It seems that anything attached to Michael Jordan, who some consider one of the greatest athletes of all time, makes news or history. This time an autographed card has created another record of sorts.
According to CBS Sports, a Michael Jordan 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey Patch Autograph Card was auctioned off for $840,000, the sixth-highest-selling Jordan card in card collecting history. The card was sold last week on Thursday at a Pre-War Card Collector Auctions (PWCC) auction.
The 1997 card was a year before his second retirement. The auctioned item also features a piece of his 1992 All-Star game jersey along with his autograph.
This 1997 Upper Deck Michael Jordan Patch Auto (18/23) sold last night at @PWCCmarketplace for $840,000.
The card contains a patch from MJ’s game-worn ’92 All-Star Game jersey.
This example last sold in 2018 for $94,630.
That’s 788% total appreciation, or 68.6% annually. 🤯📈 pic.twitter.com/RsQDF7WxA5
— Dylan Dittrich (@DylanDittrich) January 20, 2023
There were only 23 cards made, which represented the number he wore while playing for the Chicago Bulls and the team he last played for, the Washington Wizards. The auctioned card that was sold last week was graded mint/near mint (BSG 8) by Beckett. The autograph he signed was given a “pristine” score of 10.
PWCC vice president of sales Jesse Craig gave a statement about the card.
“This is one of the most difficult Michael Jordan cards on the planet to acquire. It’s actually really difficult to get a high autograph grade. A lot of these come in 8 auto grades, 9 auto grades. These might hit the auction blocks once every few years.”
A look at the very first pack-pulled Jordan patch autograph. 🤯🔥
This card ends tomorrow in the Premier Auction! pic.twitter.com/HyHOxcYmcQ
— PWCC (@PWCCmarketplace) January 18, 2023
According to TMZ, another one of these rare cards sold for a record $1.4 million in 2021.
This auctioned item also included Jordan’s signature and a piece of the actual jersey the NBA Hall of Famer wore during the legendary 1992 NBA All-Star game. This was the game where Magic Johnson returned to the league following his HIV diagnosis in November 1991.
The grading for this particular card was a “Near Mint 7” and Jordan’s signature quality was graded a “Near Mint 8.”