Michael Jordan-Kobe Bryant card sells for record $16.6m
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The card is known as the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Jordan & Bryant card.
PHOTO: HERITAGE AUCTIONS/X
LOS ANGELES – Now that is one expensive card.
A signed card featuring Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant sold for US$12.932 million (S$16.6 million) on Saturday, establishing a record for most ever paid for a sports collectible card.
This record-setting card is known as the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Jordan & Bryant card. It surpassed the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which was sold for US$12.6 million in August 2022.
The Jordan/Bryant card is the second most expensive sports collectible ever, behind Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series “called shot” jersey. That little piece of history sold for US$24.12 million in 2024.
The Jordan/Bryant card was sold through Heritage Auctions. The purchaser’s identity was not revealed.
Mr Chris Ivy, Heritage’s director of sports auctions, said via ESPN that the Jordan/Bryant card is “the pinnacle as far as modern card collectors are concerned”.
He added that “another one can’t be created. It’s always been looked at by modern basketball collectors as a holy grail”.
Mr Ivy added that the card’s previous owner kept it for more than a decade, turning down “high seven-figure” private offers in that time.
“The pre-auction estimate was US$6 million-plus,” Mr Ivy told ESPN. “So, sometimes if a piece is unique like this, it’s really beneficial to let it have its day.” REUTERS
