Top 10 Most Expensive Things Ever Sold

The Pink Star Diamond set the auction record for any gemstone at $71.2 million when sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2017. This 59.60-carat internally flawless pink diamond, mined in South Africa in 1999, required two years of cutting and polishing to achieve its cushion-cut brilliance. It is one of the rarest Type IIa diamonds, making up less than 2% of all natural diamonds.

The Honus Wagner T206 Baseball Card commands the highest price ever paid for a sports card at $7.25 million in a 2022 private sale. Issued between 1909 and 1911, its extreme rarity—fewer than 200 copies exist—stems from Wagner himself demanding American Tobacco cease production due to objections over marketing to children. The card's backstory and scarcity make it a legendary artifact of baseball history.

Action Comics #1, featuring Superman's debut in 1938, set a record at $3.25 million in a 2021 Heritage Auctions sale—the most ever for a comic book. Only about 100 copies survive from the original print run, and this CGC 8.5-graded example is the finest regularly traded Superman #1, towering above a typical high-grade comic. Its price is less than half the $7.25 million of the Honus Wagner card at #5, yet it remains a cornerstone of pop culture and comic collecting.

Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester achieved $30.8 million at Christie's in 1994, the highest auction price ever for a manuscript. This 72-page scientific notebook, purchased by Bill Gates, includes Leonardo's insights on water, astronomy, and geology.

The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO secured $70 million in a 2018 private sale, making it the most valuable car ever sold. Only 36 examples were built from 1962–64, and chassis #3413GT combines racing pedigree with iconic styling that is 40% more expensive than the runner-up 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Its price exceeds the Honus Wagner card at #5 by nearly ten times, cementing its apex in automotive collecting history.

Edvard Munch's 1895 pastel of The Scream commands $119.9 million at Sotheby's New York, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction at that time. This price surpasses the $82.5 million paid for Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet in 1990, underscoring the exceptional demand for Munch's work. The pastel carries a handwritten note from Munch describing the "infinite scream passing through nature" that inspired it, adding profound historical value to its monetary worth.

The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond sold for $57.5 million in 2016 at Christie's Geneva, achieving a record $3.93 million per carat for a gemstone at auction. Fancy vivid blue diamonds of this size and intensity are extraordinarily rare, with only a handful of comparable stones ever discovered.