2008-09 Exquisite MJ Hinged 1/1 Sells for $68K

2008-09 Exquisite Michael Jordan Hinged 1/1 Sells for $68,348 at Goldin

On January 4, 2026, a true high-end Michael Jordan grail changed hands at Goldin: a 2008-09 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Hinged Cards #MJ-3 Michael Jordan Signed Game-Used Relic, serial-numbered 1/1, graded BGS Authentic/Altered with a Beckett 10 autograph. The final price was $68,348.

For collectors who follow Exquisite-era Jordan cards, this sale is a useful data point in a segment of the market that is thinly traded and highly condition- and card-specific.

Card overview: what exactly sold?

Let’s break down the card itself:

• Player: Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
• Year: 2008-09
• Product: Upper Deck Exquisite Collection
• Subset: Hinged Cards
• Card number: #MJ-3
• Serial numbering: 1/1 (one-of-one)
• Features:
  • On-card autograph (signed directly on the card)
  • Game-used relic (patch from a jersey worn in an NBA game)
  • Hinged, multi-panel Exquisite design
• Grading:
  • Beckett Grading Services (BGS) card grade: Authentic/Altered
  • Beckett autograph grade: 10 (Gem Mint auto)

This is not a rookie card. Instead, it’s a premium, late-career (post-playing-days) high-end Jordan from what many collectors view as the golden era of modern basketball high-end products.

Why Exquisite and the Hinged series matter

Upper Deck’s Exquisite Collection line in the mid-2000s is widely regarded as a cornerstone of modern high-end basketball collecting. Even though these are not playing-days issues for Jordan, Exquisite is often treated almost like a “blue chip” brand because of its:

• Very low print runs
• On-card autographs
• Large, premium patches
• Innovative, thick and sometimes multi-panel card constructions

The Hinged Cards subset is more niche but important. These cards open like a mini booklet, allowing for:

• A larger design canvas
• More prominent jersey swatches
• A clear, centered autograph

In practical terms, that means the card is both physically distinctive and more fragile. Hinged and booklet-style cards are more prone to edge, corner, and surface wear, which often impacts grading outcomes.

Understanding the BGS Authentic/Altered label

Instead of a numeric grade, this card received a BGS Authentic/Altered designation for the card itself and a 10 grade for the autograph.

“Authentic/Altered” generally means:

• Beckett has confirmed the card is genuine.
• They have identified some kind of alteration to the card (for example, trimming, recoloring, or other modifications), or there is enough uncertainty about originality that they will not assign a standard numeric grade.

Many high-end collectors still target Authentic/Altered examples when:

• The card is a 1/1 or extremely rare.
• The autograph grade is top-tier (like this Beckett 10 auto).

In practice, this designation usually prices the card below what a clean, high-numeric graded example would bring, but above raw copies when authenticity and auto quality are paramount. With a one-of-one, direct comparisons are more conceptual than exact.

Market context and recent sales

Because this is a 1/1 Exquisite Jordan hinged card, there is no direct, repeatable comp. One-of-ones, especially from Upper Deck’s Exquisite line, typically trade privately or infrequently at auction.

To understand the $68,348 result, it helps to look at closely related categories:

1. Other Exquisite-era Jordan 1/1s and low-serial autos

   • High-end MJ Exquisite autos with premium patches and very low serial numbering (like /10 or 1/1) have historically sold in a very wide range, determined by design, photo choice, patch quality, inscription, and grade.
   • Sales above and below this $68k result are not unusual across the wider landscape of Exquisite-era Jordan autos, particularly for high-eye-appeal cards with strong autograph grades.

2. Impact of the Authentic/Altered designation

   • When similar high-end Jordan cards surface with standard numeric BGS or PSA grades (for example, BGS 8.5/9 or PSA 8/9 with a 10 auto), they can sometimes command a noticeable premium over altered-label examples.
   • Seen through that lens, $68,348 can be interpreted as a price that reflects both:
     • The importance of a 1/1 Exquisite MJ hinged auto relic, and
     • The discount typically associated with an altered designation.

3. Thin market, low sample size

   • For this exact card number and specific 1/1, there is essentially no deep sales history to map out a trend. One-of-one Exquisite Jordans tend to trade sporadically, so each sale becomes its own reference point.

In other words, this result doesn’t neatly fit into a smooth comp curve. It sits in line with what you might expect for a non-rookie, premium Exquisite Jordan 1/1 that combines a strong autograph with a non-numeric grade.

How this sale fits into the MJ high-end market

A few dynamics are worth noting for collectors tracking the broader Jordan market:

1. Rookie vs. high-end post-playing cards
   Jordan’s true rookies (1984-85 Star, 1986-87 Fleer) dominate mainstream conversation, but the top of the modern high-end Jordan market is heavily populated by:

   • Exquisite autos and patches
   • Limited 1990s inserts and parallels
   • Later ultra-premium releases with on-card signatures

   This Exquisite hinged 1/1 sits firmly in that second bucket: not a rookie, but a premium autograph relic from a historically important brand.

2. Era and scarcity
   The 2008-09 timeframe is considered modern, but it pre-dates today’s ultra-mass-produced, multi-brand environment. Print runs for Exquisite were small, and one-of-ones genuinely are single-copy issues.

3. Autograph focus
   With Jordan no longer signing new NBA-licensed cards under current brand structures, older on-card autos from Upper Deck-era releases have an extra layer of attention. A Beckett 10 auto on a flagship premium card is a major draw.

4. Condition sensitivity
   Hinged and booklet-style cards often show more condition issues from handling and storage. The Authentic/Altered label may or may not be due to wear, but it signals that, from an investment-style perspective, the buyer prioritized:

   • Card authenticity
   • Autograph quality
   • Rarity (1/1)

   over a numeric grade.

Takeaways for collectors and small sellers

For hobbyists watching this sale or considering similar cards, here are a few practical observations:

1. One-of-ones are their own category
   Traditional “comps” (recent comparable sales, used as price references) become less precise the moment a card is a 1/1. The market tends to anchor on:

   • Brand (Exquisite vs other products)
   • Design and eye appeal
   • Autograph quality
   • Perceived desirability among advanced collectors

2. Understand grading labels
   Learning the difference between:

   • Numeric grades (e.g., BGS 9, PSA 9)
   • Authentic-only
   • Authentic/Altered

   is crucial when you’re dealing with high-end pieces. Each label has its own price context, and the market doesn’t treat them interchangeably.

3. Exquisite MJ still commands sustained interest
   This Goldin result reinforces that Exquisite-era Jordan autographs with strong visual appeal remain a serious segment of the market, even outside of his rookies. While prices move up and down with broader hobby conditions, demand for iconic brands and players tends to be stickier than for trend-driven releases.

4. Auction house choice matters
   Selling a card like this through a major auction house such as Goldin can help reach the right mix of advanced MJ and Exquisite collectors. For smaller sellers, that’s a reminder that matching the right card to the right venue is often as important as the card itself.

Final thoughts

The $68,348 sale of the 2008-09 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Hinged Cards #MJ-3 Michael Jordan Signed Game-Used Relic 1/1 (BGS Authentic/Altered, Beckett 10 auto) at Goldin on January 4, 2026, is another data point in a thin but important corner of the Jordan market.

It highlights three ongoing themes:

• High-end Exquisite Jordan autos continue to attract strong attention.
• One-of-one cards live in their own pricing universe, where eye appeal, brand, and autograph quality often matter more than numeric grades.
• Grading labels like Authentic/Altered don’t remove a card from serious consideration—especially when the autograph is perfect and the player is Jordan.

For collectors, this sale is less about predicting where prices go next and more about understanding how the market currently values rarity, brand heritage, and grading nuances at the very top of the Jordan autograph ladder.