Just last week, it was reported that a Canadian investor/entrepreneur purchased all but one pair of the epic Stadium Goods x Sotheby’s “Ultimate Sneaker Collection” lot for $850,000. As it turns out, that one pair that eluded Miles Nadal sold for more than half that amount alone. That shoe was none other than an original Nike Waffle Racing Flat otherwise called the “Moon Shoe” for the similarities in footprints left by this sneaker and the tracks left on the actual lunar sphere.
So how could this sneaker fetch $437,500? Only a dozen or so pairs were ever made in the first place, and the one in the listing was the only known deadstock (or unworn) pair in existence. Nike originally created these for runners at the 1972 Olympic Trials, and each pair was hand-cobbled by one of Nike’s earliest employees, Geoff Hollister. They’re made of nylon and sewn together with fishing line, and the outsoles – shaped with waffle irons – are in two pieces because the technology simply wasn’t around then. This is simply an irreplaceable piece of Nike history, and certainly one of the most valuable of all-time. Read more about the listing here.