Fast Five

WHAT IS YOUR TITLE AND WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU DO AT COLLECTORS?

My full name is Anthony Tatsuya Aram and I am the PSA Business Director, Asia and Oceania. My main responsibility is to introduce and enhance the PSA brand in the Asia Pacific region by promoting the benefits of card authentication and grading to local collectors. Since opening the Tokyo office in 2018, where I do a little bit of everything, we continue to grow with collector submissions as well as staff.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING AT COLLECTORS?

It’s exciting to be a part of the only U.S. card authentication and grading company that has a presence in Japan. It gives me a great sense of joy when I see and hear first-time customers who are thrilled with getting their cards back and who tell me they will be persuading their friends to also try PSA’s grading services.

WHAT'S YOUR BACKGROUND AS A COLLECTOR?

I started out with stamp collecting but also collected Calbee Potato Chips Japanese baseball cards — the equivalent to Topps Bubble Gum cards — in the 1970s during my childhood in Tokyo. They remain the roots of my personal collection today.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ITEM IN YOUR ENTIRE PERSONAL COLLECTION?

Without a doubt, my 1995 UD Collector’s Choice Ichiro Suzuki [#59] in PSA 9. This is probably the first and only Ichiro card with an official NBA logo on the back of the card. After his breakout season in Japan [hitting .385 in 1994], Ichiro was invited as a special guest to the NBA’s 1994-95 opening day game between the L.A. Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers in Yokohama, Japan. While he was there, Ichiro crossed paths with an Upper Deck representative who shot a few photos of him holding a basketball, which turned into a specially designated “media” card. It’s estimated that only 100 to 200 cards were printed and delivered personally to Ichiro and it’s important to note that none of the cards were ever included in packs. So, this is an extremely rare card and only a few have ever surfaced.

WHAT WOULD BE THE "GRAIL" COLLECTIBLE THAT YOU HOPE TO OWN ONE DAY?

What I hope to own one day is the 1973 Calbee’s Baseball Potato Chips #1 card featuring Japanese superstar Shigeo Nagashima of the Tokyo Giants. He is considered Japan’s equivalent to Mickey Mantle. Finding one in PSA 10 condition would be a true unicorn as the highest-graded card in the pop report is a PSA 8 and there’s only four of those in circulation.

When it comes to pageantry, nothing competes with the Super Bowl. What started from humble beginnings more than 50 years ago, the modern football final boss now draws fans, celebrities, media and commercial attention from around the world, resulting in the biggest single-day sporting spectacle each year.

Collectors gravitate toward all things SB. Ranging from game balls and championship rings to programs and trading cards, from autographed jerseys and commemorative steins to media pins and pennants and Type I photographs. If it relates to the big-game, the hobby is ready to pay a big price. And it’s no more apparent than in the rise in popularity of big-game tickets.

In the ever-growing ticket section of the PSA Population Report, the Super Bowl Basic Set (1967-Present) is the most popular category in all of sports with 20+ more participants than any other entry including the World Series. And the competition is fierce, as so few high-grade full ticket examples exist for the early Super Bowls.

“I started my ticket collection because I went to Super Bowl II with my grandparents, and have always kept my stubs. That got me interested in collecting full Super Bowl tickets, which I believe are great works of art. The greatest Super Bowl ticket I have ever owned is not part of my basic collection. It is a full ticket from Super Bowl XX, between the Bears and Patriots. It is the white variety, of which there are only two known. It’s especially important to me as I was at Super Bowl XX and as a Bears fan, that was the highlight of my football fandom.”

Douglas Meyer, PSA SET REGISTRY

“I was inspired to start collecting SB tickets after attending SB 26 in Minnesota and seeing a few old tickets up for sale at the first NFL Experience. Today I have a complete collection of full Super Bowl tickets, including a full Super Bowl III blue variation ticket, the only one ever graded and known to still exist.”

David Butuk, PSA SET REGISTRY

Psa Pop Report

1967 Super Bowl I

POP 78

1968 Super Bowl II

POP 28

1969 Super Bowl III

POP 20

1970 Super Bowl IV

POP 108

1971 Super Bowl V

POP 35

1972 Super Bowl VI

POP 60

1973 Super Bowl VII

POP 140

1974 Super Bowl VIII

POP 349

1975 Super Bowl IX

POP 305

1976 Super Bowl X

POP 162

1977 Super Bowl XI

POP 195

1978 Super Bowl XII

POP 33

1979 Super Bowl XIII

POP 290

1980 Super Bowl XIV

POP 232

1981 Super Bowl XV

POP 240

1982 Super Bowl XVI

POP 106

1983 Super Bowl XVII

POP 242

1984 Super Bowl XVIII

POP 128

1985 Super Bowl XIX

POP 105

“There are some 'monster tickets' for people collecting Super Bowl tickets. Obviously, Super Bowl I is a biggie. I have a PSA 7 and I would like to get one of the two PSA 8s that are floating around out there. Others that are Pop 1, None Higher include 1968 white, 1972 red, 2004 green, 2005 green, 2005 blue, 2009 blue, 2021 orange to name a few. The one interesting and unique component with tickets is the distinction between stubs and full tickets. Full tickets, particularly older ones, are very hard to find because ushers tore your ticket when you entered the game. Most of these full tickets are likely from people who bought them and did not attend. And each of the early Super Bowls were played outdoors and it rained for a portion of Super Bowl III. Tickets or stubs were damaged or destroyed due to this fact and thus further helped reduce populations.”

Derek Stebner, PSA SET REGISTRY

Psa Pop Report Fact

There are fewer than 25,000 Super Bowl tickets (full and stubs, to all Super Bowls) accounted for in the PSA Population Report. That is less than half the number of attendees for Super Bowl I alone, which is the only Super Bowl that did not sell out.

A handful of factors contribute to the dearth of early Super Bowl tickets, especially full examples. First is that the game comes from humble beginnings. In fact, SB I did not sell out and it wasn’t until the game’s fourth installment that it was actually called the “Super Bowl,” having been introduced to football fans under the humdrum “AFL-NFL World Championship Game” banner for the first three years. However, the main reason full tickets are rare is because they were necessary for entry and not valued beyond that point. At the time of SB I [Jan. 15, 1967], the collectibles market, if it could even be considered a market at that point, was in its infancy. For the most part, the hobby did not consider tickets as legitimate pieces of memorabilia until much later. That has changed in recent years, and several individuals have made ticket collecting a major part of their hobby pursuits.

“My Dad attended a few Super Bowls in the 1980s and brought home the ticket stubs as souvenirs. I remember thinking they were so cool and the thought that they were the conduit to getting into the biggest game on the planet made them even more appealing. I actually still have all of them. That was certainly when the ticket-collecting seed was planted. Years later, when I had a little bit of disposable income, I purchased Super Bowl tickets here and there at local card shows. Then when the PSA Set Registry included Super Bowl tickets, it compelled me to complete and upgrade my collection.”

Dean Macchi, PSA SET REGISTRY

1986 Super Bowl XX POP 118

1987 Super Bowl XXI POP 369

1988 Super Bowl XXII POP 243

1989 Super Bowl XXIII POP 244

1990 Super Bowl XXIV POP 236

1991 Super Bowl XXV POP 262

1992 Super Bowl XXVI POP 265

1993 Super Bowl XXVII POP 405

1994 Super Bowl XXVIII POP 428

1995 Super Bowl XXIX POP 410

1996 Super Bowl XXX POP 734

“The ‘first appearance’ tickets are strong and we have seen some big sales. I believe this is because people view these in the same light as ‘rookie’ cards. I think that final appearance tickets and memorabilia are undervalued and I think Super Bowl tickets are very much undervalued. Football is clearly America's number one game and football cards and memorabilia in general has room to grow in my opinion.”

Derek Stebner, PSA SET REGISTRY

1997 Super Bowl XXXI POP 464

1998 Super Bowl XXXII POP 470

1999 Super Bowl XXXIII POP 295

2000 Super Bowl XXXIV POP 334

2001 Super Bowl XXXV POP 491

2002 Super Bowl XXXVI POP 996

2003 Super Bowl XXXVII POP 572

2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII POP 518

Psa Pop Report Fact

There are fewer than 150 graded examples of full tickets for Super Bowls I, II & III combined. Super Bowl III is the rarest of Super Bowl full tickets with a combined 20 examples of all varieties currently in the PSA Population Report.

In spite of the popularity that Super Bowl tickets are now garnering within the hobby, there is a significant challenge to the production of tickets for future events. Advancements in technology have made digital tickets and means of entry far more economical for teams and events than printing and issuing paper tickets. The Super Bowl is just one of many athletic and entertainment events that no longer requires, nor provides a paper ticket for admission.

The NFL began issuing commemorative tickets with Super Bowl LV, which was limited to just 25,000 attendees due to COVID-19 restrictions. The league issued Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) for entry to Super Bowl LVI, and again followed up with a commemorative paper ticket that was not valid for entry.

Longtime live sports attendees and hobby members balked at no longer having the physical ticket to commemorate their Super Bowl experience, while Set Registry members naturally questioned the future of their ticket collections. However, PSA ultimately decided to extend the life of Super Bowl ticket sets by including the NFL-issued commemorative tickets.

“Phasing out paper tickets has helped the current ticket ‘renaissance’ and higher prices are being paid as people realize that tickets will no longer be physically produced. It plays into the scarcity element. PSA considered closing out the Super Bowl ticket set because of this fact. I actually called PSA and explained that although the tickets required for entry are now digital, the NFL is still producing commemorative paper tickets that are collectible. I thought that collectors will lose interest if the chance to add new tickets each year is over. PSA changed its position and allowed the set to continue to expand yearly with these commemorative tickets.”

Derek Stebner, PSA SET REGISTRY

“Like most collectors, I think digital tickets are terrible. However, the benefits from a business and consumer standpoint are compelling and understandable. Though commemorative tickets and replicas are trying to replace them, as are NFTs, they are just not the same. After all, they are true artifacts of the game, something that was actually at the venue when history occurred. That's incredibly compelling. Certainly, something trading cards can't claim.”

Dean Macchi, PSA SET REGISTRY

Psa Pop Report Fact

In spite of them being commemorative souvenirs and not tickets valid for entry, the PSA Population Report includes more than 200 “tickets” from Super Bowls LV and LVI, suggesting that collectors are very interested in this set being updated annually.

Numbers alone suggest that interest in Super Bowl tickets as collectibles has significant room for growth. With a reported average of 16.7 million weekly

“I am disappointed in the loss of printed tickets. I actually think it’s one of the great souvenirs that any fan can have, and it just isn’t the same having to print them out on your phone.”

Douglas Meyer, PSA SET REGISTRY

Psa Pop Report

2005 Super Bowl XXXIX

POP 699

2006 Super Bowl XL

POP 693

2007 Super Bowl XLI

POP 582

2008 Super Bowl XLII

POP 540

2009 Super Bowl XLIII

POP 520

2010 Super Bowl XLIV

POP 434

2011 Super Bowl XLV

POP 267

2012 Super Bowl XLVI

POP 372

2013 Super Bowl XLVII

POP 346

2014 Super Bowl XLVIII

POP 384

2015 Super Bowl XLIX

POP 449

2016 Super Bowl L POP 240

2017 Super Bowl LI

POP 283

2018 Super Bowl LII

POP 301

2019 Super Bowl LIII

POP 355 television viewers during the 2022 NFL regular season and not yet 25,000 Super Bowl tickets in the PSA Population Report, it would make sense not only that prices will continue to rise, but also that more people will develop an interest once introduced to this area of the hobby. It is that confluence of increasing demand and limited supply that makes things interesting. The question is, how advanced will your collection be when that rocket finally leaves the launch pad?

2020 Super Bowl LIV

POP 350

2021 Super Bowl LV

POP 147

2022 Super Bowl LVI

POP 96