1984-85 Star Jordan XRC 101 Manipulation

[Peter_Spaeth]

The 101 is also not an attractive card IMO -- Jordan's face is a blur really. I don't see how these values last if the major grading service won't even touch it.

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The 101 is also not an attractive card IMO -- Jordan's face is a blur really. I don't see how these values last if the major grading service won't even touch it.

I agree, I have always thought the STAR sets looked like someone made them in their garage.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The 101 is also not an attractive card IMO -- Jordan's face is a blur really. I don't see how these values last if the major grading service won't even touch it.

I'm not sure how much the "not an attractive card" aspect matters at all. It is still the rookie card of the most iconic athlete of the past 30-40 years, probably the most collected athlete in the hobby overall. Being an unattractive card has not hurt the value of Shoeless Joe's E90-1 at all. The second point, I can agree with. The price of Star 101s would really go through the roof if PSA ever started grading them again.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The 101 is also not an attractive card IMO -- Jordan's face is a blur really. I don't see how these values last if the major grading service won't even touch it.

Sorry, double post.

[mmier118]

I agree that the 1986 fleer card is a better looking card, but it is not that rare. The Jordan Star 101 is relatively rare compared to demand, like I said in the 90's it was sort of a unicorn. Also It doesn't really bother me personally that PSA won't grade the Star cards, for me it's a non-issue as I prefer BGS graded cards and I understand the reasons that PSA doesn't grade them anymore. I feel that if they really were as counterfeited as the myth's say the pop report would be higher than the 500 or so it's at now. I think that the group of people that are willing to pay the high prices for a Star Jordan feel that PSA is best for Vintage, and BGS does modern best so it's a non issue to them that PSA won't grade them. Just like I'd rather have a Bowman Chrome Trout or Harper RC graded by BGS, the Star 101 graded by BGS is just fine by me. These are all just my opinions so take them with a grain of salt because sometimes my opinions differ from the norm. As an example I don't really see why people are paying as much as a car costs for a 1952 Topps Mantle. It's a great card and I see the appeal but the 1951 Bowman is his RC and if people can justify 40 to 50k for that card why is it so nuts that the Jordan Star 101 can get 10k? In the end they are both just cardboard and the price is set by how much money it takes to get one collector to sell to another at this point.

[ezez420]

It is nuts when a card goes from $6500 to $18000 in 4 months. Is it nuts or manipulation?i think the latter.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by ezez420

It is nuts when a card goes from $6500 to $18000 in 4 months. Is it nuts or manipulation?i think the latter.

I don't particularly follow the basketball sector of the hobby, much less this card, but I have heard more than hobby member I respect suggest that PSA will soon begin grading the card (and star issues in general) once again. I doubt that can explain a three fold increase in four months, but then again with some of the price increases I've seen (and paid) nothing would surprise me at this juncture.

[Peter_Spaeth]

If the 101 becomes generally accepted as his RC, does that devalue the Fleer which then becomes a third year card?

[aro13]

but I have heard more than hobby member I respect suggest that PSA will soon begin grading the card (and star issues in general) once again.

That would be major news in the basketball card world. It would certainly help the value of major HOFers like Barkley, Drexler, Thomas, Olajuwan RC's.

[mmier118]

Wow hadn't heard that but if PSA starts grading Star cards, that would explain the big jump in prices.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by mmier118

Wow hadn't heard that but if PSA starts grading Star cards, that would explain the big jump in prices.

And how would all these buyers know this? Sounds like rumor mill stuff to me.

[JustinD]

It does not bother me in the least that PSA will not grade them, it actual looks bad on Psa in my opinion.

The facts are there from very solid sources that star did not reprint the 101 and in all reality the ultra modern collectors of post 84 seem to prefer bgs anyways.

I would never buy raw as the counterfeiters are on this this Rose rookies in the 80s, but I have no qualms at all with a bgs copy.

I think you are on to something though, if psa grades these the 86 will plummet. The myths are the only thing holding this down from matching the 86 values.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

And how would all these buyers know this? Sounds like rumor mill stuff to me.

It's pretty much now accepted within the community that the myth of Star Company reprinting the Jordan from the original plates is just that, a myth. The original print run was between 3,000 and 8,000 copies. BGS, the only top TPG that will grade or authenticate the issue, had graded a grand total of 462 copies. PSA won't grade the issue because they stated once upon a time that a reprint from the original plates would be indistinguishable from the original. I feel safe to assume that if they were printed in mass at a later date, exceptionally expensive, indistinguishable, and only graded by Beckett - the population listed would be bit more only 20%-30% of the original printing.

The only reason PSA is not currently grading the card is that they haven't for so long. They also bow to pressure of collectors fairly often. I've seen them grade a Nolan Ryan newspaper cutout for a collector. When they then added it to the registry collectors went nuts because it was some random cutout from a random newspaper in the mid-70's. Within a month it was taken off the registry, no longer graded, and wiped from the population reports. The calls for this card to be graded are getting constantly louder and this combined with the fact it's relatively easy to spot a fake lead many to believe it will be soon.