Michael Jordan Star XRC BGS 9.5

The first Michael Jordan BGS 9.5 Star XRC card turns up - and it will be up for sale soon.

Matt CassidyNov 3, 2014

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At long last a BGS “Gem Mint” copy of one of the greatest Michael Jordan cards has turned up - the first BGS 9.5 Star Co Michael Jordan XRC.

The scan below was published by Beckett Auctions and the photo above on their Instagram account. The card is promised to be available for sale soon through Beckett Auctions with an introductory bid of $50,000.

The first 1984-85 Michael Jordan Star XRC BGS 9.5

This is a stunning card - not only is it a BGS 9.5 but it is almost a perfect 9.5 with only one sub-grade, the corners, receiving a 9. The top left corner does unfortunately show white. Additionally, the top to bottom centering could be better.

Since the advent of BGS grading collectors have sought that elusive 9.5 graded copy of the Michael Jordan Star XRC. It,s a card with serious condition issues that have always meant even BGS 9 copies were almost impossible to find. Some of the condition sensitivity problems include:

Off center printing which is rampant among the 84-85 Star Co sets.
Issues with the surface and corners due to the Michael Jordan card being on top of the team bagged set. This meant years of storage could easily damage the Jordan card.
Diamond cutting which led to the top and bottom edges running at an angle instead of straight along the bottom in parallel to the printing as intended. You can see that this card does suffer from this issue.

At the time of writing we now have 358 BGS graded copies of this card with 24 graded at BGS 9 and of course just this one at BGS 9.5. Compare that to the 86-87 Fleer RC with 7544 copies BGS graded - 1036 BGS 9, 363 BGS 9.5 and 5 BGS 10.

I,m sure this card will go for a very large amount. I,ve seen BGS 9 copies sell for $11,000 - this true 1/1 card will command a very hefty price tag. As soon as I can turn up a listing where the card is for sale I will post it here.

If you,re interested in reading more about the Jordan XRC I have a few other posts around what is for many people the best Michael Jordan card around:

Hat tip to Lou Costabile for pointing this Instagram post out to me.

Update 4 November 2014 - The BGS 9.5 Michael Jordan XRC is now available for sale through Beckett Auctions.