Supporters of the 1984 Michael Jordan Star card are steadfast in their belief it is Jordan’s “true” rookie, rather than the more widely accepted 1986 Fleer card.
While the debate has raged on for decades, a recent bull market for the card has reinvigorated the debate with a fiery passion.
The Star has made itself into the “it” card in the hobby recently.
Love it or hate it, its steady stream of record sales are difficult to ignore. Though, of course, that doesn’t come without its own baggage.
It’s easy to pick out the plentiful record sales recorded each week, and it’s important to do so, considering how remarkably fast the card’s value has taken off.
Consider this for a moment: Prior to the $940,000 private sale of a PSA 9 (population of three) copy in May, a record at the time, these were the top sales for the card in each PSA grade, and this is how strongly that price ceiling has been shattered since.
- PSA 6: $17,500. Current record: $55,498 set on Sept. 7
- PSA 6.5: $20,891. Current record: $52,460 on Sept. 2
- PSA 7: $32,400. Current record: $62,000 on Aug. 31
- PSA 8: $158,400. Current record: $244,000 on Sept. 2
- PSA 9: $444,000. Current record: Believed to be more than $1 million via a private deal
That’s not even the full scope of the state of the market: One copy signed by Jordan and graded a BGS 7.5/Auto 9 sold Thursday at Goldin for $183,610, the highest price ever paid for a signed Star Jordan.
Now for the kicker. We’re about to witness at least nine Star Jordans hit the auction block at Goldin in the same sale.
As for what this incoming supply shock will mean for the frothy market, whether signaling a peak or staging a proving ground for further dominance, is to be seen.
But it’s worth diving deeper to attempt to understand what we’re witnessing, and whether the accusations of “pumping” and price protection hold merit. Or could it be these are simply conspiratorial-minded collectors seeking answers to a trend that has gained serious momentum.
After initially including the record $244,000 sale of a PSA 7 at Goldin in its database, CardLadder removed it some time Friday, claiming it had received information from a “reliable source” that it wasn’t paid for, leading the company — owned by Collectors — to take down the sale from its site.
“Guess what, I’ll send you the wire transfer,” Ken Goldin told CardLadder co-founders Chris McGill and Josh Johnson during a late-night Instagram live.
As of Saturday morning, the sale had once again been added to the site.
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Just as we see collectors split between excitement over the card’s rise and skepticism over the legitimacy of the sales, the history of Star is filled with a debate which impacts every single aspect of the card and its relevance today.
Proponents of the card usually cite two main arguments as to why the Star deserves mainstream acceptance as a rookie card, and why, from a monetary perspective, it should be worth more.
First is the most obvious: Star released in 1984-85, Jordan’s rookie season. Fleer came along at the start of the 1986 season, Jordan’s third in the league. Beckett assigned an XRC (extended rookie card) designation to the Star card, a label used to differentiate official rookie cards — readily accessible to collectors at retail and arriving in packs of mainstream sets — from cards sold in set form and limited in production and availability.
There’s also the circumstances of its release, coming amid a drought of basketball cards and becoming the only company to secure an NBA license — a factor often cited as paramount to a rookie card’s legitimacy.
The second point comes in population reports and print runs, accompanied by suggestions limited supply is destined to lead to rising value. As Star founder Robert Levin told cllct earlier this year, he had a goal of producing 5,000 of each card each year, but do to a litany of issues plaguing production, he never met that total.
Critics often lean on the highly limited release of the cards, as well as its packaging in team bags (meaning there was no element of randomness to opening a pack), as key reasons to maintain the XRC label and continue referring to the Fleer as Jordan’s rookie.
Then there is the unavoidable fact the 1986 Fleer is so ingrained in the hobby and as recognizable as any sports card ever produced. This cultural attachment to the card, as well as certain degree of price protection and market coordination by major industry players, has made these sales all the more relevant due to the possible impact on one of the hobby’s most important cards.
Very few would have predicted a Star Jordan surpassing $1 million before the Fleer, and the rapid rise has deeply polarized collectors.
As the most ardent believers in the Star will be the first to tell you, more than 40,000 Fleer Jordan rookies cards have been graded across companies.
As for the Star card, Beckett and PSA, which only resumed grading the card in 2022 after a decades-long hiatus, have a combined 1,565 in their censuses.
However, considering Beckett was the only game in town for so long, there have been a significant amount of cards from Beckett slabs that were either cracked and resubmitted to PSA or sent in as a crossover in an attempt to benefit from the hefty premium collectors pay for the PSA slab. This results in the true total number of authenticated cards being significantly lower in all likelihood.
While Facebook groups, eBay watchlists and other sales channels are flooded with listings, discussions, controversies and sales for what can only be described as the most important card of the moment, those who hold these rapidly appreciating assets appear to be looking for the exit sign.
eBay has become a warehouse of Star cards in every condition and price-point. A search for “1984 jordan star 101” with filters set for PSA and BGS returns dozens of options — an inconvenient fact for those who harp on the card’s rarity.
Even less convenient for those folks is the inclusion of around nine No. 101 Star cards in Goldin’s September Elite auction.
Ranging in condition grade and authentication service, the group is led by a PSA 7/Auto 9 signed example, which a close review suggests might be the same card previously in a BGS 8/Auto 9 slab.
The decision will likely yield another signed Star card record, as bidding has reached $146,400 as of Saturday morning with two weeks remaining.
That wouldn’t be the first massive success enjoyed by a Star card collector crossing from BGS to PSA. As reported last week, one Chicago-based collector paid less than $15,000 for a Star Jordan labeled Authentic/Altered by Beckett. He cracked it open and sent it off to PSA, receiving a PSA 7 grade, transforming the from sub-$15,000 to $60,000 or more in the span of three weeks.
With Goldin’s inclusion of so many Star Jordans, the market faces its most difficult and important test.
If prices hold up reasonably well, this might be the moment cited as the day the Star overtook Fleer.
If it turns out the auction presents too much of a supply shock to the market, with a lack of interested capital willing to deploy into the trendy cards, the skeptics will feel vindicated.
Based on the last few months, there could have been a new record sale established during the writing of this article. The question remains, hovever, how long will this ride last?
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.