Michael Phelps’ medal count won’t near his certified autograph total

After another ridiculously dominating run in the pool last night, Michael Phelps claimed the 22nd Olympic gold medal of his career and ran up his medal collection to 26.

It’s a mark that’s not likely to be touched — but it’s also a mark that can’t compare to his number of certified autographs.

Although he’s a pricey signature, he’s one of the most-prolific Olympians when it comes to autographed cards.

Phelps’ first autograph came way back in 2004 with this Donruss/Playoff Fans of the Game auto found in packs of Rookies & Stars football cards. Why? He was a celeb whose NFL affinity was noted on a card — a new thing that helped pave the way for many more celebrity autographs in collectors’ packs of cards.

Since then, Phelps has appeared on more than 50 different autograph cards — many signed in low quantities — in products for Topps, Upper Deck and Donruss/Playoff. He’s appeared on cards in 2009 Allen & Ginter as well as this year’s version of the retro styled set and its Allen & Ginter X counterpart. He’s appeared in Topps’ Olympic sets in 2012 and this year. He’s appeared in Topps’ American Heritage set, Upper Deck’s World of Sports, Ultimate Collection, 2009-10 UD Draft basketball and more.

Now may not be the time to go chasing one — prices will be high as demand should be up there, too — but, on the same token, he’s clearly the No. 1 autograph to own when it comes to Olympic sports.

On the high end, a pair of active eBay auctions for rare or key graded Phelps autos have asking prices of $15,000 per card. One is one of his 1/1 Ginter autographs signed in gold ink and graded a PSA 10, while the other is a Fans of the Game that is one of only two graded by BGS and it’s got a 9 card/10 auto mark. They are not alone among the active auctions.

When it comes to actual sales, only one Phelps card has topped the $1,000 mark and that’s for a PSA 10 copy of his Fans of the Game auto — which is by far his best-selling auto despite its silver sticker, which was common at the time but is not now. That card sold for $1,358 last month. In all, more than 40 Phelps autos have sold for $200 or more on eBay in recent months.

The good news is that, like his medals, there are plenty. A small sampling of his autographs can be seen below.

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