On March 16, a 1986 autographed Fleer Michael Jordan rookie, with a PSA graded 8 card and autograph graded 9, sold for $205,000 on PWCC.
At the time, the population report reflected there were six other signed cards with the same exact grade, and three signed cards that were graded higher.
A curious collector recently typed in the serial number of the card and saw the following:
Pop 6, 11 Higher.
What?
How could that be?
How could eight cards have been signed by Michael Jordan in the past month? How could eight cards have better grades and autos?
For one, Jordan has a deal with Upper Deck, so he doesn’t usually sign Fleer cards. Second, unless you got him at his Flight School, which last took place in 2017, he’s not exactly easy to get.
So, what happened?
Multiple sources tell cllct that Jordan did, in fact, do a coordinated signing within the last month of 10 Fleer rookies.
Sources said that collector paid PSA to fly down to Florida, where the signing took place, to witness the signing and to make sure everything went smoothly.
The collector had at least six PSA 10s worth $180,000 each, sources said, which were cracked out of their cases for the signing.
The stakes were high. If any were mishandled, they could become PSA 9s, non-autographed examples of which currently have a market value sitting at around $16,000.
Three cards that were 10s were re-graded by PSA and stayed 10s. The autographs were also graded 10s. Those cards could expect to be worth at least $1 million each.
Three other 10s were signed and inscribed, according to sources. Those cards might be worth $2 million or more.
From 10 signatures and a couple inscriptions, Jordan might have created $8 million in value.
A source with knowledge of the signing told cllct that Jordan was not paid.
The collector is at least shopping some of the cards, which could hit the market soon.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.