'Finest Jordan rookie on the planet' sells for $463,600

For the first time in nearly five years, the sole SGC 10 Pristine example of Michael Jordan’s 1986 Fleer rookie card sold at public auction Saturday night.

The coveted Pristine grade, which sits above a standard Gem Mint 10, is rarely seen at public auction for Jordan’s key rookie card, and the copy at Heritage Auctions fetched $463,600.

Heritage called the card "the single finest Jordan rookie on the planet" in the lot description.

According to GemRate, 47,815 copies of the card have been graded by PSA, BGS, SGC and CGC combined. While there are 916 “gems,", there are only seven graded Pristine; six in BGS holders and one in an SGC slab.

This sole SGC Pristine example had only one other sale in public auction records, fetching $420,000 in August 2020 at Heritage. This was an all-time record for the card at the time (previously $96,000).

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Heritage originally received the card raw on consignment and sent to SGC which assessed it with the top grade.

“The Michael Jordan rookie card came to us ungraded, and we knew it was special from the very first moment we saw its condition,” said Heritage’s Chris Ivy in a statement in 2020. “The SGC Pristine 10 Gold Label grade represents the best of the best, and that was reflected by the world-record price.”

Since that sale, the market for Jordan rookie cards has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride like few others. Reaching as high as $840,000 in July 2021 for a PSA 10, the card has since come back to earth, with PSA 10 copies (pop: 333) fetching around $200,000.

Heritage placed a bold pre-sale estimate on the card of $800,000.

In June, the all-time record for the Fleer Jordan was set by the $2.5 million sale of an autographed copy.

Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible content.

'Finest Jordan rookie on the planet' sells for $463,600

Ultra-rare SGC 10 Pristine example of 1986 Fleer card has rarely sold publicly