More star basketball ramblings
 

So it has been a while since I've posted about star basketball. My opinion is quite strong that these cards are the best current value in the hobby. The depressed prices relative to 1986 fleer is totally due to lack of understanding of the product and the current refusal of PSA and SGC to grade these issues. It is my personal belief that this will at some point change. Here are my reasons why:

1. There are some issues (the 5x7's) where no fakes/ repros exist.
2. Like other fakes, a trained eye can easily spot a star fake when in hand. I have had fakes in hand that looked good with pictures but in hand it was pretty obvious
3. The timeline for re-issues, subsequent HSN issues and type 2's are now well understood and known thanks to collectors and experts.
4. With the rising popularity of basketball cards and private equity entering into the picture, it is hard to imagine these cards being continued to ignored long term.

One example of the incredible disconnect between 1986 fleer and star is the Dominique Wilkins slam dunk card below. I picked this up as a BIN for 40 dollars with tax. The psa 9 fleer Wilkins is currently a 1300 dollar card. These star cards were usually limited to about 5000 sets, a much smaller run than fleer. I know 5x7's are not everyone's cup of tea, but these cards display beautifully and are condition sensitive even if sealed in the original bag. Another example is this Charles Barkley 1984 Court Kings, about 70 on a BIN, thought to be his, MJ's and Hakeem's first cards.

These are cards I intend to own long term. Long term basketball is a global growth market. It is a sport of individuals and icons. These are some of the most attractive cards produced in the 1980's.

Preach on!
 

I couldn't agree more with everything you've said, Dennis!

I found the joy of these cards a bit late, but luckily was able to make great progress through a long-time Dealer friend who had stocks from an original authorized Star distributor.
Also got some good encouragement from collecting friends (hi Peter), and off it went.

I think the Star cards are gorgeous and compelling to collect. In the case of these major stars in the history of Basketball (Jordan, Barkley, Isiah, Stockton, Olajuwon, etc., etc.), these predate their "rookie" issues by a good distance. Dominique was a great subject as well, and I also love the 5x7!

Full agreement on the future of Basketball as a global game, and with a POP of 900 on the Jordan #101 -- compared to the '86 Fleer at over 20k -- this is a no-brainer... Even before the insane run-up of Jordan prices recently.

I intend to keep adding a few here and there, and for me they are an absolute joy to collect.

Attachment 437694

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they're ok i guess...

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...k%20Jordan.jpg

:)

Wow, Jason. Just wow. Very impressive collection!!!

Totally agree these have been way undervalued/overlooked...last year I was lucky enough to pick up these two Stars:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fd26d358_c.jpg

Very nice cards!
Is there anything I need to look for on these to confirm they are real or reprints?
Thanks,
Bob
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That 86 Star is an abomination

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If Nat Turner tells Joe Orlando to grade these, look out.

I would say no on both of those but definitely no on the 86. The first thing I look for is the clarity of the image and color saturation.

Imagine how much skinnier the already trimmed ones would get then?

The font on his name is way off.

There are some out there that are hard to improve upon :)

Yeah, hopefully some new direction at the top will kick them in the ass a bit when it comes to expanding the scope of what they grade. Hoping for all non-baseball Exhibit cards...

Why do they grade some Exhibits and not others? I have heard it's because on some they can't date them, but they give wide ranges on some of the ones they do grade, so I don't get it.

At this point it is pure bureaucratic inertia. First the excuse was inability to detect counterfeits. Silly since it is the same card stock and printing as the baseball cards they already grade. Then it was lack of checklists. Well, I took care of that a while ago too. Now, it is "we don't do it" without a reason.

WOW. Great stuff aside from the likely reprinted Star cards.

Does anyone know where to pickup lots/partial sets other than ebay? These are tough to find in the wild