More than 2,400 stars shine inHeritages Jan. 24 and 25 Winter Sports Cards Catalog Auction, among them one of the rarest and most coveted T206s and 51 sealed baseball wax packs from the 1950s to the 1970s. Theresa Bowman that ranks among the worlds mightiest Mantles, gaudy Goudeys from a renowned collection featuringBabe RuthandLou Gehrig anda creamy Caramel from 1909-11 whose Shoeless Joeis sure to kick up a fuss. But in this auction, theres only one star. Thatsthe 1984-85 Star Company Michael Jordan card, to be precise hisactualrookie card, the first one officially licensed, offered here alongside the other 11 Bulls who made up the Chicago set. Jordans Star card is no stranger to Heritage, which sold a signed example just in December 2024 for $120,000. However, after a long pause, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) only began grading the 1984-85 Star cards in July 2022. As the grading service explained, it accepted the cards in the early 1990s, then stopped due to issues surrounding the legitimacy of several cards that surfaced after the card manufacturer lost its license and started liquidating assets. In the summer of 2022, PSA revisited the Star cards and decided that enough information was available to allow PSA personnel to properly examine and grade the cards. Last year, it expanded its policy to include all the Star sets released between 1983 and its final year of production in 1986, when Fleer released the Jordan card widely accepted, and sought-after, as theofficialrookie card, given its iconic appearance and far wider circulation. Look no further thanthe PSA Gem Mint 10 examplein this auction, orthe Jordan-signed 86 Fleer with the PSA/DNA Auto 9. Its unclear how many cards Star Company printed in 1984-85. Some estimates say about 3,000; others are closer to 6,000, with owner Robert Levin putting it at around 4,000, with an unknown number eventually destroyed. Yet, no matter the run, not a single Jordan Star card has rated a Gem Mint 10. In fact, of the 410 graded thus far, only three have merited a Mint 9, and only seven, including the one in this auction,a Near Mint-Mint+ 8.5. That makes it a legitimate rarity in a world where Gem Mint 10 Fleer Jordans number 330. This auction features a holy trinity of Jordan cards, includingthe 1997-98 SkyBox Metal Universe Jordan Precious Metal Gems insert, the most vaunted of the additions to the SkyBox set. This Ruby Red example, graded PSA Excellent 5, is No. 67 of only 100 issued with the set, back when numbered cards really were next-to-impossible to pull. Such is the nature of collecting, pursuing that elusive, mysterious marvel. This might be among the ultimate chase cards in The Hobby:the 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal 350/30 Eddie Plank, one among the more than 500 magnificent T206s in this auction from whats known asThe Rounders Collection. Plank was one of the greatest hurlers of the Deadball era, a lefty whose stats, 326 games won, a 2.35 career ERA, three World Series titles with the Philadelphia Athletics and a 1.38 ERA over more than 54 innings pitched during those championship games rated him a Hall of Fame invitation in 1946. Yet his T206 is nearly as hard to find as the fabled Honus Wagner card, of which there are some 70 examples known to exist out of the 200 (or fewer) believed to have printed. The combined grading companies have certified about 100 surviving examples of Planks card, whose T206 should have existed in multitudes. Yet its almost as much a rumor as Wagners. There are theories concerning its scarcity, a bad printing plate and his alleged disdain for tobacco (like Wagner) chief among them, and yet, still, to this day, nobody knows for sure, says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Orlando. There are different theories, but none has ever been verified. The Plank T206 offered in this auction has been graded Very Good 3 by PSA, with only eight rated higher. The1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantlefrom The Rounders Collection is no less desirable, a PSA Mint 9 with just one higher. Northe 1933 Goudey Babe RuthandLou Gehrigcards, each graded PSA Near Mint-Mint 8. And thats just the tip of the tip of the top of the stack of offerings here, which includes a Honus Wagner (one of his the Hall of Famers highest-graded 1914 Cracker Jacks, PSA Excellent-Mint 6) anda complete collection of 1964 Topps Stand-Upsso extraordinary that its the No. 2 Current Finest (and No. 3 All-Time Finest) on the PSA Registry. From the same assemblage hails an extensive collection of baseball card wax packs made by various companies (Topps, mostly) every year between 1953 and 1979. Like most assemblages, The Rounders Collection began taking shape in the 1950s by a kid enamored of the cardboard featuring his hardball heroes. Then, the cards were forgotten for decades, until, in the 1980s, a mom called her son threatening to toss what he had long ago left behind. For more information, visit www.HA.com.