Over the last two years the hobby has seen its share of eye-popping card results, especially within the modern market. Still, only a handful can truly be described as ground-breaking and industry-shaking. Here’s one to add to the short list: an autographed Kobe Bryant #81 Precious Metal Gems card from the prestigious 1997-98 Skybox Metal Universe set. How rare is a ’97 PMG Kobe signed by the Black Mamba himself? This is the first and only known example ever offered publicly. It could very well be the only one that exists, making it a true 1-of-1 grail of the late legend.
Freshly encapsulated by PSA, this second-season issue from Fleer displays a teenaged Kobe Bryant in his #8 home Lakers jersey dropping a stylish dime during his rookie season. As any PMG collector and modern guru knows, there are 123 players featured in the parallel set, each with exactly 100 cards released to the market. The first ten are the Emerald versions with green foil. The other 90 in red foil are serial-numbered to 100. This offered specimen is number 60/100, which just so happened to be Kobe's point total in his final NBA game. How fitting is it that the only PMG known to be signed by Kobe is his coveted "Mamba Out" serial number!
Precious Metal Gems was not the first parallel set to use serial numbering, but it was arguably the most significant. The transparency of such a limited print run for each player generate a chase among elite basketball card collectors not seen before. The flashy design was ahead of its time, refracting like a shiny gemstone and providing tremendous eye appeal if well-preserved. But therein lies the issue. The textured foil can chip and flake quite easily along the borders, creating an element of mystique and a painstaking challenge to find ones in even decent condition.
Both JSA and PSA/DNA have authenticated the autograph, the latter grading the Kobe’s bold blue stroke a MINT 9. The card itself received an Authentic Altered designation from PSA, yet it has the look of a high-grade PMG. (The alteration is not due to size; it measures to standard PMG dimensions.) Aesthetics are off the charts: near-perfect centering and symmetry, smooth and clean surfaces on both sides, sharp corners and vibrant colors. According to the PSA pop report, a total of 22 Kobe PMG cards (20 red and 2 green) have been authenticated. Although when you look up the cert number (64266479) in the PSA database, you’ll get its true population: one.
All things considered, this is arguably the most significant, stunning, one-of-a-kind Kobe card to ever hit the open market, scarcer than his unsigned green PMG (graded BGS NM-MT 8.5) that sold for $2 million in February and with better eye appeal. (It should be noted that there is no record of any Michael Jordan signed ’97 PMG card, meaning this is the only known version signed by either basketball GOAT).