2007-08 Exquisite Kobe Noble Nameplates Sells for $40K

A 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Noble Nameplates Autograph #NP-KB Kobe Bryant All-Star Game-Used Patch card, serial numbered 12/25 and graded PSA NM-MT 8 with a PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 autograph, sold at Goldin on 02/08/26 for $40,260. For high-end basketball collectors, this is a meaningful data point for both Exquisite-era Kobe cards and game-used, on-card autograph patches.

Understanding the card

Let’s break down what this specific card is and why it matters:

• Player: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
• Year: 2007-08
• Product: Upper Deck Exquisite Collection
• Insert: Noble Nameplates Autograph
• Card number: #NP-KB
• Serial numbering: 12/25 (only 25 copies produced)
• Memorabilia: All-Star Game-used patch
• Autograph: On-card (signed directly on the card surface)
• Grading: PSA NM-MT 8 for the card; PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 for the autograph

This is not a rookie card, but it is a key premium issue from the heart of the Exquisite era. Exquisite Collection is widely viewed as one of the most important high-end basketball products ever made. The Noble Nameplates subset is known for large, multi-color patch windows cut from nameplate material and low serial numbering.

The All-Star Game-used patch note is important. While many patch autos are from standard game jerseys or event-worn material, All-Star Game-used material connects the card directly to one of the league’s most watched stages, which adds appeal for many advanced Kobe collectors.

What makes this card special to collectors

Several factors combine to make this a notable Kobe grail-level card:

1. Exquisite pedigree Exquisite Collection (especially mid-2000s) is often viewed as a foundational high-end brand in basketball cards. For collectors who chase patch autos and premium inserts, Kobe’s Exquisite issues sit near the top of his non-rookie card hierarchy.

2. Low print run With only 25 copies produced, this Noble Nameplates auto is genuinely scarce. In practical terms, very few of these surface each year at major auction houses. That thin supply makes each public sale an important benchmark.

3. On-card autograph with top grade The autograph has a PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 grade. That means PSA judged the signature itself to be essentially flawless—clean, bold, and well-placed. In the high-end market, a GEM MT 10 auto can be a meaningful differentiator versus ungraded or lower-graded signatures.

4. All-Star Game-used patch The patch is described as All-Star Game-used, which creates a direct link to Kobe’s All-Star appearances. All-Star-specific memorabilia typically resonates with collectors because the game is both a fan event and a showcase of the league’s top talent in one place.

5. Established, not speculative This card comes from the mid-2000s, well before the ultra-modern boom. That era tends to have lower print runs and less parallel overload compared with today’s products. For many collectors, that combination of scarcity and historical context is more comfortable than modern, heavily parallel-driven releases.

Market context and recent sales

When collectors talk about “comps” (short for comparables), they mean recent sales of the same card or very similar cards, used as a reference for current market value. For this Kobe Bryant Noble Nameplates card, true direct comps in the same grade and configuration (All-Star Game-used, PSA 8, PSA/DNA 10) are limited.

Looking at the broader landscape:

• Kobe Exquisite patch autos in similar serial ranges (out of 25 or 50) have been trading in a wide range depending on patch quality, inscription, and autograph grade.
• Other Kobe Exquisite on-card auto patch issues from the mid-2000s in PSA 8 or BGS 8/8.5 often land in the five-figure range, with particularly strong patches or inscriptions pushing higher.
• Record-level Kobe Exquisite rookies and ultra-premium parallels can reach well into six figures, but those are different lanes than this mid-2000s All-Star patch auto.

At $40,260, this sale sits in the upper mid-range of the modern high-end Kobe patch auto market, below the headline-grabbing rookie Exquisite RPAs and logoman cards, but clearly in the serious collector tier. With only 25 copies and relatively infrequent public offerings, each sale becomes a key reference point rather than just another transaction.

Why the grade profile matters

Grading splits—where the card and the autograph have separate grades—are increasingly important in the high-end segment.

• Card grade: PSA NM-MT 8 A PSA 8 signals a strong but not gem-mint copy. For thicker patch cards from this era, corner and edge wear are common, and many collectors accept 8s and 8.5s as “high grade enough,” especially when patch quality and autograph strength are strong.

• Autograph grade: PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 A GEM MT 10 auto distinguishes this copy from similar cards with fading, streaking, or smudged signatures. For player collectors and investors alike, that auto grade can be a deciding factor when choosing between two similar copies.

Because the population of graded examples is small and each copy has a unique patch, the market tends to treat each sale as a one-of-one comparison. In that environment, the autograph grade and patch presentation can weigh as heavily as the numeric card grade.

Set and era significance

The 2007-08 Exquisite release sits in what many collectors consider the golden window for high-end basketball cards—after the Jersey/auto concept was well established, but before the explosion of ultra-modern parallels and huge print runs.

Key points about this era and set:

• Exquisite was still the flagship-style luxury brand for basketball.
• Print runs were modest compared with many today’s products.
• Game-used patches and on-card autos carried a sense of scarcity and authenticity that still resonates.

Within that context, Noble Nameplates cards from stars like Kobe, LeBron, and other top-tier names are viewed as blue-chip pieces among collectors who focus on 2000s high-end.

Recent hobby environment for Kobe cards

Kobe Bryant’s market has gone through several phases in recent years:

• A major run-up following his tragic passing, with demand surging across almost all of his key issues.
• A cooling-off period as the broader sports card market corrected and liquidity spread across more players and sets.
• A more mature phase where high-end, historically significant Kobe cards—Exquisite autos, rare patches, early chromium parallels—continue to draw solid interest, while more speculative or overproduced cards have settled.

This $40,260 sale fits into that mature phase: serious money, but in a range that reflects a more data-aware, selective market. Collectors are differentiating between truly scarce, high-quality pieces and more common issues.

What this sale might signal for collectors

Without making predictions or promises, a sale like this can be useful in a few ways:

• For Kobe player collectors: It helps anchor expectations for mid-2000s Exquisite patch autos with low serial numbers and strong autos. It also shows continued willingness of the market to pay a premium for Exquisite-era, on-card, game-used pieces.

• For Exquisite-era collectors: It reinforces that non-rookie, non-logoman Exquisite cards can still command strong five-figure results when they combine low numbering, premium patches, and top autograph grades.

• For newer collectors: It illustrates how factors like set pedigree (Exquisite), low serial numbering (/25), on-card autographs, and specific game-used designations (All-Star) can stack together to drive a card’s desirability.

Key takeaways

• Card: 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Noble Nameplates Autograph #NP-KB Kobe Bryant, All-Star Game-used patch, serial numbered 12/25.
• Grade: PSA NM-MT 8 for the card; PSA/DNA GEM MT 10 for the autograph.
• Sale: Sold by Goldin on 02/08/26 for $40,260.
• Context: A serious, five-figure result in line with high-end Exquisite-era Kobe patch autos, below the all-time record tier but notable as a benchmark for this specific insert and era.

For figoca users tracking high-end basketball and Kobe Bryant markets, this sale is a useful reference point. As more Noble Nameplates and similar Exquisite issues surface across auction houses, the picture around mid-2000s premium Kobe autos will continue to sharpen.