For all the cynicism that sometimes creeps into the modern hobby, the obsession with ROI, the breaker drama, the endless debates over grading companies, there are still moments that remind us exactly what collecting is all about. Sometimes, it’s just a family sitting around a table, ripping packs, and hitting a card that changes their lives.
That’s exactly what happened to Robbin, a grandmother from Mesa, Arizona, and her three grandsons when they opened a box of the newly released Topps Chrome Football. They didn’t just pull a nice card. They pulled the absolute ceiling: the Josh Allen 1-of-1 Gold Shield Auto redemption.
To understand how monumental this is, I sat down with Robbin to hear the story firsthand.
The 6:30 A.M. Wake-Up Call
The story actually starts a few months ago, when Robbin and her husband pulled down 20 Rubbermaid tubs of old baseball and football cards for their 15-year-old grandson, Dylan, to look through. The old tubs lit a spark, and soon the whole family was going to card shops and shows together.
When Topps Chrome Football finally released, Dylan made sure his grandma was ready.
“Dylan knew NFL Topps Chrome was coming out and he kind of reminded me pretty much every day,” Robbin laughed. “He sent me a text message about 6:30 that morning to please go and maybe I could be first in line.”
Grandma delivered. She showed up at Hot Corner Sports Cards in Mesa at 8:00 A.M., a full hour before they opened, securing her spot as first in line. She pointed to a single hobby box on the shelf and then grabbed several blasters But getting the boxes was only half the battle. She laid down a strict family rule: no one was allowed to open a single pack until all three boys, Dylan (15), Harrison, and Steven (10), were out of school for the day.
The Golden Ticket
Once the boys were finally home, Robbin handed out the packs and told them to “take a deep breath” and “take your time. Enjoy it.”
It was 10-year-old Steven who struck gold.
“I was standing next to him and he opened his pack and couple cards in, he goes, ‘Oh, this is kind of weird. What’s the ticket for? I got a ticket,'” Robbin recalled. “And Harrison and Dylan just started screaming and jumping up and down… he goes, ‘Well, it’s a cool Josh Allen ticket.'”
“At first the kids were so ecstatic because they thought it was a ticket to meet Josh Allen” Robbin said. It wasn’t until they got a second opinion that they found out what they had was a little more valuable.
The family rushed the redemption card back to Hot Corner, where the shop owner, Phil, confirmed exactly what they had.
“They just looked at me and said, ‘You have the Willy Wonka golden ticket,'” Robbin said.
A Family Win
While Robbin and her husband are lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fans, they recognized the magnitude of the 1-of-1 Gold Shield Auto. But what they decided to do with it is the absolute best part of the story.
The family has decided to send the card to auction via Fanatics Collect, and Robbin and her husband are splitting the proceeds evenly with the three boys.
As for whether pulling the biggest card imaginable ruined the thrill of opening normal packs?
“It poured gasoline on the fire,” Robbin joked, noting that the boys are already hunting for Chrome Kaiju inserts and looking forward to upcoming releases.
The Fanatics Collect Premier Auction Block
Robbin’s Josh Allen 1-of-1 isn’t the only massive card hitting the Fanatics Collect auction block. Also up for auction is a 2024-25 Finest UCC Lionel Messi Auto-Black Foil 1/1 (Graded 8.5). But this isn’t a standard consignment, all proceeds, including the buyer’s premium, are being directly donated to Project Sunshine.
“Anytime a good opportunity like this comes up, especially in the premier stage, we’re gonna take it,” Kevin Lenane VP of Marketplace at Fanatics explained, crediting the seller for the philanthropic move. “Kudos to the collector… hats off to that team.”
It’s refreshing to see a massive card used for philanthropic good, especially in a market driven so heavily by profit margins.
Explosive Growth and Chasing Grails
Landing a card like Robbin’s Josh Allen Shield is a massive win for Fanatics Collect. While it’s easy for collectors to assume that Topps redemptions act as a built-in pipeline straight to the Fanatics auction house, Lenane notes that redemptions actually make up a remarkably small fraction of their business.
“Of our total GMV [Gross Merchandise Value]… a percent or two were redemptions,” Lenane revealed. “It is a tiny percentage even with bigger cards. The truth is that I have to chase them like everything else.”
Instead, Lenane credits their ability to land massive consignments to the platform’s sheer organic growth over the last year and a half.
“Our auction is almost 10 times the size it was 18 months ago,” Lenane shared, pointing out that a recent weekly auction featured 25,000 items and generated $10 million. “As we continue to succeed, it just kind of piles on.”
A Legendary Auction Lineup
Whether you are bidding on the Messi for charity or hoping to take home Robbin’s Josh Allen golden ticket, the rest of the Fanatics Collect Premier Auction block is absolutely loaded. Other notable grails include:
-
Wayne Gretzky: 1979 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Wayne Gretzky ROOKIE RC #18 PSA Auto. Graded a 9 with a pristine 10 Autograph, Lenane confidently called this “perhaps the number one autographed hockey card in the world.”
-
Dennis Rodman: 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Green.
-
Kobe Bryant: 2010 Playoff National Treasures Colossal Materials
-
LeBron James: 2025 Topps Chrome Superfractor Auto 1/1
-
Cristiano Ronaldo: 2015 Panini Flawless Finishes Black AUTO DNA 10 1/1
-
Tom Brady: 2025 Topps Chrome Superfractor Auto 1/1
-
Charizard: 1999 Pokémon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo
If there is one thing we can learn from Robbin and her grandsons, it’s that the best part of the hobby is sharing it with the people you love. And while they won’t be meeting Josh Allen, the memories of this pull will last them a lifetime.
Do you have a story like this? Let us know on Mantel.
