Ken Goldin
from Goldin Auctions joining us now.
You've got some of the most
valuable Robinson items in history.
This is all at Goldin Auctions right now.
[newscaster 2]
Also up for auction, several bats.
The jersey just crossed
the $5 million mark,
and to think about that, it's insane.
But with this $10 million reserve,
it's only halfway to where we need to be,
so we need to put out some content
and market the heck out of this thing
in order for this
to have a shot of selling.
Make sure you guys get your bids in.
This thing is a piece of history.
For Dave Amerman, I'm Alex Giaimo.
See you later.
[man] Great.
Do you think we'll get there?
I'm a little nervous.
For you guys especially. [laughs]
The reserve is a lot higher
than I wanted it to be.
-What's the reserve?
-Ten million dollars.
That's the reserve?
-Yes.
-Oh my God.
When we get to the end,
maybe we can negotiate the reserve down.
If the jersey sells,
we make two million dollars.
If it doesn't, we make nothing.
We want people to know
Goldin can sell $10 million items,
so if the jersey
does not sell for ten million,
people are gonna
start doubting if we're capable.
[upbeat music playing]
Yeah, I just want to make sure
the invoice itself is updated
and it'll be paid soon.
But this is helpful
so I will send this to him.
I'll just take a screenshot of that,
so I can show him--
-Ry.
-[Ryan] What the hell?
-[Alex laughs] Can you help me?
-What have you got?
-[Alex] Carpal tunnel.
-[Ryan] What's this shit?
Beanie Babies.
[Ryan] Oh hell, no.
-Who wants my babies? Who wants my babies?
-Not me. Not me.
I've been collecting these Beanie Babies
for two decades.
They're taking up way too much space.
So I've heard the Robbies
are coming in for an expert
to appraise their Beanie Baby collections,
and I'm thinking, "I bet mine's better,"
so I wanna see how much money I got.
Maybe buy a house with the collection.
-Just be careful. Go easy.
-[Ryan] What. Seriously?
-[Alex] Yeah.
-They're Beanie Babies.
-That's really disrespectful.
-[Ryan] Are these all yours?
-[Alex] Yeah. 399 babies.
-[Ryan] You're kidding.
So to put it in perspective,
this is Scorch.
The price of him went up so much
just afterspan style="style2" Game of Thrones.
-The dragon?
Game of Thrones.
Special delivery.
-[Robbie Sr.] Man.
-What's up, guys?
-Hold on, Alex… What is this?
-[Alex laughs]
You might have Beanie Babies.
We got span style="style2"the Beanie Babies.
These Beanie Babies put the "p" in "peso,"
the "shill" in "shilling,"
the "Deutsche" in "Deutsche mark."
So we'll have to move these.
-[Robbie Jr.] Yeah, let's get the real--
-Let's put the real stuff out.
[Ryan] We gotta move
the low-end stuff out of here.
-Gentle. I swear to God, Ryan.
-[Robbie Jr.] Get these real boys out.
[Ryan] That's what I'm saying.
Gotta get the plastic cases.
Mine are organized between PE pellets,
PVC pellets. Are yours?
-No, mine are valuable. Okay?
-[all laugh]
I think I have, like, something here.
-I want to say this.
-But--
-There are specialists in this industry…
-[Ryan] Okay.
…that can put a number on these
and tell you exactly what they're worth.
Dr. Lori should be here any minute.
-Doctor?
-Dr. Lori.
Does she have a Ph.D. in Beanie Babies?
You don't know Beanie Babies.
Stay in your lane.
-[Alex] Time for you to go.
-You're awesome.
But honestly, this is too much for me.
I… This is not my world.
You guys have fun playing
with your Beanie Babies. Have a good time.
[laughing]
[upbeat music playing]
[toilet flushes]
[whimsical music playing]
Do you realize that you're, like,
literally the only human being
besides me to ever use my bathroom?
-Do you have a problem with me using it?
-With anybody using it.
Why?
The whole purpose of putting
a private bathroom in your office
is so you're the only one who uses it.
-Yeah, but I'm your child.
-Don't stop it up, that's all I ask.
No promises.
This is Laura Goldin,
and she is my daughter.
One of us has built a $4 billion business…
And one of us is inheriting it.
[laughing loudly]
-How can you not love me?
-You can't.
-You can't love me?
-You can't not love you.
-Exactly.
-Okay.
-[Laura] So we gotta talk about something.
-What?
I kind of have
three parking tickets to pay.
Why?
'Cause I illegally parked.
Parking illegally is stupid.
It's easy to avoid. Accidents,
sometimes you need to pay more attention.
I can understand if you're pulling out
somewhere and somebody turns into you.
Although, they say if you're pulling out
it's always your fault.
That's what she said.
Yup.
Hey, Ken, how's it going?
[Ken] Good. You got the hair?
Yeah, I… I was a bit surprised
when I opened up this box.
-What's the deal with this?
-This is Steve Martini, Jr.
-[Carlo] Okay.
-His dad was Steve Martini, Sr.
[patriotic music playing]
[Alex] span style="style2"In the 1950s, Steve Martini
span style="style2"was working as a barber in the Pentagon,
when he was
sequestered by the Secret Service
and brought to The Oval Office.
There, he met
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and was asked to become
the official presidential barber.
Martini stayed on through the 1970s,
also cutting the hair
of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson,
Nixon, and Ford.
Martini gained the respect
of the presidents
and influenced their decisions
on transportation, taxes, and food prices.
Martini had the foresight
to save some of the hair clippings
and pass them on to his son,
who is now offering these truly
unique pieces of American history.
Who the hell would actually
wanna buy a president's hair?
-Your mother. [laughs]
-[laughs]
The whole business of collectibles,
you know,
in some ways, is about hero worship,
in some ways
about getting closer to a celebrity, so…
The presidents of the United States…
Everything is a collectible.
Who thinks of that?
A smart businessman.
That's… That's pretty good.
There are a lot of collectors
of presidential hair.
The biggest ones
are actually the trading card companies
that take an individual strand
and, uh, put it on a card,
and they're highly desirable.
In fact, George Washington hair
has sold as high as $20,000 to $25,000
for a single trading card.
A single hair of JFK
on a trading card would sell for anywhere
from three to five thousand dollars.
[Laura] What if one of them
had like lice or something?
Then what we can do is… Here…
Look, see if you see anything move--
-[laughing] Stop! Stop! Stop!
-[all laughing]
[classical string music playing]
-All right, guys, the doctor is in.
-There she is.
-[Robbie Jr.] Dr. Lori.
-How are you?
-That's Robbie Sr.
-Hey, Robbie Sr. How are you?
-[Robbie Sr.] My pleasure.
-[Robbie Jr.] This is Alex.
You know, when it comes to collectibles,
and especially Beanie Babies,
Dr. Lori is the end-all be-all.
There'll be a lot of things
we're looking for.
First, is the condition of the actual toy.
-Like, I oftentimes do that.
-[Alex] Did you smell it?
Yeah. If you can smell it,
you can't sell it.
-So, it better not stink.
-Oh.
-That's why we have ours in cases.
-[Dr. Lori] Let's start.
The Princess Diana bears.
A couple of things, first of all.
-[Robbie Jr.] Okay.
-You see this? See that?
-You see that head tilt? A little slouchy.
-Yeah.
Right, so that's problematic.
Now, is it a major problem?
No, it's not, but people look at it.
The other thing an expert's gonna look at
is where is the position of the eyes.
-Are they straight on? Okay?
-Whoa.
You don't want to see
any kind of crinkle in the stomach.
You want to make sure
that the shoulders are straight.
The other thing is
the time period's gonna be important.
The Princess Diana's gonna sell better
any time between August 1st of 2022
and August 31st of 2022
than any other time.
It's the anniversary of when she died.
25 years.
So, market today
for this particular one, $500.
-Now, $2,500 August 1st--
-[gasps] What?
-She's excited.
-I have, like, 17 of them. [laughs]
August 1st to August 31st.
Timing is gonna be important.
That's important for you to learn, missy,
'cause you got a million of these,
and you're saying
timing has to be important.
Now, I see slouch, slouch, funny eyes,
and then I see wrinkles in the stomach.
-[all laugh]
-[Dr. Lori] So, you know…
Your knowledge is tremendous.
We wanna know what they're worth.
I have to go through each one,
and I'll give you an estimate.
-It'll take a minute.
-I understand that.
-Where do you want me to start? Here?
-You need to look at these.
-At this side of the table.
-I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be.
Appraisals and authentication
is serious in our business.
Whatever the research is,
it has to be done.
That's what makes them valuable.
Certain colors of the face
will be important…
It has a fourth-generation tag…
Some connection with a historical figure…
Some prefer green, some blue.
You've got these,
which are more valuable as a group.
-He's 20 bucks.
-Sure.
But he's closer to $250.
-The intense look on her face--
-She takes her job seriously.
-Ph.D. in Beanie Babies.
-That's right.
This is what makes Goldin Auctions great,
and you know you're getting the real deal.
-Some of these are only a couple of bucks.
-[Robbie Sr.] Right.
But some of the ones that you have…
Halo is good, Wallace is good,
the Kicks are good.
So, I would say, for all of it,
you're probably in the $7,500
to $8,000 range for all of these.
[Robbie Jr.] Okay.
I sure hope Ed is happy,
'cause if he's disappointed,
I know we're not getting
any of those other items.
And the one thing I wanna do,
I wanna make Ken happy.
And in order to do that,
I gotta get those items from Ed.
-There he is.
-Ed.
Gentlemen, how are we?
We're doing well.
We're here with Dr. Lori.
She's got a Ph.D. in antiques appraising,
so she knows more
about Beanie Babies than anybody.
Wait for this one.
$8,000 for this collection.
-[Ed] span style="style2"$8,000?
span style="style2"-$8,000. Yup.
I am shocked. Wait till I tell my wife.
-[Robbie Jr.] There you go.
-I was hoping you were gonna say that.
If we can get you $8,000,
you know what that means.
That there are
some baseballs in your future.
That I can guarantee.
-I love to hear that, Ed.
-I like the sound of that.
-Glad we could do the job for you.
span style="style2"-Okay, guys.
-[Robbie Jr.] All right.
-[Robbie Sr.] Thank you.
-span style="style2"Bye.
-[Robbie Jr.] Later.
Can I just jump in and say
you didn't get anything done yet?
-You have to sell them, right?
-[Robbie Jr.] Yeah.
-Dr. Lori? [laughs]
-They do. They have work ahead of them.
Looking at my lot,
what do you think? Ballpark it.
-I can't ballpark it like that.
-[Alex] No?
And we brought the doctor in
for these Beanie Babies.
All right.
-[laughing] Just relax, you know?
-[laughs]
-[Alex] All right.
-[laughing]
["Let's Rise" by Devin "D" Forney playing]
Anticipating a war we dominated ♪
Victory, yo, we made it… ♪
[Alex] This just in,
the 1951 Jackie Robinson jersey
just hit $7.2 million.
That breaks the record.
It's officially the most expensive
baseball jersey of all time.
If you want in, go get a piece of history.
Dave. Dave, come in here.
-What's up, Ken?
-Hit the door.
I'm just watching the, uh, the auction.
We're getting down to the final hours,
and, uh, we're stuck at $7.2 million.
We won't get to ten. We need to face it.
I looked at the bidders
to see what's going on.
We won't get to ten. I gotta
convince this guy to take this deal.
Guy's being an idiot.
It'd be an all-time record.
In the Jackie Robinson auction
everything is going great.
Unfortunately, the jersey
is stuck at $7.2 million.
It's an all-time record.
However, placing a $10 million reserve
on this item
is very unrealistic.
[dial tone]
Hello.
-Hey, Steve.
It's Ken Goldin and Dave Amerman.
How are you?
Hey, how are you guys?
-span style="style1"Hey, Steve. Good.
-[Ken] Good.
Are you, uh, watching your Jackie auction?
[Steve] span style="style2"I have been following it.
We just crossed the seven mark.
That seems pretty good.
Yeah. We're sitting… Here's the thing.
We're sitting at $7.2 million.
We are very close to the end.
It's my job
to understand who my bidders are,
and what I think will happen.
And this jersey, unless there's a miracle,
it won't hit $10 million,
and I know that was
the price that you had in mind.
But I want to explain to you,
at $7.2 million,
it is double the record price
of any Jackie Robinson jersey.
We can make this deal happen
at $7.2 million.
We can set an all-time record.
[Steve] span style="style2"I gotta be honest with you,
span style="style2"I thought Scott made this clear today.
-In my opinion, this jersey is worthspan style="style1"…
span style="style1"-[sighs]
[Steve] span style="style2"…far more than $10 million.
[tense music playing]
[Ken] Um…
[clicks tongue] It may be to you,
and I understand that,
but all the news coverage
has picked it up.
There is nobody in the world
who does not know
that this is up for auction right now.
If you don't do it now,
you're gonna regret it.
In our business, typically,
you get one chance at an item.
If I can't make this successful,
you can bet in the future
one of my competitors will.
I don't know what you're waiting for.
If you think some billionaire
will fall from the sky and say,
"Oh, I wanna buy that jersey," but listen,
I'll cut my commission in half
if you take this deal right now.
[dramatic music playing]
["Get Up and Boogie"
by Gregory J. Hainer playing]
Yeah, yeah ♪
I do this ♪
Yo, I walk like a don
Look like a don ♪
Every time you get on
You see the Jo Jo song ♪
Heard the word
And heard the verse was worse ♪
Sit back
'Cause I don't curse in the verse ♪
Oh, I know that my words is magic ♪
I sit back, I spit that
The verse is tragedy ♪
How hard could it be for you to be me?
'Cause I'm the J. O. O. E. ♪
Get up and boogie ♪
-All night ♪
-All night ♪
Get up and boogie ♪
Ha! Like that ♪
Let's go… ♪