This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/10/2022
LATE ADDITION AS OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 25TH
Presented here is one of the first ever Kobe Bryant autgraphed rookie cards (packed out with his signature) to enter the market from the underappreciated 1996-97 Score Board Autographed Collection series. This is the rarer "Gold" version hand-numbered to 300 and one of the finest copies you can get. Fresh to the hobby after recently coming back from PSA with Mint 9 grades on both the card and autograph, it stands as the highest graded example in the PSA pop report. A total of 29 Gold editions have been slabbed by PSA and only eight others have garnered a Mint 9 card grade. There has yet to be a Gem Mint 10.
Young Mamba appears in his white Lower Merion High School uniform on this underrated card that has somehow managed to slip under the radar of many astute modern collectors. The Score Board brand certainly can't measure up to the likes of Upper Deck, Hoops, Skybox or Fleer that dominated the basketball card market in the 1990's. But it does have the distinction of releasing a signed Kobe rookie well before any of the big card manufacturers.
Kobe has signed in bold blue pen that looks perfect in our book, only he started it over a dark background. That's probably why it did not get a 10 auto grade. The card, numbered "222/300" in blue ink, has no blemishes that we can see. This 9-9 could easily be a 10-10. In any case, it's an awesome rookie of Bryant that's tough to beat.