The sketch card has become an integral part of the card collecting ecosystem in recent years, particularly as the popularity of Marvel and "Star Wars" cards have surged — and with it, limited-edition sketch cards for each.
But the origin of the sketch cards, at least for mainstream collectors, goes back to the 1993 SkyBox "Simpsons" set.
Though it wasn’t the first "Simpsons"-oriented card release (Topps had produced a set three years prior), the SkyBox set would become the most enduring "Simpsons" card product. Not because of any of its 80 base cards — which featured various characters from the show as well as subsets from “Itchy & Scratchy” and other more niche subjects — but instead because of the now-famous Art DeBart card.
Only 400 redemption cards were randomly inserted into packs (approximately one in 9,000), and collectors could send each redemption in for a unique sketch of Bart Simpson from "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening himself.
With the popularity and staying power of the television show, as well as the growing popularity of non-sports and entertainment cards, demand for the rare sketch cards has surged in recent years.
The current record price for any Art DeBart card belongs to a PSA/DNA 10 example which sold at Heritage in August 2022 for $18,600.
The most recent public sale came in April, when a PSA 9/Auto 10 sold for $7,400.
Heritage Auctions will sell a PSA 9/Auto 10 example, which the auction house says is one of six examples at the grade with just one higher, during its Non-Sports Trading Cards Showcase Auction this week, with bidding reaching $5,875 (including buyer’s premium) as of Wednesday afternoon.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.