1985 Merchante (Spanish) Michael Jordan

Big80s

For those of you (like me) who enjoy following an interesting auction. This card is SUPER tough to find in nice condition. '85 Merchante Jordan

I was the high bidder until this morning. I have a feeling it's going to go for around a grand, but we'll see.

Maurice

<< <i>I was the high bidder until this morning. >>


"If you happen to win, it's a 4% charge and you get the card back."

Big80s

Not my card, but I wish it were. Cool joke, though.

Maurice

$2,023.00

Dpeck100

What is so great about low pop cards is it only takes two!

sportscardtheory

I have never understood why anything Jordan is called a "rookie card" other than the '84-'85 Star cards (first appearance on cards) or the '86-'87 Fleer cards (true RC). Anything '85-'86 is just tweener cards lost in the purgatory of cards.

Big80s

<< <i>$2,023.00 >>



I'm rich!!

halosfan

Holy Smokes

Big80s

<< <i>What is so great about low pop cards is it only takes two! >>



I love rare foreign cards of American athletes, and I'd love to add this one to my collection - but i figured I'd be getting smoked by a couple of Jordan collectors. That's an impressive finish.

miklia

wow - i had a 1k snipe set on this - can't believe i didn't even get half of the way there. time to wait for the pop to go up i guess.

Big80s

I own two of these now - one's a going to be a PSA 1 (at the graders now) and another that looks to be a PSA 5 or so. That said - I've seen a handful of cards from this set in addition to the Jordan and none of them have been nearly as nice as the one in this auction. It went for a lot, but if you're a hardcore Jordan collector - this card will be tough to beat.

Big80s

After watching this card for the past year - I really wish I'd gone after this 8.5 with a little heavier bid. These cards seem to be impossible to find in high grade. As popular as early Jordan cards have gotten - I think the 1985 Merchante and the 1986 Merchante will do well in the long run.

ReggieCleveland

Is this a sticker or a card?

swartz1

Can you show a scan of the back please...

thanks

Maurice

Blue back:




Red back:




The blue back's text translates to "fresh milk yogurt" and "Latvian fresh yogurt".

The red back's text translates to "CLESA yogurt" and "champions in force and dexterity".

Exodus

That is a very unappealing card in my book.
I've seen much better Jordan cards, i.e., 85 Star and 86 Fleer.

Big80s

<< <i>Is this a sticker or a card? >>



It's a card, not a sticker.

Big80s

<< <i>That is a very unappealing card in my book.
I've seen much better Jordan cards, i.e., 85 Star and 86 Fleer. >>



I don't think it's the best looking design, but if you like hard-to-find, early cards of the best basketball player ever - I think it has appeal.

ReggieCleveland

Thanks Jeff. Was there an album for them?

Big80s

<< <i>Thanks Jeff. Was there an album for them? >>



I can't confirm that. My thought is that there was an album for the '86 series, but maybe not the '85s. It's difficult to find the '86s without glue damage on the back, which always makes me think there was an album.

MattyC

Even though it's highly subjective, I don't think anyone will debate the aesthetics of the 85 Merchante photo versus the 86 Fleer. But what's even more undebatable is the rarity.

1986 Fleer Jordan
Total Graded Pop: 13,386 PSA + 6559 BGS = 19,945

1985-86 Merchante Jordan
Total Graded Pop: Blue Back 6 + Red Back 13 = 19

Not to mention of the Merchantes there are only 3 examples at the PSA 8 tier and higher.

PS:

It looks like two new examples popped recently-- wonder if they'll hit the market or are in private collections?
A whopping new PSA 8 blue AND PSA 7 red are now in the pop report. So who's got'em?

Davemri

there is an album to glue these into. I have a full 86 page with cards attached. Cant say that i've seen an 85 page though.

MattyC

Got any scans of the album and pages? Would be awesome to see.

Davemri

Davemri

Here you go. Here is the page that I have that has several big names on it including Gallis, Schmidt and Petrovic. The top team picture is 4 cards glued together.

Davemri

The other side of the page has a team. I've no idea what country this is.

MattyC

Thanks for those pics. Very cool piece. Good to have it up for people interested in this issue.

fkw

rare cards are often ugly.... thats one reason they are rare... ugly = low demand and low survival rate, especially considering this was made to be glued into an album from another country.

thanks for sharing, never seen this one before

fkw

<< <i>I have never understood why anything Jordan is called a "rookie card" other than the '84-'85 Star cards (first appearance on cards) or the '86-'87 Fleer cards (true RC). Anything '85-'86 is just tweener cards lost in the purgatory of cards. >>



the same reason why the 1951 Bowman Mantle is also called a 'rookie' too (uneducated collectors following the crowd).
FWIW The 1951B Mantle is a high number, thus a late 1951 season issue... and was in reality the 2nd card ever made of Mantle

PS. the 1st Mickey Mantle card ever made (early 1951), is his cheapest 1950s-60s card and can be had for under $50 in midgrade

ThoseBackPages

<< <i>

<< <i>I have never understood why anything Jordan is called a "rookie card" other than the '84-'85 Star cards (first appearance on cards) or the '86-'87 Fleer cards (true RC). Anything '85-'86 is just tweener cards lost in the purgatory of cards. >>



the same reason why the 1951 Bowman Mantle is also called a 'rookie' too (uneducated collectors following the crowd).
FWIW The 1951B Mantle is a high number, thus a late 1951 season issue... and was in reality the 2nd card ever made of Mantle

PS. the 1st Mickey Mantle card ever made (early 1951), is his cheapest 1950s-60s card and can be had for under $50 in midgrade >>



which packs are the other 1951 Mantle in?

Dpeck100

1986 Merchante


This looks really cool with the picture on top. Does anyone know the background on this card?

Maurice

<< <i>1986 Merchante >>


This card appears to have very small borders top/bottom.

Maurice

Compare the size of the top/bottom borders.

miklia

good eye maurice. That 8 looks to be trimmed for sure.

ReggieCleveland

So is the card on page 1 trimmed or were they meant to be separated from the top portion?

Maurice

<< <i>So is the card on page 1 trimmed or were they meant to be separated from the top portion? >>


The card on page 1 is an 1985-86. The card pictured above is a 1986.

The 1985-86 Jordan is #173, has blue stars and no top portion. It comes with blue or red backs with yogurt advertising.

The 1986 Jordan is #163, has red & blue stars, a black outline and has a top portion with the NBA logo and a small image of the player. The 1986 set has Converse or MacGregor advertising on the back although I don't know if each player in the set comes with both Converse and MacGregor backs. I've only seen Jordan with a Converse back.

There is also a difference in cropping of the Jordan image.

ReggieCleveland

Makes sense, thanks Maurice. Odd that they would use the exact same image and border style.

Maurice

<< <i>

<< <i>1986 Merchante >>


This card appears to have very small borders top/bottom. >>


$1641

Big80s

Impressive finish on that card. Having owned a handful of these, I can tell you that PSA 8, should hold its value well. The 86's might be harder to find with a clean back than the 85's, thanks to the fact that they were released with an album to glue them into.