LeBron Value Continues to Soar
Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James continues to reach new heights even before NBA training
camps open their doors. A recent sale confirmed today of the LeBron James 2003-04 Upper
Deck Exquisite Rookie Card, which contains both an autograph and a patch piece from a
game-worn jersey, sold for an astonishing $5,500. Only 99 total copies of this LeBron
James card exist.
"The basketball card industry has never had a product experience a jump in value of
this magnitude in such a short period of time," said Keith Hower, Beckett Basketball
Price Guide Editor. "As this card continues to dry up on the secondary market, expect
to see even higher prices than this, as collectors who are building complete sets battle it
out over the few offered for sale."
New York City-based hobbyist Reed Elson confirmed the sale with Beckett Media and was looking
toward more success from this LeBron offering.
"I've sold two other LeBron cards this year," Elson said. "They went for $2,700
and $3,800. I do this mainly as a hobby. I started collecting about 15 or 20 years ago. I collect
all four sports. Lately, I have been able to focus on the higher end cards like the Exquisites
and the Ultimates from Upper Deck. I expect the value of these cards to go even higher as LeBron
experiences more success."
This was the single most expensive basketball card product ever produced with an SRP of $500 per
pack and $1,500 per case upon release a little more than a year ago. Full case sales have since
easily topped the $4,000 mark. Seven of these LeBron cards have sold for more than $2,600 apiece
since February 21, 2005. Since the first recorded public sale in June of 2004, the secondary market
revenue from all copies sold of this card has exceeded $100,000.
ABOUT BECKETT MEDIA
Based in Dallas, Beckett Media LP, an Apprise Media company, is the leading publisher of sports and
specialty market collectible products in the U.S. Beckett operates Beckett.com (http://www.beckett.com)
and is the premier publisher of monthly sports collectibles magazines. Beckett, considered the world's
most trusted source in collecting, currently publishes 14 magazines.
Source: Beckett Media LP
Date: September 14, 2005
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