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A Florida-born social media influencer and founder of the Asian-American boy band “North Star Boys” has dropped $20,100 on a one-of-a-kind Seattle Mariners “Jimothy” raccoon card to fund a 13-year-old fangirl’s college education.
Oliver Moy, creator and musician known online as “Jahver,” swooped in with a last-minute winning bid on the “one-of-one” Jimothy card, a viral collectible spun out of the Mariners’ fan-favorite raccoon mascot and the online community that’s sprung up around it.
“I was sitting in bed, and there were like two minutes left in the auction. I found the story of Jimothy so heartfelt and then that tied up with Abby and her family… I thought that this was a nice moment to kind of see it full circle,” 25-year-old Moy told the California Post.
Jimothy, with his low-slung silhouette and offbeat swagger, first captured attention online — spawning endless fan art, memes, and eventually taking over Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
On August 5, the Seattle Mariners leaned all the way into the phenomenon, handing out 20,000 mystery-pack Jimothy “rookie cards” to fans. Hidden inside just one of those packs was a pristine one-of-one gold edition card.
That gold card landed in the hands of Abby, a 13-year-old Mariners fan. Seeing the frenzy around the local hero, her family put the card on eBay to raise funds for her future college tuition.
100 bids later, the digital gavel dropped at over $20,000 and Moy became the lucky winner.
Moy didn’t stumble onto Jimothy through baseball broadcasts or card forums. He found him through an AI trend-researcher product he’s building.
“Jimothy was the first ever trend that the AI tool that I’m building spotted. So I was like, this only makes more sense. It’s like the stars are aligning.” From there, he dove into the Jimothy community on X and stumbled upon Abby’s gold card bid. He kept following the listing until the last minute.
“I noticed that the bid was at 9,000, and then 15,000. Then there were two minutes left in the bid. Honestly, it was quite an impulsive decision to just go ahead. But I’m so glad I did because… to be a part of this story and to know that the money is going to a good cause — that’s why I did it,” Moy said.
For him, Jimothy isn’t just another internet trend but a message of positivity. “This Jimothy story… it just felt like a fresh breath of air,” he said.
“As I researched, I saw that this is not just like a fandom around a raccoon. This is like a movement. People, not just in America or not just in Seattle, but around the world, are getting behind Jimothy the raccoon to support the idea of loving yourself, because Jimothy the raccoon is slightly different from all the other raccoons,” the social media influencer added.
The price tag, he admits, is no small thing.
“Crazy enough, this card is worth more than my car. I drive a 2012 Nissan Rogue… I thought the card was going to go for 50,000, and I would say that that was going to be like my max that I would not pass.”
Moy said when he was Abby’s age, he wanted to become an internet entertainer and pursue music. Now that he has achieved part of his dream, he wants to help others do the same.
“Maybe [my bid] could provide the same opportunity for Abby and her family, provide her the support to pursue her dreams,” said the influencer, who has more than 11 million followers on TikTok.
After he was notified that his bid was the winner, he reached out to the seller and was assured that the money was in good hands. Moy hasn’t spoken to Abby or her family yet, but said that meeting them someday “would be really cool… to talk about this crazy cool moment in our lives.”
Moy insists he’s not a longtime collector or even a baseball guy but has now been converted into a hardcore Seattle Mariners fan.
“I’ve been watching all the Seattle Mariners games, and they’re killing it. They’re now my favorite team to root for, and I believe I will always be a Seattle Mariners fan.”
Even the basic Jimothy Mariners cards have become hot commodities. The base version has sold for $25 and up, while a version limited to 100 copies has sold for as much as $850, according to trading card sales database Card Ladder, reported the New York Times.
“I don’t have plans to resell it. My plan with this card is to continue the movement that first inspired me. There’s an opportunity here to really reach a lot of people and push forward the narrative of loving yourself and loving your differences the way that we all love Jimothy and his differences,” Moy said.
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