1997-98 E-X2001 MJ Essential Credentials Future Sale

1997-98 SkyBox E-X2001 Essential Credentials Future #9 Michael Jordan (#02/72) – PSA EX-MT 6 Sells for $238,238

On February 8, 2026, Goldin closed a major 1990s insert sale: a 1997-98 SkyBox E-X2001 Essential Credentials Future #9 Michael Jordan, serial numbered 02/72 and graded PSA EX-MT 6, sold for $238,238.

For collectors who focus on 1990s basketball or high-end Michael Jordan, this is one of the key non-rookie, non-autograph cards in the entire hobby. The result helps frame where rare 90s MJ grails are sitting in today’s market.

Card overview: why this MJ matters

Card details

Player: Michael Jordan
Team: Chicago Bulls
Year: 1997-98
Set: SkyBox E-X2001
Insert / parallel: Essential Credentials Future
Card number: #9
Serial number: #02/72
Grading company: PSA
Grade: EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint)
Rookie?: No – this is a premier 90s insert, not a rookie card.

The 1997-98 E-X2001 product is one of the most respected late-90s basketball sets. It blended acetate card stock, bold design, and a layered insert structure that felt premium even at release.

Within that product, Essential Credentials is the true chase. It actually has two parallel versions:

Essential Credentials Now – typically lower serial-numbered, often tied to the player’s jersey number or draft position.
Essential Credentials Future – also serial-numbered, with a different print run and color treatment.

This card is from the Essential Credentials Future run and is numbered to 72 copies, with this specific one being 02/72.

For Jordan collectors, this is widely considered one of the defining 90s inserts: ultra-low print, visually distinct, and from the peak of his Bulls championship run.

Where this sale fits in the market

This copy sold at Goldin for $238,238. To understand that number, it’s important to compare it with comps (short for “comparables” – recent sales of the same or closely similar cards).

Because this is a low-serial, 1990s MJ parallel, the market is thin: only a handful come up publicly in any given year, often in different grades. That makes exact apples-to-apples comps rare, but a few patterns are clear from recent years:

Higher grades command a steep premium. When Essential Credentials Future Jordan copies in PSA 8–9 or strong BGS equivalents hit public auction, they have typically gone for significantly higher numbers than mid-grade examples, reflecting both condition scarcity and investor-level demand.
Mid-grade examples are still blue-chip for collectors. Even in PSA 5–6, this is not a “budget” card; the serial numbering to 72 and the importance of the insert line tend to support strong prices whenever one surfaces.
Price movements tend to be stepwise, not incremental. Because so few copies trade, one strong or soft sale can reset expectations for the next one. Instead of a smooth line of data points, you often see big gaps between realized prices.

Within that context, $238,238 for a PSA 6 is a strong statement about how the market is currently valuing:

A premium Jordan 90s insert with true scarcity,
In a grade that shows real wear but still presents well,
From a major auction platform (Goldin) that typically attracts serious buyers.

It’s less useful to ask whether this price is “high” or “low” in isolation, and more useful to see it as helping define the current price band for this card in mid-grade, relative to the much thinner – and more volatile – high-grade population.

Why Essential Credentials Future is so important

1. A flagship 1990s insert line

The 1990s are often called the “insert era” – a time when manufacturers experimented with wild designs, unusual materials, and short-printed chase cards. Even in that crowded field, Essential Credentials has a special status.

Key reasons:

True scarcity: Serial numbering (here, out of 72) was still relatively new and exciting in basketball at the time. These aren’t “short prints” in name only; the numbers are right on the card.
Distinct aesthetic: The translucent/acetate look of E-X, combined with heavy color saturation and the Credentials die-cut style in some years, made the cards instantly recognizable.
Difficult condition profile: Chipping, surface scratches, and edge wear are common, which helps explain why high grades are so tough.

For many collectors, completing (or even partially building) a Credentials run is a long-term grail project.

2. Peak-era Michael Jordan

This card comes from the 1997-98 season, Jordan’s final championship year with the Chicago Bulls. That matters because it places the card:

At the end of his dominant Bulls run,
In the middle of a hobby environment that was just learning how to design and distribute true premium inserts.

While it’s not a rookie, it sits firmly among the top-tier non-rookie Jordans alongside cards like PMG (Precious Metal Gems) and a select group of late-90s inserts and parallels.

3. Low population and thin supply

Population reports (often shortened to “pop reports”) from grading companies show how many copies of a card have been graded at each grade level. For a card numbered to 72, the theoretical maximum pop is 72, but in practice:

Not all copies are graded,
Some remain in long-term collections and rarely hit the market.

The result is a thin supply: even if you’re prepared to pay market price, finding a specific Credentials Future Jordan in the grade or serial number you want can take years.

Reading a PSA EX-MT 6 on this card

PSA’s EX-MT 6 (Excellent-Mint) is a mid-grade that typically allows for:

Noticeable corner and edge wear,
Some surface issues or scratches,
Still solid overall eye appeal compared with heavily played copies.

For a 1997 acetate/foil-heavy insert, a 6 isn’t surprising. Many of these were handled, stored in less-than-ideal conditions, or show typical chipping.

Collectors often weigh:

Eye appeal vs. number on the label: Some PSA 6s can present more like a 7 or 8 at arm’s length if centering and front surface look strong, but have a back scratch or edge issue that holds the technical grade down.

The important piece: even in PSA 6, this card cleared over $238k, underscoring that availability and card importance can matter more than just the grade itself on ultra-rare 90s inserts.

What this sale suggests for 90s MJ grails

This Goldin sale doesn’t rewrite the entire Jordan market, but it adds another data point for how collectors and high-end buyers are currently valuing:

True-scarce 1990s inserts with serial numbering,
Non-rookie, but era-defining cards,
Mid-grade copies of elite cards, where the alternative might be waiting years for a higher grade to surface.

Some takeaways:

Card selection still matters more than grade alone. A PSA 6 of a card like Essential Credentials Future MJ can outpace gem-mint grades of much more common inserts.
Thin markets mean wide bands. When only a handful of copies trade publicly, realized prices can vary significantly from sale to sale, depending on timing, bidder pool, and even how the card is presented.
90s Jordan remains a core pillar of the hobby. While there are always short-term swings, high-end MJ inserts like this continue to attract deep-pocketed bidders and long-term collectors.

How collectors can use this sale as a reference

Whether you’re a seasoned Jordan collector or just starting to explore 1990s inserts, this sale provides a useful reference point:

For serious Jordan PC (personal collection) builders: It reinforces Essential Credentials Future as a top-tier target, even outside high grades.
For broader 90s insert collectors: It highlights how much weight the market places on serial-numbered, visually distinct, historically important parallels from this era.
For small sellers or traders: You can use this result as a high-end benchmark when evaluating other 1997-98 E-X2001 cards or second-tier inserts. Not for 1:1 price translation, but as context for how the market values true scarcity.

As always, it’s wise to treat any single auction as a data point, not a guarantee. For rare cards, realized prices can move notably from one sale to the next.

Final thoughts

The February 8, 2026 Goldin sale of the 1997-98 SkyBox E-X2001 Essential Credentials Future #9 Michael Jordan (#02/72) – PSA EX-MT 6 at $238,238 is another confirmation of where the hobby currently ranks this card: among the most important non-rookie Jordans ever produced.

For figoca users tracking the market, it’s the kind of sale worth bookmarking. It anchors conversations about 1990s scarcity, insert culture, and how collectors are pricing the rarest pieces from Michael Jordan’s playing days.