“King of Collectibles”' Ken Goldin on the Art of Finding Hidden Gems and Reuniting with Barry Bonds (Exclusive)
From what it takes to always be "staying on top" in the collectibles field to his most surprising sale to date, Ken Goldin exclusively chats with PEOPLE about what to expect in season 2 of 'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch'
Courtesy of Netflix Ken Goldin in 'King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch'
Ken Goldin is back for another season!
The star of Netflix's King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch speaks to PEOPLE about what to expect in season 2, which made its debut on the streamer on Wednesday, June 12.
From the best moment of the new season to the biggest misconception of leading an auction house that specializes in rare collectibles, Goldin breaks down all there is to know about the art of collectibles.
PEOPLE: What was the coolest moment for you in season 2?
KEN GOLDIN: Oh, man. Tough one. Probably reuniting with two old friends, Reggie Jackson and Barry Bonds. They are guys who've known me literally since [I was] a teenager to a degree. So getting them to give me part of their collections, getting them to know, after 30+years of friendship, that I have their trust that when it's time to sell some of their treasury possessions, I'm the only one they think of.
Courtesy of Netflix Ken Goldin (left) and Barry Bonds in 'King of Collectibles'
How have you mastered the skill of knowing that something could be worth more than one might even realize?
KG: Honestly, it's years of experience. It's understanding the market. It's staying on top of the market. It's constantly selling and handling similar items. Even if I've never seen an item before, let's say somebody has something and I've never seen it, my initial reaction will be, "Okay, this is kind of like this item and this item sold for this much for the following reasons." I could always use a comparison. Even when something is new to me, like movie props and movie collectibles, things like that, I'm always able to put in perspective and say, "Okay, fine. This is a really, really big movie. It's kind of similar to this. This item for Marilyn Monroe sold for this much, so maybe this item from Kate Winslet will sell for this much," type of thing.
Courtesy of Netflix Ronald Acuna Jr. (left) and Ken Goldin on 'King of Collectibles'
Sometimes people think collectibles, or the idea of it, is boring or antiquated. What would you say is the biggest misconception about the art of collecting?
KG: Oh, God. Yeah. It's not fuddy-duddy. It's not nerdy. Look, when I was a kid collecting baseball cards at 12, 13 years old, I was a nerd, right? I was playing with baseball cards instead of going out on dates, but it worked out well for me. So to me, I think it's really that anything can be a collectible and I think that's what the difference is. People see these old TV ads from The Franklin Mint with this chess set or maybe these old boring figurines and they think that's a collectible, but no. It could be sports cards. It could be comic books. It could be video games. It could be iPhones, Pokémon. It could be rock and roll signatures. It could be concert-used guitars, drum sets. Historical. I mean, no matter what it is that you like, you can find a collectible in it.
And that's the key is if you do not like soccer, or football for the rest of the world, don't collect soccer memorabilia, okay? If you're into classical music, there are items out there that are classical music collectibles. They're expensive. I mean, we've sold some Beethoven and Mozart, they're very, very expensive, but those collectibles are out there. There's something for everybody. And if you're into movies and you're into TV shows, to me, all TV show memorabilia is cheap. I mean, you can find things from Seinfeld, like original Seinfeld scripts. I was on one of their podcasts and it's relatively cheap compared to sports cards and comic books.
Courtesy of Netflix Ken Goldin on 'King of Collectibles'
What's the most expensive item you have?
This Michael Jordan patch is the most expensive thing here. That is his logo man from 2003. It's currently up for sale at Goldin. Current bid is $1.9 million. But listen, here's the funny thing. Somebody, some kid back in 2003 — Now I'd like to say they spent $5. They didn't. They spent $500 opening up a box — but they saved it from 2003 and then they contacted me.
Speaking of things you wouldn't expect, what has been one of the most surprising items in your tenure that has sold for a lot of money?
Oh my God. For my consignment team, the funniest thing that we sold is not really a funny item. It's a standard item, but I had never heard of the guy. We sold an [Erling] Haaland soccer card for over $100,000. I sold a bidding and I'm like, "This is over $100,000. Who is this guy and why are people paying $100,000?" Because you knew [Lionel] Messi, you knew Pelé, you knew [Cristiano] Ronaldo. I didn't know who he was, I now know, but he was a monster star worldwide in European football. This was his rookie card and it was a very expensive rookie card!
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King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
Read the original article on People.