Ask most people what a skateboard is worth and they will guess somewhere between a pizza and a pair of trainers. The auction records say otherwise. The most expensive skateboard ever sold went for more than a million dollars, and a single wall of decks once changed hands at Sotheby's for $800,000. Here are the verified record sales, the stories behind them, and what they tell you if you want deck art on your own wall.
The record: Tony Hawk's "900" board, $1,152,000
In June 1999, at the X Games in San Francisco, Tony Hawk landed the first 900 in competition: two and a half full rotations in the air on a vert ramp. He was riding a Birdhouse "Falcon 2" deck.
In September 2025 that exact board went up at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles, in a sale called "Tony Hawk: The 900 Collection", with Hawk himself in the room. The pre-sale estimate was $500,000 to $700,000. The hammer came down at $1,152,000, a world record for skateboarding memorabilia, according to Julien's Auctions. The buyer was not disclosed. Other gear from the same night sold too: per ESPN, the helmet fetched $115,200, the shoes $64,000 and the knee pads $57,600. Hawk said the proceeds would go to The Skatepark Project, his non-profit that helps build public skateparks.
What is interesting from a design point of view is that the graphic on this board is not what sold it. It is a standard pro model of its time. The price is pure provenance: one board, one trick, one moment that everyone in skateboarding remembers. That is the first rule of expensive skateboards. The story usually outweighs the object.
The biggest deck art sale: the complete Supreme archive, $800,000
If the Hawk board is the record for a single skateboard, the Supreme archive is the record for skateboard deck art. In January 2019, Sotheby's sold the only complete private collection of Supreme skate decks: all 248 decks the brand released between 1998 and 2018. Los Angeles collector Ryan Fuller had spent years hunting down every one of them.
The online sale had an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million and sold for $800,000 to Carson Guo, a 17-year-old collector from Vancouver, as reported by CNBC and Sotheby's own press release. CNBC called it the highest price ever paid for a skate deck collection at auction, and worked out the average at more than $3,200 per deck.
Why did a wall of skateboards end up at the same auction house that sells Old Masters? Because the archive reads like a contemporary art catalogue. Sotheby's highlighted two Damien Hirst sets from 2009 (one with his "spot" paintings, one with his "spin" paintings), a three-deck Jeff Koons set based on "Monkey Train", George Condo portraits and Rammellzee's decks, Supreme's first artist collaboration. CNBC also pointed to a five-deck set showing the central part of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper". Each deck is a print. The whole set is the artwork.
I looked at what this sale meant for ordinary collectors in a separate post: Selling Your Skateboard Collection: The $800K Supreme Auction.
Signed lyric decks: Boards+Bands, 2012
Before Sotheby's and before the 900 sale, the price records for a single deck came from a charity auction. In December 2012, Boards+Bands, an idea by musician Ben Harper for the Tony Hawk Foundation, paired pro skaters' used decks with musicians who wrote their lyrics on them by hand. Eight boards were sold on eBay and raised more than $126,000, according to ESPN.
- Jamie Thomas x Bob Dylan, $38,425. A deck ridden by Jamie Thomas, signed by Dylan, with the lyrics of "Blowin' in the Wind" written on it by hand. At the time it was described as the highest price ever paid for a single skateboard deck.
- Bucky Lasek x Adam Yauch, $35,000. A set of four decks with the Beastie Boys' "Bodhisattva Vow" lyrics, written by Adam "MCA" Yauch.
- Tony Hawk x Paul McCartney, $27,116. Hawk's own board with the "Blackbird" lyrics written by McCartney.
Same lesson as with the 900 board: a used deck is worth almost nothing, until a name and a story are written on it.
The most expensive skateboards: verified sales at a glance
| Skateboard / collection | Price | Year | Where | Why it sold high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Hawk's Birdhouse "Falcon 2" (900 board) | $1,152,000 | 2025 | Julien's Auctions | Board from the first 900 in competition, 1999 X Games |
| Complete Supreme deck archive (248 decks) | $800,000 | 2019 | Sotheby's | Only complete private set, many artist collaborations |
| Jamie Thomas deck with Bob Dylan lyrics | $38,425 | 2012 | Boards+Bands (eBay) | Handwritten "Blowin' in the Wind", signed by Dylan |
| Bucky Lasek four-deck set with Adam Yauch lyrics | $35,000 | 2012 | Boards+Bands (eBay) | Handwritten Beastie Boys lyrics |
| Tony Hawk deck with Paul McCartney lyrics | $27,116 | 2012 | Boards+Bands (eBay) | Handwritten "Blackbird" |
I only list sales that I could confirm with the auction house or major news coverage. You will find bigger numbers online for gold-plated boards, custom luxury builds or "asking prices" on resale sites. An asking price is not a sale, so they are not on this list.
What actually makes a skateboard expensive
Look at the table again and the pattern is clear. None of these boards is expensive because of the wood. They are expensive because of one or more of the following:
- Provenance. A specific board from a specific moment, with proof. The Hawk board is the extreme case.
- A famous hand. A signature, handwritten lyrics or an artist collaboration turns a mass-produced object into a one-off.
- Completeness and rarity. One Supreme deck is a collectible. All 248 of them, in one place, is an archive nobody else can put together.
- Several audiences at once. Skaters, art collectors, music fans and streetwear collectors all bid on the same objects. More buyers chasing one piece pushes the price up.
- Condition. For graphic decks, an unridden deck usually beats a ridden one. The exception is when the riding is the story, as with Hawk's board.
The other thing these sales prove is simple: the skateboard deck works as a canvas. Its long shape, the curve of the nose and tail and the way decks line up side by side make it a strong format for images. That is why artists like Hirst and Koons said yes to it, and it is why a deck looks right on a wall.
Want gallery-worthy decks without the auction price?
You will not be hanging the 900 board in your living room. But you can take the idea behind the Supreme archive (great art on the deck format, shown as a set) and put it on your wall today. That is exactly what I do at DeckArts. I hand-print every deck myself in my Berlin studio, on 7-ply Canadian maple pressed in Butzbach, Germany, and everything ships from Berlin. The images are famous paintings from the history of art, chosen because they work on the deck shape.
A few pieces that fit the collector idea of this article:
Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights: triptych
Bosch painted this as a triptych, and it spreads across three decks the way the Supreme sets spread across several boards. Hung side by side, the three decks read as one big picture. See the Bosch triptych.
Girl with a Pearl Earring: diptych
Vermeer's portrait split over two decks. A good choice if you want a set but have a narrower wall. See the Pearl Earring diptych.
Botticelli, The Birth of Venus
One of the most recognised paintings of the Renaissance on a single deck. A strong first piece if you want to start a collection. See the Birth of Venus deck.
Caravaggio, Medusa
Caravaggio painted Medusa on a round shield. On a deck the face sits in the middle and holds the whole board. See the Medusa deck.
How to hang them: the mount is separate
One practical point before you buy. My decks are bare wall art: there is nothing fixed to the back, so they do not come ready to hang. The wall mount is sold separately, so you can pick the display that suits your wall:
- DeckArts horizontal wall mount: holds a deck flat across the wall.
- DeckArts 360° rotating wall mount: lets you hang a deck horizontally, vertically or at an angle.
- DeckArts floor stand: no drilling at all. Lean a deck on a shelf, a sideboard or the floor.
Mounts ship from Berlin, like the decks. If you are deciding between horizontal and vertical, read How to Hang a Skateboard Horizontally or Vertically. If you prefer a deck behind glass, read our guide to skateboard frames.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive skateboard ever sold?
Tony Hawk's Birdhouse "Falcon 2", the board he rode to land the first 900 at the 1999 X Games. It sold for $1,152,000 at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles in September 2025, a world record for skateboarding memorabilia.
What is the most expensive skateboard deck collection?
The complete archive of 248 Supreme decks (1998 to 2018), sold by Sotheby's in January 2019 for $800,000 to collector Carson Guo.
What was the record for a single deck before the Hawk sale?
The Jamie Thomas deck with Bob Dylan's handwritten "Blowin' in the Wind" lyrics. It sold for $38,425 in the 2012 Boards+Bands charity auction and was described then as the highest price ever paid for a single deck.
Why are some skateboards worth so much?
Provenance, a famous name, rarity and demand from several kinds of collector at once. The board itself is rarely the reason.
Are DeckArts decks ready to hang?
No. The decks are bare, with nothing fixed to the back. Choose a wall mount or a floor stand separately.
Where are DeckArts decks made?
I hand-print every deck myself in Berlin, on 7-ply Canadian maple pressed in Butzbach, Germany. Everything ships from Berlin.
0 comments