1996-1997 Topps Finest Basketball #291 Michael Jordan Gold Refractor with Coating PSA MINT 9

Sold For:

$4,440

Year:

1996

Auction:

2020 Fall

Lot #:

2886

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Graded MINT 9 by PSA. 1996-1997 Tops Finest was one of the premiere basketball issues of its era. The set was unique and innovative for basketball sets of the time. It was released in two series, each containing cards with bronze, silver, and gold borders to indicate different levels of rarity. Bronze cards were considered common, silver uncommon, and gold were considered the rare cards in the set. In addition to the varying levels of rarity, the cards were also issued in themed subsets. The themes for the issue were Apprentices, Gladiators, Maestros, Sterling, Foundations, Heirs, and Mainstays. The subset name appears in the background of each card. Several players, including Jordan have multiple cards in the set as a result of being included in different color/theme schemes. To make cards even more rare "refractors" were inserts that could be pulled from packs, again with varying levels of difficulty. One in every twelve packs contained a bronze refractor, every other box contained one silver refractor, and one gold refractor was inserted into every 288 packs. The offered example is card #291 (the last card in the set), which is a gold bordered (rare) card from the Foundations sub-set. It is also a refractor, making this example particularly difficult to obtain. Finest cards were issued with a clear film over the front (commonly referred to as the "coating") to protect the delicate surface from scratches. This coating has not been removed from this card. To date, PSA has graded only 66 examples of this particular card (#291, refractor, with coating). The card is a gem! A clean surface and reverse, sharp corners, and flawless centering. The only noticeable condition flaw is a light touch to the upper right corner on the reverse, which accounts for the assigned PSA grade. This is a highly desirable Michael Jordan refractor that would make a worthy addition to any modern basketball-card collection. Reserve $500. Estimate (open).