Family Office Learnings From This Year's Most Noteworthy Collectible Sales

Forbes

21-07-2025

Thomas H. Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP®, Founder & CEO, Destiny Family Office.
Million-dollar collectible sales write splashy headlines, but as family office professionals, they capture our attention not for the dollar figures but for what we can learn from them.
Each headline sale is brimming with valuable lessons for high-net-worth collectors. In servicing our clients, we monitor industry activity closely to understand how they can better optimize their collections for financial success. Thus far in 2025, various significant collectibles have dazzled with their sales prices, and I've synthesized several key themes that demand consideration from collectors and their advisors.
The highest standards of authentication are a necessity.
This spring delivered two remarkable game-worn NBA jersey sales, highlighted by the staggering magnitude of their capital appreciation.
In March, Sotheby's sold a Chicago Bulls jersey worn in the preseason of Michael Jordan's rookie year for $4,215,000. The jersey last sold in 2009 for just $66,000. Not to be outdone, Kobe Bryant's regular season debut jersey notched a sale price of $7,004,000 in April. It last crossed the auction block in 2013, selling for $115,242.
How did these museum-quality pieces multiply in value by factors of more than 60?
The elevation of the market for game-worn sports memorabilia certainly played a role. High-end sports artifacts have risen in stature and sales prices to a tier previously reserved for fine art. As recently as early 2022, the record for the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia was $5.6 million. Today, that record is $24.1 million, supercharged by the sale of Babe Ruth's 'Called Shot' jersey in 2024.
But the meteoric rise of the two game-worn jerseys sold this spring is not merely the result of broader market appreciation.
When these jerseys came to market previously, they did so without stringent third-party authentication substantiating their in-game use. Upon their return to auction this year, both lots improved upon more informal photo-matching efforts offered in their prior listings, presenting thorough photo-matching authentication from multiple providers. A glance at any ranking of the most expensive game-worn items ever sold reveals that a vast majority of them were authenticated using this method, in which reputable authenticators match unique characteristics of a garment to their appearance in period-specific photographs.
The lesson is essential for collectors: Pursuit of the highest available authentication standards is of paramount importance to an item's marketability.
Even collectors who have no immediate intention of selling should heed that lesson. By confirming their items' authenticity, collectors ensure their families can realize full value for them in their absence. Failure to authenticate an item and preserve the accompanying documentation leaves inexperienced heirs with a steep learning curve to climb.
Regardless of circumstance, obtaining the most stringent authentication could represent the difference between an item worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and one worth millions.
Asset sales while living are a critical component of planning.
Early 2025 saw Bernie Ecclestone, one of the godfathers of F1, sell his unparalleled collection of Formula One cars—reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars—through high-end dealer Tom Hartley Jr.
Ecclestone explained the impetus for the sale: 'After collecting and owning [my cars] for so long, I would like to know where they have gone, and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.'
His thought process should resonate with collectors whose heirs have little knowledge of their collections, as a proactive sale can create simplicity and reduce undue burdens in estate planning. While owning collections through death can offer financial benefits, the right choice for each collector is highly circumstantial and deeply personal. For Ecclestone, gaining certainty about the collection's next chapter while simultaneously ensuring his family would be unburdened by it was a tidy outcome.
Collectors can use passion assets to leave a legacy.
In February, Sotheby's sold a violin crafted by Antonio Stradivarius in 1714 for $11,250,000. The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, named for prior owners and prolific violinists, Joseph Joachim and Si-Hon Ma, is the latest in a remarkable string of Stradivarius violins to reach eight-figure prices.
Though the sale is over, the proceeds will shape the future of music for decades to come.
Si-Hon Ma passed away in 2009, and per his wishes, his estate donated his Stradivarius to the New England Conservatory, where he was a student in the 1950s. That donation came with the stipulation that the conservatory could one day sell the instrument, provided it used the proceeds to fund student scholarships. After several years of use by advanced students, the Conservatory consigned the violin this winter, generating funds that will enable the establishment of the largest named scholarship program in the Conservatory's history.
When estate planning, many collectors face a series of difficult decisions. Bequeath to heirs or sell now? Keep or donate? And if donating, to whom and for what?
Si-Hon Ma's Stradivarius illustrates the capacity of passion assets to cement lasting legacies when collectors plan thoughtfully. In pursuing the items meaningful to them, collectors compose a rich personal story. However, by planning diligently, they can ensure that the final chapter is the most rewarding.
Beneath the surface of every multimillion-dollar collectible headline, collectors can find myriad valuable lessons on collection stewardship. Just as assembling the perfect collection requires attention to detail and nuance, so too does its ongoing management. Exercising diligence in collection-related organization and planning can be the difference in unlocking and preserving millions of dollars in value for the purpose of the collector's choosing.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
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