FLEER/UPPER DECK, 1986/2006

Please note you must receive prior approval from Christie's Credit Department to bid on this lot. Please contact Client Services at OnlineUS@christies.com or +1 212 636 2000.

Michael Jordan is an icon in sports history. Many view the Hall of Famer as the greatest basketball player of all time – holding a record ten scoring titles, named to the NBA's All-Defensive Team nine times, a NBA MVP five times, and the NBA Finals MVP six times. Accolades aside, it was his almost maniacal drive to win that led to his biggest triumphs - the Chicago Bulls run of six championship rings in eight years: a three-peat run from 1990-93, and another three-peat run from 1995-98.

Pulling a Fleer 20th anniversary card back in 2006/07 allowed the lucky owner to send the card into UDA, returned with a signature by Michael Jordan. 23 cards were released, with only 14 known, graded, and held in private collections– the assumption the remaining 9 were never pulled. The odds of pulling one of these cards was next to impossible.

This Michael Jordan rookie card, numbered #21 of 23, is the second-highest BGS (Beckett Grading Services) graded UDA signed Fleer #57 cards in existence, with an overall 8.5 grading (signature 9) and sub grades of 8 (centering), 8.5 (corners), 9.5 (edges), and 9 (surface).

The BGS grading standards are the most revered in the industry. Significantly more stringent and hence onerous than the competitor grading system PSA, there is a large volume of highly-graded Michael Jordan Fleer PSA grades, 326 graded 10 by PSA, whereas only 6 have been graded 10 by Beckett. Additionally, of the 14 graded examples of the UDA x Fleer Rookie Card, 12 were done by Beckett, while only 2 by PSA.

This UDA Signed Michael Jordan Rookie Card comes with its original UDA Congratulations Card, as pictured. This ultra-rare piece is a Michael Jordan card that will define a collection. Seen at market very rarely, this example is the second highest graded in existence – a Unicorn for a Michael Jordan fan or collector.