An autographed 2000 Upper Deck Game Jersey Combos card of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant rocketed to $516,600, almost twice its pre-sale estimate as Heritage Auctions closed out its April Monthly Showcase Auction.
Graded BGS 8.5 with a 10 autograph, it’s considered the hobby’s first dual swatch autograph issue and it’s also the first time Jordan and Bryant autographs appeared on the same card.
It was one of eight lots to bring six-figure prices in the 446-lot sale. In all, the auction brought in nearly $5 million including the buyer’s premiums.
Also raking in big bucks was a 1993 Upper Deck SP Derek Jeter Foil rookie PSA 10 which sold for $468,000 and a 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan PSA 10 at $408,000. Other rookie card action included a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rated 8 by PSA that netted $204,000 and PSA 10 copies of the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson ($105,000) and 1986 Topps Jerry Rice ($93,000).
A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 5 went for $138,000 and a PSA 5 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 topped the pre-War card action at $55,200.
“Quite simply, there’s never been a more exciting time to be part of this amazing hobby,” says Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions. “Every day, more collectors flock to sports cards, and a thing we love as kids clearly remains a passion and pursuit for so many today.”
While physical cards were the major draw for most bidders, Heritage also set a record for the most expensive NBA Top Shot ever sold when a 2020 LeBron James NBA Top Shot (Series 1) F No. 3/59 brought $387,600, besting by a wide margin the previous record for the virtual sports cards. The dunk dated to Feb. 6, 2020, when James paid homage to Kobe Bryant with a breakaway Staples Center dunk that seemingly reenacted an iconic Bryant reverse slam from nearly 20 years earlier. In all, Heritage has sold 20 of the NBA’s highly sought-after digital Moments so far.
The monthly auction was the only the second of its kind in the nearly 20-year history of Heritage Auctions’ Sports Category — fewer than 500 lots in a sale that featured only material already graded and/or authenticated by a third-party service when consigned. It ran for two weeks, from opening to extended bidding, to better shrink the window between consignment, auction and payment. And unlike most of Heritage’s sports auctions, it was done without a physical catalog.
The inaugural Heritage Monthly auction in March netted $3.3 million.
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