Auction for Michael Jordan rookie card found in Iowa begins Tuesday

Calling all basketball fans. Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith will conduct more safe auctions starting Tuesday, this time adding a new, sporting item.

After sending the Michael Jordan rookie card to Professional Sports Appraiser for evaluation and receiving a positive review, Smith announced that the card would be added to the next set of auctions.

Where can you bid on a nearly mint Michael Jordan rookie card?

The auction is held online at IowaUnclaimedProperty.org and is open to anyone who is registered and approved with Lone Star Auctioneers and has a valid U.S. mailing address.

The minimum bid for the Michael Jordan rookie card is $4,250, with bid increments of $50. Bidding ends in two weeks’ time, in September. 20th 9:10am As of 9:00am Thursday, September 1, 7, approximately 48 hours after the auction began, $4,250 had been bid.

The treasurer’s office estimates the card could cost as much as $6,000

How did the Iowa State Treasurer’s Office obtain Michael Jordan’s rookie card?

Each year, the Iowa Treasurer’s Office receives between two and three hundred abandoned safes.

“A few months ago, we were auctioning off some safe deposit boxes that we had held for 10 to 15 years and had not found the real owner,” said Russ Trimble, director of the state treasurer’s office. Found a Michael Jordan rookie card,” previously told the Register.

Trimble said they knew they had a highly sought-after item when Axios contacted the office to inquire about the card.

“We decided at that time to remove the card from the auction and send it to PSA for grading to verify its authenticity,” Trimble said.

According to PSA, the Michael Jordan rookie card returned with a ProSports Authenticator score of 7, which is “near perfect.” This score indicates that upon closer inspection there may be minor surface wear, such as lightly worn corners. Minor printing imperfections are acceptable, but most of the original gloss will be retained.

Why is Iowa treasurer auctioning sports cards, safe deposit boxes?

The office currently holds nearly 3,000 abandoned boxes. The unclaimed property and funds are listed on the state’s Greatiowatreasurehunt.gov website. When offices ran out of space to store discarded boxes, they were forced to auction them off.

Some of the boxes auctioned this year have been sitting in offices for 10 to 15 years.

Before any auction, Smith’s office searches for owners through mail, newspaper publication, social media and more. Proceeds from the auction will remain at the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt for the rightful owners to claim. If the owner comes forward before the auction, the item will be returned rather than sold.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is the Chronicle’s general reporter. Contact her:vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com Or follow her on Twitter@VictoriaReynaR.