Welcome to the FREE version of our Sports Memorabilia Insider. Today we have a deep dive into the 1959-60 Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Home Uniform that will IPO at Collectable on Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 8:13 PM EST.
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Table of Contents
What is the 1959-60 Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Home Uniform?
This is a Wilt Chamberlain game-worn full uniform (jersey and shorts) from his rookie season of 1959-60. It was authenticated by Mears and given a grade of A9. It was photo matched to a 52-point game at Madison Square Garden, among other games, and is the only rookie home uniform known to still exist.
It IPOs on Collectable at 8:13 PM EST on May 4th for $1,285,000. The consignor is holding $318,750 in retained equity, leaving $956,250 in shares.
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Cultural Relevance
We covered Wilt the Stilt here. To sum it up, he is one of the greatest centers of all-time, setting numerous records on the court (and off, supposedly) and was a relatively big pop culture icon after his career ended. He passed away in 1999, and while he is well-known and a legendary player, he’s not quite on the Jordan/LeBron/Kobe/Magic/Bird level of notoriety.
Inferred Value – $500K-$1.5MM
[Detailed Valuation available to Insiders Only]
Category Strength
The sports memorabilia category had a -8% ROI in Q1 2021.
Subcategory Strength
Risk Profile
Asset Growth TTM
Growth Outlook and Future Catalysts
There is nothing specific that would cause the value of this asset to rise and fall independently of the broader sports collectible market. Chamberlain passed away decades ago and his major notable record (the 100 point game) is basically unbreakable. Investing in it is pure speculation in an eventual buyout, as there’s not really anything that’s going to boost its value on the secondary market. Perhaps a future Wilt jersey could set an auction record, but there is nothing on the horizon.
Asset Liquidity
This will have a roughly 90 day lockup period then will trade daily.
Platform Risk
Intangibles
The retained equity level is relatively low, which is good, but it’s still around 25% so the consignor will hold a lot of power. For what it’s worth, while jerseys and sports memorabilia have been down, the other Wilt Chamberlain Uniform on Collectable (from his high school days) has risen 44% in the five weeks since it began trading.
