Paul Skenes' coveted 1/1 rookie card hits auction block, 11-year-old collector shares 'dream come true' story on Pirates ace's collectible

On Friday, the most sought-after Paul Skenes' 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card (from Topps) was found by an 11-year-old. This is the same card for which the Pittsburgh Pirates were willing to offer 30 years of season tickets and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch an MLB game in the suite of PNC Park alongside Skenes' girlfriend and social media star Olivia Dunne.

However, the 11-year-old, whose name is yet to be identified, rejected the lucrative offers and has instead decided to auction it off in the March Premier auction to be held by Fanatics Collect.

The young fan also penned down a heartfelt journal on how he came across the rare Paul Skenes card. For the collector, pulling this card was a life-changing moment.

"It was November 13, 2024, when the Topps Chrome Update set was released," the 11-year old wrote.

"It was priced at $200, which was a lot, but considering the players and rookies included, it was fair. I started begging my mom for it for Christmas (my dad was at work)."

The collector shared the story of how he/she begged his/her parents to buy the box, originally priced at $200, but rising prices almost made it unattainable.

“On Black Friday, the prices didn’t drop. They went up to $350! I was very, very sad,” the 11-year old said.

However, much to the delight of the 11-year-old, the child’s parents snagged the box at $320 from a local hobby store just in time for Christmas.

The 11-year-old also narrated the moment when he found the rare and highly demanded Paul Skenes 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card.

"Fast forward to Christmas morning. I woke up at 4:00 AM and accidentally woke my brother," the 11 year old wrote.

"Oops. We waited until 6:30 a.m. to wake our parents. The first present I opened was the hobby box. My brother got some Legos, and I started opening packs. In the second pack, I pulled the Paul Skenes redemption card.

"I quoted, 'Hey Dad, I pulled the Paul Skenes redemption card.' He was like, 'No, you didn’t.' Then I showed him the card. We—me, my brother, and my dad—were like, 'OMG!!!!'

"My mom was excited too, but since she doesn’t collect cards, she didn’t know what it meant. I started bouncing all over the place, and my dad said, “Let’s gooo!”

It was a big moment for the family, as they all knew the importance of the card and how the demand it will have in the near future.

"Later that day, we went to one of our grandparents' houses and hung out with family. As an 11-year-old, pulling this card is a dream come true," the 11 year old added.

The family plans to auction the card for now, knowing its immense value on the market. Experts predict the card could fetch upwards of five figures at auction, given Skenes is coming off an NL Rookie of the Year performance.

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Auction proceeds from Paul Skenes card to benefit towards LA wildfires

According to Baseball America, the 11-year belongs to California. Fanatics Collect, who's going to organize the auction in March, announced that all proceeds from the auction of the highly coveted Paul Skenes 1/1 rookie card will be donated to wildfire relief efforts in the Los Angeles area.

Fanatics Collect typically takes a 20% haircut on the sale of auctioned items. In this case, however, they have pledged to donate their entire commission fee to wildfire relief.

So, if the Paul Skenes card were to sell for $2 million, the total price paid by the winning bidder could reach $2.4 million. Of this amount, $2 million would go directly to the collector, while the additional $400,000 commission (20% of $2 million) would be donated to help the Los Angeles area recover from devastating wildfires.