1986-1987 Fleer Basketball Unopened Wax Box (36 Packs) - BBCE - Michael Jordan Rookie Year!

Sold For:

$102,000

Year:

1986

Auction:

2022 Fall

Lot #:

19

Category:

Basketball Cards or Memorabilia

Extraordinary complete, original unopened wax box of 1986-1987 Fleer basketball containing thirty-six unopened wax packs. The box comes shrink-wrapped by Baseball Card Exchange (owned by Steve Hart, the foremost expert on unopened material). This set marks the first basketball set produced by Fleer since 1961. Fleer stopped producing basketball cards after 1961, and its powerhouse competitor Topps ruled the basketball-card market from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. This set is loaded with superstars and rookie cards of Hall of Famers, highlighted with the rookie card of Jordan. While it is impossible to provide guarantees with reference to grading of unopened material, there is the very real possibility that within this box are high-grade cards. Given the meteoric rise of high-grade rookie cards recently, including the incredible $738,000 public auction sale of a GEM MINT 10 Fleer Jordan in February 2021, it is hard not to consider the increased value prospects of a completely original unopened wax box of this classic issue. This display box remains in outstanding condition. There are a few light surface impressions on the top lid (mentioned for accuracy). This is an exceptional ultra-high-grade unopened wax box of 1986-1987 Fleer, one of the most popular of all basketball issues. A full letter of authenticity from Steve Hart at Baseball Card Exchange (BBCE) accompanies this box and reads, in part, "It is in my best opinion that this wax box is not in original form due to the sticker collation, but very close to one. The box appears to have mostly all original packs to the box. The packs themselves are NM-MT but do have a 40 cent price sticker on each pack." An image of the complete letter is posted online. Reserve $25,000.