Ken Goldin, Jeremy Padawer, and Heritage Founders Join Treasure Trove Collectibles Advisory Board

Treasure Trove has added some of the biggest names in the collectibles business to its new advisory board. The collectibles holding company announced that Goldin founder Ken Goldin, longtime collector and investor Jeremy Padawer, and Heritage Auctions co-founders Jim Halperin and Steve Ivy have joined the board. Treasure Trove founder AJ Scaramucci described the group as the “Avengers of the collectibles world.”

It is a very experienced group covering several corners of the hobby. Goldin has spent decades in sports cards and memorabilia and founded the auction company that bears his name. He has also previously worked with Treasure Trove on its acquisition of Joe Montana’s Super Bowl XXIV jersey. Goldin’s auction company was also behind the record-shattering sale of Logan Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator card for $16.492 million to AJ Scaramucci.

Halperin and Ivy also bring a broad auction background. The two co-founded Heritage Auctions, which now handles everything from coins and comics to trading cards, movie memorabilia, video games and other collectibles. Heritage Auctions is well on the way to a record breaking year, recently reporting a $1.41 billion first half.

Padawer approaches the hobby from the collector and investor side. Treasure Trove says he uses his own underwriting model when evaluating collectibles and began treating Pokémon cards as a serious investment opportunity in 2018, well before some of the biggest price increases in that market. Padawer is also the President of Jazwares, which is a global toy manufacturer known for a wide range of collectibles including the popular Squishmallows plush toys.

Treasure Trove says the board will do more than lend recognizable names to the company. The advisors are expected to help identify major collectibles, locate owners and evaluate potential acquisitions. That access is especially important because Treasure Trove is concentrating on what it calls “grail-level” pieces rather than building a collection around more commonly available collectibles. The company says knowing where major pieces are held, and who owns them, is a central part of its acquisition strategy.

“Collectibles have evolved from passion assets into a serious global asset class, and Treasure Trove is building for what comes next,” said Padawer. “I’m excited to join the advisory board and help identify, acquire, steward, and tell the stories of the world’s most iconic cultural assets with the discipline, ambition and long-term vision they deserve.”

Treasure Trove has already made several major purchases. Among them is the previously mentioned PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card that the company acquired for $16.492 million. Its holdings also include a high-grade copy of Tales of Suspense #39 acquired for $2 million, the 1963 comic featuring the first appearance of Iron Man, as well as what it describes as the highest-graded copy of the earliest sealed edition of Super Mario Bros acquired for $3 million through Heritage Auctions.

Treasure Trove’s approach is built around holding those major collectibles for the long term. The company refers to the concept as a “Cultural Store of Value,” arguing that exceptionally rare cards, comics, memorabilia and other pieces can be evaluated in a similar way to other scarce assets. The company points to the price histories of pieces such as the Babe Ruth “Called Shot” jersey, Pikachu Illustrator cards and high-end sealed video games as examples of how some of the hobby’s best-known collectibles have appreciated over long periods.

Treasure Trove also says it plans to do more with its collection than simply keep the pieces in storage. The company works with museums to exhibit holdings and produces media about the history of major collectibles and how they were acquired.