Regular readers will know I’ve been on the lookout for a good few years now tracking down and documenting every 1994-95 Collector’s Choice Jordan Blow-up auto I can find. If you’re new, catch up on the earlier articles here:
- 1994-95 Collector’s Choice MJ Blow-up auto cards
- Michael Jordan Blow-up auto cards found
- 30 years owning a 94-95 MJ Blow-up Auto
Six copies was where the count stood - until now! Bob, yet another original owner, wrote in to share his fantastic story pulling a Jordan Blow-up Auto back in 1994.
Bob’s card has the large, bold autograph we love to see on these 5x7 oversized cards along with the diamond hologram found only on autos produced by Upper Deck.
Bob from Kansas
Bob ran a small sports card shop in Overland Park, Kansas back in 1994. He bought his stock from a distributor out in Hays and was placing a fairly large order one day when the distributor asked if he wanted to add a box of Collector’s Choice Series 2. Bob told him no. But after a little encouragement from the distributor, Bob relented and added one to the order.
When the shipment arrived he opened the box and found the signed oversized Jordan Blow-up but figured it was a facsimile signature. Upper Deck had them all over their products that year and there was nothing obvious to tell him otherwise. He had it framed and put it out in the shop with a $100 price tag. That was until the next Beckett monthly arrived.
I purchased product from a distributor in Hays, Kansas. While placing a larger order, he asked if I wanted to add one box of Collector’s Choice Series 2. I initially told him no, but he encouraged me to take one box, so I added it to the order. When the shipment arrived, I opened the box and found the oversized Michael Jordan Blow-Up sitting on top of the packs. Like many collectors at the time, I assumed the autograph was simply a facsimile because Upper Deck had so many printed signatures in their products. I framed it and actually put it out for sale in my shop for around $100.
A short time later, the next Beckett came out and listed the autographed version. That’s when I realized what I had. Michael Jordan was always my favorite athlete, so I immediately pulled it off the shelf and kept it for my personal collection.
I’ve now owned the card continuously for more than 30 years. It has remained in the same frame almost its entire life and has only been removed a handful of times by me.
My family knows it as “Dad’s Jordan card,” but fellow collectors understand why it’s such a unique piece.
Original owners
So, Bob’s card is yet another still with its original owner all this time, just like Tim, David and Kyle* I’ve previously connected with.
Tim held onto his for thirty years before deciding to sell through Heritage in 2024.
David pulled his as a 12 year old in his grandmother’s shop in Ravenswood WV and it stayed in his family for decades, passed from David to his grandparents and then to his mother, before it sold privately in 2022.
Kyle’s* family pulled their copy in their store in Toronto and left it in storage for decades before selling in 2024.
Bob’s copy has been in his hands, in the same frame, since the week he pulled it back off his own shop wall in 1994.
The card shop connection
Tim pulled his copy himself out of a hobby box on a trip to his local shop.
However, unsurprisingly, Bob, David and Kyle all pulled their MJ Blow-up autos from boxes opened in their own stores.
These hobby boxes would have been mostly opened by store owners selling packs back in 1994 so it’s no surprise that the odds of store owners pulling them would be higher.
Seven known copies
Here’s where the list stands now:
- Tim’s copy, pulled in Spartanburg SC, held for thirty years, graded PSA 5 Auto 7 and sold through Heritage in May 2024 for $42,000
- Kyle’s* copy, pulled in Toronto and graded PSA 7 Auto Authentic, sold through Heritage for $55,200
- David’s copy, pulled as a 12 year old in Ravenswood WV, stayed in his family for decades before selling privately in 2022
- Stanley’s copy, graded BGS 7.5 overall with an 8 on the autograph
- A further copy sold through Heritage in August 2023 for $81,000 with unknown buyer or provenance
- Davi’s copy for sale around 2012 and tracked down through a Michael Jordan Facebook group
- Bob’s copy from Kansas, still with its original owner and barely out of the frame in three decades
Here’s photos of all seven Jordan Blow-up Auto’s I’ve been able to find so far.
That’s seven documented here - I think there’s a good chance that a round number would have been signed. Maybe there are three more out there and the pop is 10?
Bob - like Kyle’s* family - didn’t realise what they had at first. That’s even happened with 1/1 Jordan autos before - Upper Deck used facsimile autos so prolifically that genuine autos could trip up even seasoned card shop owners. Maybe this could mean there’s a few more of these out there - owners unaware of the monster Jordan in their possession?
Or maybe there’s one or two still sitting in their box resting on top of packs of 94-95 Collector’s Choice. I’ve busted six boxes in my time looking for one - if you’re keen to try too, you might find Series 2 94-95 Collector’s Choice Hobby Boxes for sale.
If you’ve got one of these tucked away or know someone who does, please do get in touch. And if you think you’ve got a Jordan facsimile auto - maybe go double-check!
To the hobby it’s a documented rarity worth a five figure sum (at least). To Bob’s family it’s just “Dad’s Jordan card”.
Thanks for sharing, Bob, and happy collecting!
