The Codex Leicester,  AKA: Codex Hammer, is a collection of largely scientific writings that was written in Milan between 1506 and 1510 by Leonardo da Vinci and was purchased and named after Thomas Coke, the Earl of Leicester, in 1717.

The Codex was purchased in 1980 by wealthy industrialist and art collector Armand Hammer from the Leicester estate, and renamed the Codex Hammer and in 1994 Bill Gates bought it at an auction and renamed it the Codex Leicester.

The book itself is written on 18 sheets of paper which were folded in half and written on both sides for a total of 72 pages and covers subjects such as the explanation of why fossils can be found on mountains, the movement of water and the luminosity of the moon.

Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for the Codex which made it the world’s most expensive book.

So when I was a kid I had paper bags full of hockey cards from the mid 70s to the late 80s but my mom threw them away. Looking at this list of the 5 most expensive hockey cards I now realize the money I lost and the pain my mom has caused me.

5) Bobby Hull, the Golden Jet,  is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game.

In his career he played 1063 games, recorded 610 points and 560 assists for a total of 1,170 points. On top of that Hull spent 640 minutes in the penalty box.

His Topps #66 Rookie Card, rated PSA 8, sold for $13,000.00.

4) Georges Vezinawas a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), all with the Montreal Canadiens from the 1916–17 season to the 1924–25 season.

In 190 games he recorded 103 wins, 81 losses and 5 ties.  He finished his career with a 3.28 goals against average.

His 1911 Imperial Tobacco card, rated PSA 7 $13,200.00 is worth $13,200.00.

3) Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey, a NHL legend, played in 5 different decades in the NHL.

During that time Howe played in 1767 games, scored 801 goals, recorded 1,049 assists and amassed 1,850 points as well as spending 1,685 minutes in the penalty box.

His 1954 Topps hockey card rated SGC 96 is also worth $13,200.00.

2) Bobby Orr,easily the greatest defenseman ever and possibly the greatest hockey player ever, save Wayne Gretzky.

Bobby spent 12 seasons in the NHL, 10 with the Boston Bruins Chicago and 2 with the Black Hawks during which time he played in 657 games, scored 270 goals, managed 645 assists and was sentenced to 953 penalty minutes.

Bobby Orr’s rookie card was issued by Topps (#35) in their 1966-67 set and a PSA 9 sold for $47,600.00

1) Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, the greatest player of all time, not much more needs to be said to justify his rookie card as being the most expensive hockey card in the world but we will still include his stats.

NHL career totals over 20 seasons: 1,487 games, 894 goals, 1,963 assists, 2,857 points,  577 penalty minutes, 208 playoff games, 122 playoff goals, 260 playoff assists, 382 playoff points, 10 Art Ross Trophies, 9 Hart Memorials,2 Conn Smythe Trophies, 5 Lester B. Pearson Trophies, 5 Lady Byng Memorials and 4 Stanley Cups.

And thats why his 1979 O-Pee-Chee rookie card, rated, BVG 9.5, sold for $50,000.00.

In the early days of baseball card collectors had to buy cigarettes such as Sweet Caporal and Piedmont to get their cards as tobacco companies were the only producers of baseball cards.

Honus Wagner was a great ball player and very much against smoking so when the 1909 set came out he used his clout to have his card pulled from the set.

Luckily Honus was a bit late and a few of the cards managed to make it into collectors hands and some 60 or so are known to exist today.

The world’s most expensive baseball card is the T206 Honus Wagner and on September 6, 2007 one of them sold to an anonymous collector for $2.8 million.

William Shakespeare

was baptised on April 26, 1564 but his exact birth date is unknown. He died on April 23, 1616 at the age of 54.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, England and at 18 married Anne Hathaway and had 3 kids.

Throughout his life he wrote many plays, poems and sonnets that are still known worldwide. Tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet as well as comedies like The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice.

Although his work survived, his autograph is rare, so rare that only six are known to exist, one on a conveyance for a house in London, one on a deposition in a legal case, one on his mortgage papers, and three in his will and all are held in institutions.

Should one ever come up for sale it is estimated that it would easily fetch $5 million USD, now that’s a lot of chicken scratch.

The 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic.

Originally only three 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantics were made, now only two exist and one of them just sold for $42 million making it the world’s most expensive car. The car was purchased by Gooding & Company in California.