Auction Buzz: Brand new treasures, looks from long ago, original ink, Mario Kart & more all up for grabs via Heritage

Auction Buzz is a monthly look at some of the variety found out there on the auction block via for Dallas-based Heritage Auctions ... check 'em out.

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MODERN-DAY TREASURE OR A SUPER-FLASHY FLIP?
The Item: Shohei Ohtani & Aaron Judge 2025 Topps Chrome Update Dual Gold Logoman MVP Relic (/4)
The Price: $75,000 after 23 bids (ends Jan. 30)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This monster card came out of a pack in recent months -- well, at least its redemption did -- and it's already on the auction block for a cash-in. What is it? It's a card with the gold-threaded MLB logo patch off of game-used jerseys from the reigning MVPs from each league in 2024 as worn last year -- if you look closely at both images on the card you can see them, too. (Enhanced to make sure they stand out more? Not necessarily ... but they sure do pop on those tiny images.) Cards like these -- signed and unsigned as singles and immensely rare finds -- are some of the biggest pulls in the heavily produced brand with long odds. The back of the card has built-in windows for you to see the MLB Authentication stickers for these patches pulled from their jerseys (click to view and go look them up for yourself). Should these be a hold or moved immediately? I bet your answers are all over the place -- but the longer one waits, the more the chances other cards like this might be done over time, giving them more competition if they are all up for grabs at the same time. Ohtani and Judge are two of the game's biggest names of the here and now and figure to be later. How big among the all-timers? We'll find out when they are done ... but they are as safe as it gets right now, too.

Keep reading for more interesting pieces up for grabs right now.

COLLECTING THE MOMENT
The Item: Sam Shaw 24-by-20 photo print of Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell on the set of The Seven Year Itch in 1954 (later print)
The Price: $220 after four bids (ends this afternoon)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This iconic moment in Hollywood history is captured in this documentary photograph print that's estimated to push $1,000 when the auction ends in less than a couple hours as I prep this today. Fine art prints from famed creators and featuring A-list subjects are part auctions from Heritage on a regular basis and this is one of the more-affordable options this time around. 

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MAKING A SPLASH ... AND ALSO ENDING SOON
The Item: Sal Velluto & Tom Palmer Marc Spector: Moon Knight No. 8 original art (Marvel, 1989)
The Price: $525 after 29 bids (ends this evening)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There are many books featuring many characters made from many comic companies through the years and until the digital era everything potentially had a paper trail made up of the original artwork that was drawn on oversized pages to be then lettered up and printed left behind after all the work was done. This is a textbook example of a flashy opening page -- a splash page -- from a character that we have had glimpses of on TV and has a distinct look and style. It's not quite as easy to "read" the visuals without some color in the mix here (Moon Knight wears all white) but this is still a simple and strong page among selling on the auction block today.

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GET IN THE GAME ... 
The Item: Super Mario Kart Player's Choice SNES Nintendo 1996 -- CGC 9.8 (A++ Sealed)
The Price: $825 after eight bids (ends Jan. 22)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What's it worth? We'll find out later this month as this sealed copy of a heavily purchased video game for Super Nintendo -- a game so popular this is a re-issue in the Player's Choice line -- is among many on the block from Heritage. Here are Heritage's facts on this slab: "This is tied with just one other for the highest-graded copy of this variant we've ever offered. Super Mario Kart easily earned its Player's Choice status, selling an impressive 8.76 million copies to become the fourth best-selling game on the Super Nintendo. Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, this groundbreaking kart racer launched one of Nintendo's most-enduring franchises. Players were drawn to its innovative use of iconic items for competitive gameplay, unforgettable tracks like the notoriously challenging Rainbow Road and a roster of fan-favorite characters including Mario and his friends." How many might still exist unopened? How many might get this top-level grade? What there is right now is what there is ... for now. 

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HERE WE ARE NOW ... 
The Item: Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" promo 12-inch vinyl record (DGC/Geffen, PRO-A-4314)
The Price: Bidding opens on Jan. 26
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This song's album turns 35 years old this year, but to many the 1990s and newer stuff still might feel modern ... so much so its artifacts might still be overlooked if they're things not as heavily collected if you ask me. What do I mean? It's easy to find sports cards from 1991 and other stuff seen as collectables over all those years since. Stuff like this that was made to be used? Not so much. This is "a 12-inch vinyl single on dark yellow translucent/clear vinyl with its A-side featuring Nirvana's breakthrough single, with the excellent B-sides 'Even in His Youth' and 'Aneurysm.' The sleeve is in EX 7 condition and the disc is in NM 8 condition." Many of us who were collectors in the sports realm constantly looked backwards for our treasures ... but today's perhaps-emerging realms of pop culture collecting might have been the stuff we all used along the way. This lineup touches on that and there are many, many, many more auctions and lots to come this month and beyond via Heritage.

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