Shohei Ohtani Red Refractor Rookie Autograph Card Sells for $2.44 Million at Goldin

One of Shohei Ohtani’s rarest rookie autograph cards has sold for $2.44 million at Goldin. The 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs Red Refractor #CRA-SO is numbered 2/5 and graded BGS Gem Mint 9.5. It attracted 42 bids before closing at $2,440,000 in Goldin’s Summer Goldin 100 auction. The final price includes Goldin’s 22% buyer’s premium. The card was the highest-selling sports item in the auction.

There are only five Red Refractor versions of Ohtani’s 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph, placing the card among the toughest parallels from one of the key products of his rookie season. This copy carries the 2/5 serial number and received a BGS 9.5 grade. Goldin described it as a True Gem+ example, with subgrades of either 9.5 or 10.

The result puts the card among the most expensive Ohtani rookies ever sold publicly. In June, a one-of-one 2018 Topps Chrome SuperFractor rookie sold through Goldin for $2,562,229. Unlike the Bowman Red Refractor, that card is not autographed. A one-of-one 2018 Bowman Chrome SuperFractor rookie later sold privately through Fanatics Collect for $3.365 million.

The $2.44 million Red Refractor sale shows that Ohtani’s highest-end rookie cards do not need to be one-of-ones to reach multimillion-dollar prices when rarity, condition and autograph appeal line up.

The card also finished comfortably ahead of the other major sports lots in the Summer Goldin 100. A 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan Number Pieces autograph patch card sold for $1.464 million, while a one-of-one 2026 Panini Prizm World Cup Black Prizm Lamine Yamal reached $702,855. Another Ohtani card, a 2025 Topps Chrome SuperFractor graded PSA 10, sold for $701,500.

The 2018 Bowman Chrome Red Refractor Shohei Ohtani rookie autograph, numbered 2/5 and graded BGS 9.5, is now a $2.44 million card.