One of the best insert cards in Topps Now Olympic basketball has landed in Laton, California, a town with a population of 1,214.
Andy Zonneveld and his 8-year-old son, Andrew, received their package from Topps, having been among the collectors who ordered the 588,030 base cards featuring LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. But when they opened up the box something seemed different.
"We ordered the deal I heard on our local radio station, which was five base cards for $49.99, but when we opened it up, there were two packages, and one was more thick and heavy than the other," Zonneveld told cllct.
When they opened it up, they saw the card featuring Curry, James and Durant in its own case.
"Dad, it's a one of one," Andrew said.
"He was excited," his father said. "But I'm not sure he realized the magnitude of what he got."
Andy, deciding they were going to sell it, posted the card on a Facebook group, and it got to Geoff Wilson of Sports Card Investor fame. Wilson offered the Zonnevelds $25,000 and a trip to Atlanta to visit his massive card store, CardsHQ.
But ultimately, the Zonnevelds decided Sunday afternoon to sign a contract with Goldin Auctions, where the card will sold later this month in its Elite Auction.
Goldin didn't give the Zonnevelds an estimate, and Ken Goldin passed on saying how much they're hoping to receive, when contacted by cllct.
"I told my son, we're going to flip this and make money to invest in your future schooling," said Andy, who is part of a family-owned dairy conglomerate that owns 9,000 cows. "I told him we could take $20,000 of it and find some special cards, as we're really just novices at this point."
The world is still waiting for the autographed one-of-one version of the card.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said on social media he would double the highest offer for the card, which is currently $500,000. Wilson and Goldin have also made their pitches to the soon-to-be owner.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.