San Antonio Current
The Coyote was created by Tim Derk, who entertained Spurs' fans for more than two decades before retiring after a stroke in 2004.
Tim Derk, the creator of the Coyote concept, entertained fans as the mascot for two decades before retiring after a 2004 stroke. Recently, he decided to sell his five championship rings with the help of New Jersey-based Goldin Auctions.
Goldin Auction and its CEO and founder, Ken Goldin, are the subject of the Netflix reality TV show King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch. Derk and his rings make an appearance in the fourth episode of Season 2 of the series, which recently began streaming.
During the episode, Derk and Goldin Auctions Consignment Director Carlo Civitella decided to sell the rings individually rather than as one lot.
"I'd love to set the bar high and then just keep bringing in more diamonds from there, and let that first ring do well," Civitella said during the episode.
Derk's 1999 championship ring, which took him 17 years to earn, sold for $14,400 in August 2023. Folks can tune into the episode to watch the bidding process. However, Derk's 2014 ring fetched even more — $34,700, to be exact — when it sold this Sunday, according to Goldin Auctions' website.
Derk's remaining 2003, 2005 and 2007 championship rings will be sold separately at a later date, according to the program. Those interested in bidding should keep any eye on the Goldin Auctions website.
Although Derk's first two rings sold for more than what Civitella initially estimated the combined value of all five rings would be, Derk said there's no accurate way to put a dollar figure on their value.
"To me, the value of the rings is in the memories," Derk said during the episode. "I don't know how many carats it is, but it's 100 pounds of memories."
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