Signed Copy of Jordan’s First Game-Used Jersey Card Brings $45,988

One of the most sought after game-used relic basketball cards has sold. A rare autographed copy of the 1997-98 Upper Deck Michael Jordan Game Used Jersey card brought $45, 988 in an eBay auction recently according to the seller, Mint State, Inc.  It’s the highest publicly recorded sale for what was the first Jordan game used jersey card ever issued by a trading card manufacturer.  Jordan autographed 23 of them through his endorsement contract with Upper Deck and the cards were randomly inserted into packs.

The Jordan card features an autograph and a piece of his 1992 NBA All-Star Game jersey.  It’s the most valuable Jordan signed jersey card in the world.  Unsigned copies were distributed one per 2,500 packs and generally sell for $2,000-$3,000 when placed on the market.

Hand-numbered 19/23 on the front, the card was sold on consignment, according to Mint State owner Rick Snyder.  It attracted 41 bids.

Graded BGS 8.5 NM-MT+ with an autograph grade of Pristine 10, it is the single highest graded example to date with none graded higher.  The subgrades are: Centering 8.5, Corners 8.5, Edges 8.5, and Surface 9.

Snyder told Sports Collectors Daily the $45,988 made it the highest priced basketball card his company had ever sold and stated he did receive payment for the card from the buyer who asked that his identity not be revealed.  Snyder says the consignor had paid $35,000 for the card 14 years ago.

In 2011, another 1997-98 Jordan Game Jersey card sold at auction for $30,123.

You can see the listing for the most recent auction here.

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]