A rare, one-of-one patch trading card featuring NBA icons Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant has set the record for the richest card ever sold at auction.
After being initially projected to fetch only $6million, the card – sold through Heritage Auctions – was sold at a hammer price of $12,932,000.
That price surpassed the previous record, held for the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 card which sold for $12.6million.
The new record holder is a highly coveted card from the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection.
This card earns its value by being the only card ever produced to have both Bryant and Jordan’s autographs, while also featuring dual NBA Logoman patches from each athlete’s game-worn jerseys.
There is one in the traditional red, white, and blue for Bryant, and a gold and white variation for Jordan.
A rare card featuring the signatures and patches of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant has broken the record for being the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction
The card was sold for $12.9million, which is $300,000 more than the previous record holder
According to TMZ, Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions said: ‘This Dual Logoman card offered in this auction is the only example created that includes only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
‘That makes it the most sought-after example of the incredible Upper Deck Logoman series, and because of Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in 2020, it always will be the only one.’
The card was part of Heritage’s Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, which ran from August 23 to 24.
According to Ivy, the card’s consignor had fielded multiple seven-figure private offers, but opted to place it in public auction.
After experts initially believed it would set the record for the most valuable basketball card ever, the auction did achieve that mark – and then blew past it.
It more than surpassed the most valuable basketball cards ever sold – including those of Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
In July 2021, a Stephen Curry 2009-10 Panini National Treasures Rookie Logoman Autograph card – serial numbered 1-of-1 – sold in a private sale for an astounding $5.9 million.
Earlier that same year, a LeBron James 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autograph #78 sold for $5.2 million in a private sale.
The card is part of Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, which runs from August 23 to 24
Kobe Bryant played against Michael Jordan in 8 head-to-head regular-season games
Michael Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP with the Chicago Bulls, retired in 1993 before returning to the league twice more, ultimately ending his career in 2003 after two seasons with the Washington Wizards.
Kobe Bryant, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in basketball history, spent his entire 20-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships.
He tragically passed away in a 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, alongside his daughter Gianna and seven others.
