With rumors swirling that the Masters has sold its last gnome, an original 2016 edition of the souvenir just sold for a record $28,827.60.
Golden Age, a popular golf collectible and memorabilia site, closed a week-long auction early Monday morning for a mint condition 2016 Masters gnome in the original box, which was the first year the item was released.
The winning bid was $24,023. With a 20% buyer’s premium (a fee charged by auction houses), the total price came to $28,827.60. That’s more than double the previous record resale price for a Masters gnome, according to Golden Age founder and president Ryan Carey.
Some 2016 Masters gnomes at other auction houses have sold for more than $10,000.
Monday’s record sale represents a 730x markup from the collectible’s original retail price of $39.50 at the Masters golf shop during the 2016 tournament.
“That first year these were not supposed to be collectibles,” Carey tells Front Office Sports. “These were not supposed to be valuable.”
The winning bid came from a Middle Eastern collector who is a regular customer of Golden Age, Carey says. The next two highest bids were $24,023 and $21,839. Of the 48 total bids, six others were also more than $10,000.
Golden Age is on the hunt for more 2016 Masters gnomes to auction, and Carey expects to hear from potential sellers this week after they learn about the new record price.
The gnome was one of many Masters collectibles that were just sold by Golden Age. Other items included a Scotty Cameron putter previously owned by U.S. President Donald Trump for $40,796.40, and an early 1990s Masters trophy for $46,554.
No More Gnomes?
Masters gnome mania dominated patron merchandise shopping at Augusta National last week. Lines at the North and South Gate Golf Shops quickly grew hour-plus wait times each morning shortly after gates opened at 7 a.m. ET.
Roughly 1,000 Masters gnomes were believed to be made available each day. The gnomes cost $59.50, up $10 from last year, and purchases were limited to one per person.
After a wildly expensive presale market developed for this year’s Masters gnomes, the cheapest listing on eBay for a 2026 edition was $649 as of Monday morning.
Moving forward, many Masters fans believe Augusta National could stop selling gnomes to curb the Black Friday-like craze around its merch shops during the tournament.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley was asked about the gnome’s future during his pre-tournament press conference.
“Number one, the question is not trivial,” Ridley said. “Number two, I’ve been asking that question for several years, and they won’t tell me the answer. So I can’t help you.”
The Masters this year sold a $1,500, limited-edition set of 10 mini-gnomes from each previous edition (there was no gnome sold in 2017).
“I think they maintain and probably rise in value regardless of the decision by Augusta National,” Carey tells FOS.
If the gnomes are discontinued, they will carry an even more rarefied air about them, Carey says. And if new unique editions are still produced each year, there will be more demand from buyers looking to complete their sets with early editions.
