Since the 1960s, skateboarding has been the favourite activity of rebels and misfits everywhere. For that reason, it’s always been considered pretty cool.
No surprise, then, that some skateboards fetch big money. From culturally significant decks to works of art and even boujee boards made by luxury brands, here are five of the most expensive ever sold…
Damien Hirst x Supreme ‘Spot Paintings’
Perhaps best known for his creations containing the carcasses of dead animals in tanks of formaldehyde, artist and sculptor Damien Hirst’s individual works have sold for more than $10 million at auction, so it’s unsurprising that a series of skateboards he designed in 2009 cost about the same price as a second-hand BMW.
The set of five boards was a collaboration with Supreme — a brand famous for generating hype with their limited edition fashion drops — and each was adorned with different-sized, multi-coloured dots. The collection was bought for $15,000 at Christie’s in 2019; safe to say you’re unlikely to see them picking up scuff marks and ‘razor tail’ damage at a skatepark near you anytime soon.
Andy Warhol Campell Soup Can Decks
In 1962, Andy Warhol turned the humble soup can into a priceless work of art that made a statement on consumer culture. Fast forward 60 years or so and those same soup cans made it onto some colourful skateboards, as a result of a collab between The Stateroom and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Produced in limited numbers in 2010, the skateboards are hard to come by. But you can buy a set of 10 decks decorated with Warhol’s pop art masterpiece — plus his depictions of Marilyn Monroe and Chairman Mao — for around $8,500.
The Supreme Mundi
One of the world’s most expensive skateboards is the $20,000 Supreme Mundi, designed by British artist Adrian Wilson.
Designed in the shape of an artist’s palette and inspired by Dianne Dwyer Modestini’s meticulous restoration of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, ‘Salvator Mundi’, the unconventional board is fully-functional and was apparently ridden on the sidewalks of New York’s Lower East Side (presumably quite carefully) before being sold on eBay to a private art collector.
Futura’s “For Love Or Money” Deck
Brooklyn-based artist Futura was a figurehead of the graffiti scene that exploded in the 1970s and 80s. His For Love Or Money (FLOM) pattern is comprised of different currencies, including dollars, pounds and yen, and it’s appeared on everything from towels to sneakers.
The FLOM design also made it onto a one-off skateboard, which has become the stuff of legend. Very little is known about it, but if it ever goes on sale it’s likely to become the most expensive deck of all time. As an indication, 24 pairs of Nike FLOM trainers have each sold for more than $60,000.
Jamie Thomas And Bob Dylan “Blown’ In The Wind” Skateboard
If a deck’s been owned by one of the great pro boarders, you can expect it’s worth a hefty sum. Jamie Thomas, a.k.a. ‘The Chief’, has appeared in all the Tony Hawks’ video games and is renowned for his stunts, including the notorious ‘Leap of Faith’ (seen at the end of this two-minute clip).
In 2012, a board that Thomas had ridden — and featured lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan — broke auction records, fetching an astonishing $38,425. Hopefully, the buyer didn’t try to recreate Thomas’s legendary Ollie attempt — for the sake of their knees if nothing else.
Got a rare skateboard or another luxury item you’d like to raise funds against? Almagrove has 30 years of experience in the industry. Contact us to find out more.