Want a pair of never-before-worn Nike “Moon Shoes” from the ’70s? They’ll only set you back $437,500.
Sotheby’s auctioned off the 1972 Nike Waffle Racing Flat “Moon Shoe” for that price Tuesday, the most ever paid for a pair of sneakers. The shoes, originally created for the U.S. Olympic Trials, are among the rarest sneakers in existence.
The track sneakers were initially part of a 100-pair collection, with the other 99 pairs acquired on July 17 for Miles Spencer Nadal. The rest of the collection sold for $850,000, and Nadal scooped this pair up, too.
Stadium Goods partnered with Sotheby’s for the sale, pulling some of the rarest styles from its private collection. The looks, according to the secondary marketplace giant, span 15 years and include sought-after Nikes, Air Jordans, Yeezys and more.
No shoe in the collection generated as much buzz as the “Moon Shoe.” While it was initially expected to go for between $110,000 and $160,000, the sneaker ultimately went for more than double its expected price.
Only about a dozen pairs of the sneakers were ever made, and this is the last known one in deadstock condition. Geoff Hollister, a longtime Nike employee, hand-cobbled each of the shoes, welding together two pieces for the waffle-iron soles because the technology to make one piece wasn’t available at the time.
The previous record for most expensive sneakers sold at an auction was set in 2017 when a pair of signed Converse sneakers, believed to have been worn by Michael Jordan in the 1984 Olympic Finals, went for $190,373.
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