It’s a company known for its huge catalogs full of vintage baseball cards, but the first Encore sale from Robert Edward Auctions had a healthy dose of higher-end basketball, too. The end result was a seven-figure debut for a new platform that fills the void between major events.
REA closed out its first ten-day, online only sale dedicated to encapsulated and authenticated items Sunday night with names like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Over 1,100 items were offered and 26,306 bids were placed.
A PSA 10 Jordan rookie topped bidding at $612,000, the latest in a string of big money sales for a card that’s rocketed to an entirely new level in 2021. A PSA 10 Jordan rookie sticker was the second priciest card in the catalog, ending at $192,000 with the buyer’s premium tacked on. A PSA 9 Jordan rookie reached $52,800 while an 8 netted $19,800. Two unopened packs of ’86-87 Fleer sold for over $6,000 each.
Jordan second year Fleer cards also generated plenty of interest with a PSA 10 1987-88 Fleer netting $45,600 and a PSA 10 sticker soaring to $75,000. 1987-88 Fleer stickers have proven to be a challenge in high-grade thanks to the prevalence of miscut cards.
Other basketball cards sold included a 1996-97 Topps Chrome Kobe Bryant rookie PSA 10 that reached $45,600 and a 1980-81 Topps Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rookie card that ended at $16,900.
There were hundreds of vintage baseball cards offered, most in the sub-$2,000 range but a quartet of 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards moved, topped by an SGC 60 rated copy of #53 that sold for an eye-popping $90,000.
Three other Ruth cards in lower to mid-grade condition sold in the $21,000-$25,000 range.
Tom Brady’s hold on the football card market played out in the sale of two boxes of 2000 Bowman Chrome football that sold for a combined $23,700.
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