Heritage Auctions posted more than $1.41 billion in sales during the first six months of 2026, the highest midyear total in the company’s 50-year history and a 47 percent increase over the same period last year, putting the Dallas-based auction house on pace for what could become another record year.
The numbers are notable on their own. But the more revealing story may be what drove them.
For years, categories like video games, trading cards and comic books occupied the margins of the auction business, existing alongside more traditional markets for fine art, rare books and historical artifacts. Heritage’s latest results suggest that distinction is becoming increasingly outdated. Rather than displacing traditional collecting, those categories appear to be expanding the auction market by attracting new generations of buyers.
The strongest example came in June, when Heritage sold the highest-graded sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. ever offered at auction for $3 million, a record for a video game. Pokémon continued its remarkable run as well, with a Pikachu Illustrator card selling for $1.41 million, while a complete First Edition Base Set and Skyridge Master Sets each topped $1 million. Heritage also pointed to more than $3.6 million in sales during its Star Wars Day auctions and highlighted a $13 million private transaction involving the highest-graded known copy of Batman No. 1 and the second-highest graded copy of Superman No. 1.
Sports collectibles remain another pillar of the business. Heritage’s Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction realized more than $38.6 million, led by the famed “Garagiola Wagner” T206 Honus Wagner card, which sold for $3.6 million. Modern material also continued to command premium prices, including a one-of-one Michael Jordan Masterpiece card that realized $2.1 million, an Aaron Judge Superfractor rookie card that brought $838,750 and Hulk Hogan’s boots from WrestleMania I, which sold for more than $1 million.
Traditional collecting categories, meanwhile, continued to perform strongly. Heritage highlighted a group of 18 Norman Rockwell works led by Study for Cheerleaders, which sold for $600,000; a record-breaking sale of the David Aronovitz science fiction and fantasy library; more than $8.47 million in Americana auctions tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary; and a 1911 Chinese pattern dollar that realized $4.88 million, the most valuable world coin the auction house has ever sold. The company also said it held the highest-grossing jewelry auction in its history during the first half.
Heritage’s results also stand in contrast to trends elsewhere in the auction business. Earlier this week, Phillips reported a strong first half of 2026, driven in large part by a growing watches business, which accounted for $235.5 million of its $507 million in sales, nearly half the company’s total revenue. Heritage, by comparison, derives its momentum from a much broader mix of categories, with everything from video games and trading cards to sports memorabilia, coins and fine art contributing to its record-breaking first half. The comparison suggests there is no single blueprint for growth in today’s auction market, though every major auction house does appear to have landed one commonality: using categories outside fine art to drive business and bring in new collectors.
Taken together, the results suggest an auction market that is becoming broader rather than simply shifting from one category to another. Buyers entering the hobby through Nintendo games, Pokémon cards and comics are increasingly competing at seven-figure levels, while demand for museum-quality paintings, historical documents, rare books and numismatic material remains robust.
Auction houses have spent years betting that newer collecting categories would mature into significant businesses. Heritage’s record first half suggests that wager is continuing to pay off.
