The Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card 1986 is the most wanted and well-known card. It’s not surprising that some high-end cards can fetch over 20k, despite other examples selling for around $20.
The Jordan rookie card is one of the most counterfeited collectibles. This guide is designed to educate collectors so they can buy these cards confidently and avoid being scammed like others.
- Fleer Logo
The yellow logo on the top right corner of any Jordan card should be inspected for authenticity. If it’s not a good copy, there are several methods to identify fakes and determine their value on eBay or elsewhere online. One way is by looking at how light reflects off of them- authentic cards often have darker yellows which give off more intensity than lighter shades do when inspected against black backgrounds.
- Basketball Logo
It is important to see the lines within the basketball of the NBA logo. The ball is usually in solid ink on reprints. Here is a high-resolution scan of a reliable card.
- Red/Blue Transition
The authentic card has a separate transition between blue and red. The counterfeits usually display an “overly fuzzy” appearance, making it difficult to see where one-color ends and another begins.”
- Black Border
You can see the black border of this card is not made from solid ink. But it looks like it’s filled with tiny dots or pixels. Below is a high-quality scan taken from an authentic deck.
- Jersey
“Chicago, Illinois. Are you familiar with that name? It should be visible on the reprints. Usually, it’s blurry and unclear. Below is a scan of an authentic deck in high resolution.”
- Nameplate
You can find plenty of differences between authentic and reproduction cards. The background color on the nameplate should always be light blue, while any fonts used for Jordan’s last name will either be black or white depending on if it’s an original print run from factory batch production.
- Listed Trademark Symbol
The “R” logo is different on the authentic card. On reprints, it’s not printed enough and can be difficult to spot since there are other logos surrounding this area of text.”
- Bulls Logo
Printed with poor detail, the eyes of this bull seem to be blending. It’s difficult to tell where one eyelash ends and another begins on its face because they are both so detailed in their design!
- Copyright Symbol
The “C” logo is easily recognizable on a registered card. On the reprints, it’s not as clear and stands out less than other logos in this deck – which makes them easier to fake!
- PSA Holder
When a card gets sent to ISA Grading, they will assign one of three grades and then entomb the case where you can find your score. The edges of this card were frosted after being opened. You can see how it caused a counterfeit to also have similar markings on its surface, even though they don’t line up perfectly because there’s some shrinkage with age and handling over time which causes them to be millimeters off-center!