When it comes to the ultra-high end 1/1's does the grade actually matter?
For years, people have believed a card has to be “perfect” to command top dollar.
That’s why a PSA 10 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is estimated at $50 million, while other grades fetch far less.
But what about a card so rare that you can only compare it to itself, and there are no other grade options?
That’s where these 2008 Exquisite Patch Autos, one-of-ones of LeBron and Michael Jordan, come into play. The Jordan is graded a PSA 8, while the LeBron is a PSA 6.
These cards are considered the best of the best in basketball card collecting, not because of their grades, but because of their scarcity and the popularity surrounding the Exquisite line of basketball cards.
They are truly one-of-a-kind pieces, as they are the only ones ever made.
In fact, the most expensive sports card of all time, from this same set a year earlier, is graded just a PSA 6 and sold for $12.9 million. That card is the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs of Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant, and collectors still paid a hefty price despite its less-than-perfect grade. There is only one in the world, so at that rate, why should the grade even matter?
The same goes for these two Exquisite Patch Autos up on Alt Auctions. Both are from 2008 and are the two rarest patch autos out there.
In fact, last year, a 2008 MJ Emblems of Endorsement card graded as “authentic” by PSA sold for $810,000. That said, the true Exquisite Collection Patch Auto 1/1 from that same year is 10 times as rare, so should it command 10 times the price?
And lastly, back to the LeBron: it’s from an important year for him, as that season he captured the first of his four MVPs, with that relic featured in the card.
Both of these one-of-a-kind masterpieces end October 29th on Alt Auctions.
