NewsMacroTeenager's 1-of-1 Gold Jimothy Rookie Card From Mariners Giveaway Sells for $21,100 on eBay

Teenager's 1-of-1 Gold Jimothy Rookie Card From Mariners Giveaway Sells for $21,100 on eBay

Author: Fox Business Markets·

Key Takeaways

  • A one-of-one gold Jimothy rookie card pulled by 13-year-old fan Abby sold for $21,100 on eBay after 100 bids.
  • The card was a chase variant hidden among 20,000 free cards given to fans at the Mariners' Aug. 5 promotion at T-Mobile Park.
  • Jimothy is a raccoon in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, believed to have Short Spine Syndrome, whose videos went viral in July.
  • Bidding opened at 99 cents and climbed past $21,000 within days, with fan pages saying proceeds will go toward Abby's college fund.
  • The promotion also offered a ticket package with a Jimothy T-shirt, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Ballard Food Bank.
Teenager's 1-of-1 Gold Jimothy Rookie Card From Mariners Giveaway Sells for $21,100 on eBay

A 13-year-old Seattle Mariners fan turned a free ballpark giveaway into a five-figure payday after a one-of-one gold rookie card featuring Seattle's viral raccoon sensation, Jimothy, sold for $21,100.

The rare card sold on eBay Sunday night after drawing 100 bids, transforming a quirky Mariners promotion into an unexpected windfall for the young fan. Bidding opened at just 99 cents before climbing past $21,000 within days.

The result is a striking illustration of how internet virality can translate directly into collectibles value: a promotional card handed out free at a ballpark gate became a five-figure auction item within weeks of the raccoon's rise to fame. Insert-chase mechanics of this kind — where rare variants are seeded into mass giveaways — have long been a staple of the trading card hobby, though it is unusual for a novelty team promotion built around a local animal celebrity to draw this level of bidding.

The card belonged to 13-year-old Mariners fan Abby, who landed the coveted gold version after the team capitalized on the sudden fame of Jimothy, an unusually shaped raccoon whose appearances around Seattle's Ballard neighborhood have made him an unlikely local celebrity.

The Mariners confirmed to Fox News Digital that Abby's golden ticket — or, in this case, golden card — was tucked among the thousands handed out during the team's Aug. 5 promotion.

"Talk about a one-of-a-kind pull," T-Mobile Park wrote in a social media post announcing Abby's find, alongside photos of the teenager holding up the rare card.

The Mariners announced July 29 that "Jimothy is taking over" T-Mobile Park as part of the special promotion scheduled for Aug. 5. The first 20,000 fans through the gates were set to receive a Jimothy rookie card, the team said, with several rarer "chase cards" mixed into the giveaway.

"Among the 20,000 cards, we had collection of 'chase cards' which were headlined by the 1-of-1 gold card that Abby took home," the Mariners told Fox News Digital.

Fans could also purchase a special ticket package that included a Jimothy T-shirt, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Ballard Food Bank.

Among the thousands of cards handed out was the ultimate prize: the pristine, one-of-one gold Jimothy rookie card that ended up with Abby. The teenager later put the card up for auction on eBay, where collectors quickly drove up the price. After opening at $0.99, the auction steadily climbed into the thousands before closing at $21,100 on Sunday following 100 bids.

Several Jimothy and Seattle Mariners fan pages claimed the proceeds from the sale are expected to go toward Abby's college fund.

The frenzy is the latest chapter in the unlikely rise of Jimothy, a raccoon believed to have a rare condition known as Short Spine Syndrome that gives him his distinctive compact appearance. Jimothy became an internet sensation in July after videos showed the small, round raccoon wandering through Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Videos of the critter quickly racked up millions of views as residents documented him scurrying across streets, appearing in backyards and roaming the neighborhood. Despite his unusual appearance, Jimothy appeared healthy and active, Fox 13 Seattle previously reported.

Dmitriy Ishimskiy, a Ballard resident who captured footage of the raccoon and said Jimothy regularly visited his property, told Storyful in July that the animal had quickly become a neighborhood star.

"Over the past week, Jimothy has become a local celebrity, and I feel lucky to have captured this moment on video," Ishimskiy said.

The Mariners soon joined the Jimothy craze, bringing the viral raccoon from the streets of Ballard to the ballpark with Jimothy-themed events in August. The sale's closing price also sets a data point for how far a team's viral marketing moment can travel — from a neighborhood raccoon video to a memorabilia auction — though whether the wider Jimothy card series holds collector value beyond this unique gold example remains to be seen.