The borders can be extremely susceptible to showing wear and chipping. Last year, for example, the towel that Bryant draped over his shoulders during his farewell speech in 2016, along with tickets to his final game, sold at a virtual auction for more than $30,000. Attributes of gem mint-rated cards include a sharp focus, sharp corners, and the full original gloss on the whole surface of the card. On eBay, the cards are listed at $360-$900. Gold Medallion parallels are also in the set and easier to pull. The most recent auction for a Star Rubies Kobe Bryant from the 1997 set was for a PSA 6 example. The most expensive Kobe Bryant card ever is the Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Card. The card known as the Finest Kobe Bryant Refractor w/ Coating is a rookie card, #269, released for his 1997-1997 season. A rare Kobe Bryant rookie card sold for more than $1.795 million on Saturday, "an all-time record" for any Bryant card. Please, comment below and let me know which cards you think should be on the list. More NBA Coverage: Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1985 OPC #9 MARIO LEMIEUX ROOKIE CARD PSA 9 MINT at the best online prices at eBay! Golden Touch die-cut inserts are found in 1:360 packs from series 2 boxes. This card would have been featured in 1996 Skybox Premium series 1 hobby boxes. Instead, they opted for a more geometric background pattern that has refractor characteristics set on a horizontal frame. Moreover, the background is covered with a platinum finish, and the text also boasts a metallic gradient. Other Hall of Fame players in this set include Michael Jordan, Shaquille ONeal, Tim Duncan and Scottie Pippen. On 8/11/2021 a PSA 10 sold for $55,350. It's one of only two ever rated at that level by Beckett. Goldin Auctions recently sold a PSA 8 at auction for $8,000. The most recent PSA 10 gem mint condition was sold by Goldin Auctions in October 2021 for $8,610. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Only one copy per card exists. On 10/27/2021 a PSA 10 of the Credentials parallel sold for $617,460, and on 2/22/2021 a PSA 10 of the base version sold for $87,100. With an intense stare, this Kobe Bryant rookie card from 1996-97 SP might be one of the more captivating images of Bryant but the blue stripe on the side is a bit distracting. This Star Ruby parallel would have been featured in 1996 Skybox Premium series 2 hobby boxes. Although this is an early Prizm Gold card and will certainly be a grail for some card owners, this particular sale seems a bit high. Sellers declare the item's customs value and must comply . CNNs Jill Martian contributed to this report. This is a second-year card of Kobe with the back description complementing his incredible leaping ability and all-around skills. 2023 Cable News Network. Not likely, but maybe. Last January, Bryant, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were among nine people killed when a helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California. These cards also featured an acetate finish and had the same odd serial numbering for each of the parallel sets. Contents hide 1 Most Valuable Kobe Bryant Rookie Cards 1.1 1996 Skybox E-X2000 Credentials and Base #30 Kobe Bryant 1.2 1996 Flair Showcase Legacy Collection Row 0 & 1 #31 Kobe Bryant 1.3 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor #138 Kobe Bryant Guaranteed Value! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. According to Warren Laufer, Vice President Of Business Development at Arena Club, there are actually still Kobe Bryant cards die-hard fans can get their hands on for a fairly reasonable price. On 1/7/2022 a PSA 10 sold for $5,400. It is numbered as the 442nd card in its set. They feature up close and personal photos of players looking intimidating placed over a fiery background. It can be found in 1996 Fleer Ultra Series 2 hobby boxes. On 6/21/2021 a PSA 10 of the Essential Credentials Future sold for $12,500. Kobe had a variety of rookie cards in the 1996 Bowmans Best set, but the most rare atomic refractor in Gem Mint condition as shown above definitely sells for a premium. If you dont own one, heres your opportunity to get in while you can. A BGS 8.5 example recently sold at auction in October 2022 for $3,916. This Kobe card will run you anywhere from $200-$2500, depending on the condition and the seller. It is serial numbered to 10. Secondly, the designs are pretty impressive, with an entire foil-type front, and the refractor finish gives them a massive eye appeal. This particular Kobe Bryant rookie card doesnt have any of the premium elements as the card above, but its still one of the most popular cards on the market. While a PSA 10 sells for anywhere from $7k-$15k at its peak, you can still pick up a PSA 8 for around $750. Out of all Kobe rookie cards, this has to be the most unique design. There arent many inserts in 1999 that demand attention. Track your collectionfor free, SportsCardsPro 2019-2023 The sale is notable in that the card -- a 1997-98 . Considering that over 22 million Kobe Bryant cards have been printed throughout his career, that is a surprisingly low number. The value of an ungraded 1998 Fusion Kobe Bryant card is between $2,500 $4,000, depending on the condition. A rare Kobe Bryant rookie card sold for more than $1.795 million on Saturday, an all-time record for any Bryant card, according to the Goldin Auctions, an online auction house. Another giveaway feature is the green and red foil background split between the word Jambalaya in cursive. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. The refractor parallels of Kobes rookie fetch much higher values, particularly in Gem Mint condition. It was graded an unheard-of 10 by the PSA. Star Power Supreme cards offer a clear acetate feature, a die-cut top left corner, and many foil finishes on the text and atom symbols. search faster and find your cards. The image must be centered and printed perfectly. Bryant appeared in two separate cards for the series and one is slightly more valuable than the other. Kobes other parallel, the Essential Credentials Now version, was serial numbered in reverse. There was also a silver version that was exclusive to hobby boxes and averaged one out of every 250 packs. historic prices, and card details. Lastly, they are limited to 100 copies per player, making them ultra-rare and hard to find. Kobe Bryant Basketball Cards Kobe Bryant Basketball Cards Sort By Listings 1 - 100 of 4,616 1996 Edge - Key Kraze - Factory Set #3 Kobe Bryant [PSA 10 GEM MT] $27,531.10 2014-15 Panini Prestige - Distinctive Ink Signatures Premium #3 Kobe Bryant [BGS 8.5 NMMT+] #/25 $3,468.60 2013-14 Panini Prizm - [Base] - Orange Prizm #1 His dominance on the court left a legacy as one of the greatest players of all-time. Star Power Supreme die-cut inserts are in 1:288 packs in series two boxes of 1997 Fleer Ultra paralleling the Star Power and Star Power Plus inserts but are the rarest tier of the three. The lone PSA 10 would probably eclipse $100k. #16. The subset name is located above the skybox Molten Metal logo. Bills GM Joins NFL Doctors Optimism, Kobe Bryant card sold for a record $1.795 million. In 1997, Fleer released two Metal Universe sets, the standard set and the Championship set, which has 100 total cards, including 98 players and two checklists. This unique card was part of a 40-card set that was randomly inserted into 1 out of every 10 packs. The number one most valuable (non-rookie) Kobe Bryant basketball card is his 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems parallel, which parallels the base cards; however, the backgrounds are bright green or red. Exquisite Collection Limited Logos Kobe Bryant. $13.99 + $0.99 shipping. 2006-07 Upper Deck Ovation Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Card #35 Kobe Bryant. The card displays all three signatures, rated 10 by Beckett for quality. The most expensive Kobe Bryant card was the 1996-1997 Topps Chrome Rookie Refractor (BGS Black Label), selling for $1.75 million. The card, which was sold through the PWCC Marketplace,is one of the most desirable of all time. PSA graded 11 of the 98 Essential Credential Kobe cards, with three grading gem mint 10, seven mint 9, and one NM-MT 8. Featuring a strange typographic treatment reminiscent to It Came from Outer Space and a Nintendo Gameboy-like border, this die-cut card is very prone to chipping along the edges. By contrast, the base insert version has been graded 82 times, with 14 getting a 10 by PSA. While this Star Date insert doesnt sell for nearly as much as the more rare base or ultra rare Credentials it is still one of the most iconic designs of Kobes rookie card selection. As you can see, the rare and limited print run of the Star Ruby parallel really brings up the value. 120 sold. Despite all of that complexity and tiered rarity, there were a limit of 150 of each player's parallel cards known as the "Legacy Collection". PSA graded 18 of Kobes Platinum Medallion cards, with one grading gem mint 10, six mint 9, six NM-MT 8, and the remaining PSA 7 or less. Navigation. Moreover, we see how rare they are, with a small supply of only 23 graded by PSA. Since this sale was from early in 2020, I would expect a PSA 9 copy of this card to sell well over $10k if it hit market today. Shop the 1997 Essential Credential Kobe Bryant card on eBay, Shop the 1997 Precious Metal Gems Kobe Bryant card on eBay, Shop the 1997 Precious Metal Gems Kobe Bryant cards on eBay, Go Out on a Limb with These NBA Championship Picks, Players who have made the biggest impressions in the NBA bubble. The most recent sale of a 97 Credential Kobe parallel was in September 2022 by PWCC Auctions and ended at $90,000. This card comes with a steep price tag and on eBay will run you anywhere from $1000 -$6500, depending on the seller. On a PSA NM+ 7.5 sold for $109,200. Again, one was featured in Series 1 hobby boxes, the other perhaps less notable design was in series 2. . Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest players to ever set foot on the court. Some reputable sellers have it listed for $1259, but there are significantly lower bids on some auctions starting at $180 . Theres an example on eBay currently listed for $500,000, which if it sells, would become the most expensive version of this card ever. 1996-97 SP Premier Prospects Rookie #134 Lebron James, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and more were all featured in this insert set, which was also the first year for Panini Prizm. The Topps trading card is a chrome refractors edition sold from 1996-97, Goldin Auctions said on its website. Set# 182 is the Prizm Kobe Bryant Gold card, one of the most recent cards that you can buy, being released for Bryants 2015-2016 season. His rookie card is one of the rarest in existence and one of only two on earth in black label pristine condition, which is the highest possible obtainable grade, said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions. On 2/2/2022 a BGS 8.5 of the PMG green sold for $2,000,000. Players are cropped-out and placed over a background of the sky, appearing as though they have broken through the roof. The cards overall rating dropped to 5.5, however, due to it being so off-center in the printer. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. And that should boost the price more in theory. Only one other example of this card is considered to exist at this level of quality. With 42 bids, it ended for a total of $111,000. This sale coincided with a large spike in graded card sales across the hobby and sticks out as quite the anomaly compared to a sale in February of 2019 for $6,000. The Row 1 or "Grace" Legacy Collection parallel from this iconic set is another one that's worth thousands of dollars in top grade. PSA graded 58 of Kobes Intimidation Nation cards, with nine grading gem mint 10, twenty mint 9, two nm-mt+, and the remaining grading PSA 8 or less. Since its inception, the Precious Metal Gems (PMG) insert has been a favorite of many modern basketball collectors. Despite the high sale prices of these elite versions, you can still pick up lesser grades of the same designs in the base Flair, making for a great Kobe rookie card to add to your collection. Moreover, Fleer included a rarer parallel to the Fusion called Titanium Fusion, which is limited to 40 copies per player of numbers 31-50 and has a gold color on the front. Surprisingly, the auction only had 20 bids, a small amount for a card of such significance, and ended with a final bid of $19,500. The game used market is less indexable than cards and often full of one-of-a-kind items like this jersey that are nearly impossible to price before a sale. They offer an entire foil front with cropped-out photos of players positioned over a gold background. Serial Numbered to just 100, PSA has only graded this card 5 times and a 9 is the highest grade. Yet another great insert set in the E-X2001 set is this oval-shaped die cut card which has become iconic among collectors. All Rights Reserved. MORE: The Makings Of Black Mamba: Kobe Bryant Through The Years. Follow @blogzworth Sure, the price may seem too high for most people but the fact that it's the Mamba's final Kaboom card. Kobe Bryant was seemingly destined for greatness. Kobe Bryant Basketball 1996-97 Season Sports Trading Cards & Accessories Rookie,; Topps Kobe Bryant Basketball 1996-97 Season Sports Trading Cards & Accessories, The main difference in the design from the regular High Voltage cards are the 500 Volts designnation on the front, along with a different refractor-like pattern when shown in the light. Inserted into 2009 SP Game Used hobby boxes, this iconic Logo Men insert set featured Kobe and was serial numbered to just 11. Kobe Bryants 1996 rookie season was a historic time in the basketball card hobby, as Topps Chrome emerged as a top tier brand, and many other sets created refractors, die cuts, and rare serial numbered inserts and parallels. During a Goldin Elite Auction, a BGS NM-MT+ 8.5 sold for $79,200. There are 100 PMGs per player, with the first 10 featuring a green foil and the remaining 90 having a red foil front. If we're talking green, the most expensive Kobe Bryant cards are: 1997-98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Emerald - $2 million 1996-1997 Topps Chrome Rookie Refractor (BGS Black Label) - $1.8 million Regarding importance, all Kobe basketball cards are valuable, and each card is worth the money. 1996-97 Finest Kobe Bryant Rookie Card #74. The highest grade of the card is a Mint 9 (only 2), and only 11 have ever been graded by PSA. The clear favorite among Kobe Bryant rookies, Bryant's base 1996-97 Topps Chrome card is one of the few non-numbered rookie cards without a signature that still commands high prices. Firstly, the designs are epic. This card in particular also sells for more than the series one rookie, most likely due to the preferred design. However, by 2006, collectors had become completely obsessed with superfractor cards and Flair fell by the wayside. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1960 Topps Set-Break # 3 Joe Adcock NR-MINT *GMCARDS* at the best online prices at eBay!