Are trading cards comparable to investments?

Last week, Logan Paul sold a Pokémon card to AJ Scaramucci, son of Anthony Scaramucci, for an astound $16.5 million. This marks the largest auction and selling of a Pokémon card in history. The card, which was made in 1998 and is estimated to be one of only a few dozen, was purchased by Paul 4 years prior for only $5.3 million, netting Paul a return of over 200%. Scaramucci claims that the purchase is "passion first, and kind of an investment second," meaning that the bid was not made entirely for monetary profit.

The "Pokémon Index," a measure of the value of  Pokémon cards, is currently up 145% in the past year. Compare this to S&P 500 which is only up 15.2% the past year, and the choice of where to invest seems obvious. However, Pokémon cards are a very risky asset, if even an asset at all. Their value comes from scarcity and collector's perceptions of how "rare" they think certain cards are. This causes many to view them as an unstable and unreliable form of investment.

Using collectibles as a form of wealth building is incredibly interesting to me. Their value can change quickly as more cards are brought into and taken out of circulation. A card that is worth a million to one person may be seen as worthless to another, so viewing them as an "investment" is entirely subjective. Having a few cards myself I can definitely say I have only ever viewed them as fun and have never thought about what their worth would be in future years, but maybe I should go back and see if any of them have gained value.

Article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/pokmon-card-winner-scaramucci-says-collectibles-are-asset-class.html