1986 Fleer Jordan vs T206 Plank

[Rhotchkiss]

I have enjoyed watching the results, and reading the comments, on the Wagner vs Mantle thread. So why not post another challenge. Neither card is mine.

The t206 plank sold in Goldin in May of 2021 for $162k

PSA 10 Jordans have been regularly selling for about $180k over the past few months (according to VCP).

Which one would you rather have and why?

[Leon]

This poll won't be as close as the last one. Plank all day and 2x on Sunday.,
.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by Leon

This poll won't be as close as the last one. Plank all day and 2x on Sunday.,
.

Make that 100x on Sunday! Plank all the way!!

[parkplace33]

The Jordan and its not close for me.

While I do understand the rarity of the Plank, I would rather have a psa 10 of the most iconic card in the last 40 years.

[jingram058]

Could not care less about Jordan. If you gave it to me, gratis, I would sell it, and use the money to buy the Plank or something like a complete set of 1954 Topps, and remodel my kitchen, with money in the bank.

[Jay Wolt]

Would take the Plank & pocket the $18,000 so I could buy more cards

[Peter_Spaeth]

Third year Jordan card is SO overrated. The 101 should have been accepted as his RC all along. XRC indeed. Joe Orlando refusing to grade them indeed.

[CobbSpikedMe]

This one was easy. Plank all day long. I'm not attracted to the Jordan rookie at all and have always loved the Plank. I do think Phil had a good point that if this poll was posted on a basketball card forum it would likely get a different consensus.



.

[pawpawdiv9]

I walk the Plank here.

[txaggie00]

Plank hands down for me. In addition to the rarity, one of my favorite cards in the T206 set and at the top of my want list.

[G1911]

Classic tobacco SP > 3rd year modern.

Most of the hobby would disagree, but the answer is writ by the subset of the audience here.

[Neal]

Plank. I think that values long enough so I could list in the next REA auction to buy other cards.

The 86 Jordan is the recognized RC of the GOAT and far more iconic than the Plank, so I would buy a nicely centered 8 with the proceeds

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[rjackson44]

Jordan

[TobaccoKing4]

I personally would prefer the Plank from a PC standpoint but if I were buying the card that I thought would increase in value more over the next 10-15 years I’d go with the Jordan.

[Rich Falvo]

I'd probably pick the Plank, but I'd consider the Jordan if only for the fact that I like to show and share my cards and I think the Jordan would get a much better reaction when shown to non-collectors.

[Fred]

Probably should add some basic conditions to the vote selectdion. I'd guess that people would take the Jordan 10 if they could sell it and buy the Plank and have a few bucks left over. I voted Plank because there have got to be a load of Jordan's out there in all conditions.

[todeen]

I would purchase the most iconic card of my lifetime: Jordan. Almost positive my son would prefer this as inheritance rather than Plank.

Sent from my SM-G9900 using Tapatalk

[Exhibitman]

The 1986 Fleer is the iconic card only because PSA refused to grade the Star cards. Now that PSA is grading them, the Star #101 Jordans are hitting the market and completely destroying the 1986 Fleer Jordans in the same grades. Admittedly, the sample is small but so far, at 6 and 7 levels, the Star cards sell for multiples of the Fleers. It is only a matter of time before PSA churns out 8-9-10 examples and they outsell the Fleers head to head. I think in the end the Fleer will end up comparably priced to the 2nd year Jordan Star cards and some of the oddball Star issues from the 1st-2nd years.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The 1986 Fleer is the iconic card only because PSA refused to grade the Star cards. Now that PSA is grading them, the Star #101 Jordans are hitting the market and completely destroying the 1986 Fleer Jordans in the same grades. Admittedly, the sample is small but so far, at 6 and 7 levels, the Star cards sell for multiples of the Fleers. It is only a matter of time before PSA churns out 8-9-10 examples and they outsell the Fleers head to head. I think in the end the Fleer will end up comparably priced to the 2nd year Jordan Star cards and some of the oddball Star issues from the 1st-2nd years.

No, the Jordan RC is iconic because it created the basketball card collecting hobby in 1988-1989. It was a $50 card when the Magic/Bird RC was a $1 and key vintage RCs were all much less.

The Star will never pass the Fleer RC. The quality of the printing was poor. They are all off centered and being loose on the top of a bag, the corners were damaged. Unless PSA gives out "gift" grades, you won't see any higher than a 7. Few cared about the Star in the 80s or 90s and I don't see it changing. It is like people trying to hype the Bond Bread Jackie Robinson. That didn't stop his Leaf RC from skyrocketing.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by rats60

No, the Jordan RC is iconic because it created the basketball card collecting hobby in 1988-1989. It was a $50 card when the Magic/Bird RC was a $1 and key vintage RCs were all much less.

The Star will never pass the Fleer RC. The quality of the printing was poor. They are all off centered and being loose on the top of a bag, the corners were damaged. Unless PSA gives out "gift" grades, you won't see any higher than a 7. Few cared about the Star in the 80s or 90s and I don't see it changing. It is like people trying to hype the Bond Bread Jackie Robinson. That didn't stop his Leaf RC from skyrocketing.

The card did not make the hobby; PSA made the card. That was the power of the PSA registry and hype machine at work. Some people did not care about the Star cards because PSA refused to grade them. Also, you might want to check your history a bit. The Jordan card did not overtake the 1957 Russell. In 2004 a PSA 8 Russell was a $3500 card. In 2004 a PSA 8 Jordan was a $400 card. The Jordan 8 has never overtaken the Russell 8. We can't compare 10s because there are no Russell 10s. The 8.5 Russell went for $630,000 and the 8 Russells are $200,000 cards.

The Jackie Robinson is an interesting question. I see the parallel at first blush, but it does not hold up under scrutiny. Clearly, it was not issued in his rookie or even his second year. It is a 1949 card. However, it is akin to the 1952 Topps Mantle in that collectors do not seem to care that is not a RC when both are presented in the same grades by the same TPG: the 1952 T card sells way better than the 1951 B card. By contrast, until now, we have not had PSA graded Fleer and Star cards. We had Beckett, which is meaningless for comparables. We can now start to compare apples to apples. The PSA Star cards that have sold so far have beaten the PSA Fleer cards decisively in the same grades. Look it up on PSA's auction results function. The most recent Star 7 to sell went for $19,200 in the October 22 Heritage auction. The most recent Fleer 7 to sell went for $4,600 on eBay on 11/2.

Now, as I said before, this is a small sample based on the # of cards graded and sold thus far, but as the pop grows, as the cards make their way into the Jordan registry, and as we see some 8-9-10 Star Jordan cards, I think they will continue to beat the Fleer card in comparable grade. Time will produce the evidence to answer the question.

As for aesthetics. everyone likes what they like. I happen to think some of the Star cards are beautifully done.