Desk grade
7.5
6.5 – 8.0
Range from this photo. Not a PSA, BGS, or SGC cert.
- Centering
- 7.5
- Corners
- 7.5
- Edges
- 7.5
- Surface
- 7.5
Estimate from catalog averages, not a live surface check.
Glare, blur, and parallels get missed. The grading company still has the cert.
Value
Send it to slab
$540
Raw · $320 – $890
Desk book
Raw
$540
$320 – $890
PSA 10
$4,100
PSA 9 $720
Population suggests a real shot at a grade that clears raw plus fees. Liquidity also concentrates in holders at this level.
Grade yield
37% chance of PSA 9+. Net potential upside: +$176 after grading costs. Leave it raw.
PSA regular · $50 fee · $15 ship · $8 insurance · about 45 days. Shifted by this photo's 7.5 and 16,440 graded copies. Not a PSA yield.
Raw $540 · PSA 10 $4,100 · PSA 9 $720 · PSA 8 $380
- PSA 108% · pop 2,140+$2,954 after fee
- PSA 929% · pop 6,800+$20 after fee
- PSA 826% · pop 4,100-$275 after fee
Net is the slab price minus a 13% take, ship pad, a $50 fee, and raw. A 10 is not the likely outcome of a 9 photo.
Hold or sell
Mixed book — no rush
Liquidity 65
Basketball is in its long season. Stars stay liquid. Commons do not. One census snapshot — not a live pop velocity.
Trust shield
Check these tells
A phone photo cannot measure font kerning or a rosette against a reference set. These are the known tells for this issue.
- True Prizm silver refracts under a moving light — flat gray is a counterfeit
- Chrome stock has a specific snap; paper-backed 'chrome' is fake
Liquidity
List this copy
Title, desk grade, and comps in one block. We do not submit it for you.
Authenticity
Likely authentic
Visual review, not a cert.
Census match on a well-documented issue. Still verify holograms, stamps, and stock in hand — photos miss texture.
- Print and type match known copies of this issue
- Stock and finish consistent with the set
- Chrome surface shows print lines and peeling on fakes. Confirm the Topps Chrome rainbow and correct font on KING JAMES.
Census
How many exist
Graded
16,440
Gem mint
2,140
Gem rate
13.0%
Available now
96
- PSA 84,100 pop · 22 listed
- PSA 96,800 pop · 31 listed
- PSA 102,140 pop · 12 listed
Compiled census estimate (PSA/BGS public pops)
Last sale · PSA 10 · $3,900 · Sep 2026
Comps
Sales tape
Desk book until you pull a live market read.
PSA 10 · eBay
Sep 2, 2026
$4,302
PSA 9 · Fanatics
Aug 3, 2026
$772
PSA 9 · Goldin
Aug 2, 2026
$788
PSA 10 · Heritage
Aug 23, 2026
$4,204
Raw · PWCC
May 26, 2026
$556
PSA 10 · PWCC
Jun 12, 2026
$4,226
Raw · Heritage
Feb 23, 2026
$557
On the market
Open a live search on the desks that actually print paper.
Desk
If you send it in
Set the grade you think you have and the service you would buy.
- At Raw
- $540
- Raw now
- $540
- Gem book
- $4,100
- Lift after fees
- -$50
Keep it raw · 45-day regular at $50.
Tells
How fakes fail
Border registration and copyright lines catch most reprints.
- Red Fleer borders must register with the photo — drift is common on fakes
- Confirm the 1986 Fleer copyright line, not a later Fleer logo
- Upper Deck holograms must show the diamond; flat silver stickers fail
- Centering on these issues is wild even on real copies — don't use it as a fake tell
On this issue: Chrome surface shows print lines and peeling on fakes. Confirm the Topps Chrome rainbow and correct font on KING JAMES.
Centering & surface
Meter L/R and T/B from this photo, then loupe the print. A hint at what PSA, BGS, or SGC might say — not a cert.
Scan a photo of this copy to measure borders.
Lot notes
Deep population. Value concentrates in true gems and refractors, not base raw.