More Beijing Buzz: Phelps Autographed Card on Fire

So while writing about the potential effects of the Olympics on sports cards yesterday, I forgot that the most decorated athlete in Beijing - that would be U.S. swimming sensation Michael Phelps - has a few cards of his own.

Fortunately, the folks at Donruss helped remind me with a link to an AP article about the rapidly rising value of a 2004 Phelps autographed card. Pictured here, the card in question is from the Fans of the Game insert that captured signatures from stars of TV, movies and other sports who were big supporters of a particular NFL team. In Phelps' case, it was his hometown Baltimore Ravens.

The article states that about 300 of the autographed cards were produced (there is a more common non-autographed card as well) and that they were trading above $500. A quick check of some of them up for sale on eBay shows they could go even higher if Phelps finishes his amazing shot at eight gold medals. This example will close after all of Phelps' swims are finished and is already above $400 as I write this.

Another cool card currently up for auction is this Michael Phelps/Matt Biondi dual autograph that was given to random attendees at the 2005 Kit Young Hawaii Trade Conference. One word of caution though: if you want to join in on Phelps-mania, it may be best to wait until the Beijing Games have been over for a while, as prices on his cards and collectibles are obviously going to be highest while the world is still caught up in his exploits.

Image courtesy of and copyright Donruss Playoff.