Masters Ticket from 1934 Sets Collectibles Record with $600K Sale

The record for the highest priced sports collectible ticket didn't even last a month.

A 1934 ticket from the very first Masters was sold privately for $600,000. Ryan Carey of Golden Age Auctions confirmed the details of the sale.

The ticket is autographed by 17 of the 61 participants in the inaugural Masters tournament, which was then called the Augusta National Invitational Tournament. The ticket is autographed by winner Horton Smith and greats Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen as well as famous sportswriter Grantland Rice.

Carey said the 1934 Masters Season ticket is one of only three known from the 1934 Masters and Augusta National owns one of them. This ticket last sold for $50,000 approximately 15 years ago when vintage golf tickets seemed to be the only tickets that were coveted.

In April of 2018, a badge to the first Masters sold for nearly $120,000. It's original value was $2.20. Knowing what it was worth in a world where there was virtually no market for tickets, this ticket could easily leap to the top if it surfaced again.

In the past year and a half, sports tickets have turned into a hot collectible. Just last month, Heritage Auctions sold a Jackie Robinson debut ticket for $480,000, the record at the time. The only known full ticket to Michael Jordan's debut sold for $468,000.

Of the previous 10 most expensive collectible tickets ever sold, one was golf related. Three of them are NFL related — all based on Tom Brady. Three tickets surrounding key Michael Jordan events are on the list, and three baseball tickets complete the order.