How to Spot a Fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Card

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The 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card is one of the most iconic basketball cards of all time. Since Jordan’s retirement in 2003, the collector demand for his rookie card has grown even stronger. 

Today, a PSA 10 Gem-Mint Jordan rookie card can sell for upwards of $750,000.  But with the card’s popularity, a thriving counterfeit market has emerged, making the Jordan rookie one of the most popular forgeries in the hobby.   

In several Facebook collecting groups I belong to, questions about the authenticity of a supposed Jordan rookie are posted almost daily. Those without a trained eye for a fake Jordan rookie could be duped out of some serious money. 

The scammers will even resort to putting the fake Jordan rookies in re-used or fake PSA holders.  

Thus, I wanted to create the most comprehensive guide to help collectors pinpoint fake Jordan rookies.  Hopefully, this guide helps you avoid any potential disasters!

Quick Fake Check — 5 Things to Look For Immediately:

1. Arrow color in Fleer logo (must be darker/mustard, not matching Premier box)
2. White Dot on Back of Card, between C and P in ‘CORP’
3. Scoring average decimal present (27.2, not 272)
4. Bull’s eye pupils visible on the card back
5. NBA logo lines are defined through the basketball

1. White Dot On Back Of Card

This is one that many beginner collectors aren’t familiar with. And over time, I think I might have been one of the only ones who realized this was the biggest tell between a real and a fake Jordan rookie card. And I’ve been hesitant to go public with this information, as it might lead scammers to improve their game. But the cat’s out of the bag, hence it needs to be discussed.

On every authentic 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card I’ve ever examined — meaning every single one — there is a small white dot on the back of the card. It appears in the red section of the lower half, always in the exact same location: directly above and between the R and the P in “CORP” (as in © FLEER CORP).

My best guess is that this white dot is the result of a printing defect in the original Fleer press run. Under magnification, it appears that a small chunk of the card’s surface was lifted or pulled away during production. With lower-quality photos, it can be hard to spot, but the location never varies — if you know where to look, it’s one of the most reliable authentication tells on the card.

2. The Fleer Logo – Arrow Placement, Color and Fonts

In the top-right corner of the card is the Fleer Logo.  One of the telltale signs of a fake Jordan is a discrepancy in the logo color, a misplaced arrow, or the wrong font for the “Premier” text.

Here is an authentic Jordan rookie.  If you look at the section below the Fleer logo labeled ‘Premier’, you’ll see a small arrow.  Notice that the arrow color is a darker yellow than the yellow background of the ‘Premier’ box. 

Here’s a closer look at the Fleer logo on an authentic Jordan rookie card. There are a few things to note here. As noted above, the arrow itself is a darker yellow than the Premier background. In addition, the top of the arrow does not quite touch the top rectangle outlining the ‘PREMIER’ text.

Many of the more common Jordan fakes have a very similar yellow color for the Premier box and the arrow.  Note: I said “normally,” as I’ve seen more recent fakes that do have the arrow color correct.

On the above fake, there is no color difference between the arrow and the ‘Premier’ background; plus, you can see that the ‘FLEER’ text has a more rounded, balloon-like look, whereas the ‘Premier’ text is not as well defined as on the authentic Jordan. 

Another common issue with some fakes is that the arrow next to the PREMIER box overlaps the rectangle and sticks out too far. You can observe how, on this fake, the arrow overlaps the box.

Here’s a closer look at that logo. Can you see how the arrow is overlapping the box? Remember, on an original, the tip of that arrow is slightly short of the top corner of that PREMIER box.

But do note, the fakes keep getting better and better. Here’s a fake Jordan I came across recently, where the arrow looks much better, and the colors are almost perfect, but compared to the original above, it still doesn’t have that mustardy yellowish color of the original card. 

And here’s a big thing to look for: notice how the black lines that surround the yellow in the logo and the black text that spells out the word “Premier”.  The lines are dotted on the fake copies, yet are solid on the real Jordan rookie cards.

3. Print Dots – Back Of The Card

The 1986 Fleer cards were printed using modern microdot technology, and thus, examining the back of the card is important. On the bottom half of the back of the Jordan rookie card, there are clear discrepancies.

Many of the more common fakes use very low-quality printing and have a blurred look in this same section. Here’s a copy which clearly uses very low print quality, more of copy of the card rather than a dedicated print run.

However, some use a similar print style. Here’s one example that gets close; however, it has other issues. Note the lack of any lines in the NBA ball, which we discuss in the next section.

4. NBA Logo – Examining The Lines and Fonts

At the bottom right of the back of the Jordan card, there’s an NBA logo, which can be a big help when identifying a fake.

Here’s the NBA logo on a real Jordan rookie card.  You can see that the basketball in the logo is well-defined, with lines running through it.

Here’s a closer look at the NBA logo on a real card.

Here’s the logo on many common Jordan fakes.  As you can see, there are no distinct lines running through the basketball, unlike the real one above.  If you see one like this, run far, far away.

In addition, there are other fakes I’ve seen of late that have the wrong text in the ball with the letters ‘NBA’. Case in point: the NBA font is completely wrong.

5. Bulls Logo – Examining The Eyes

The Bulls logo on the top rear of the Jordan rookie card is another indicator for identifying whether a Jordan Fleer rookie card is real or fake. Above is the back of an authentic Jordan rookie card.

Here is a closer shot of the bull logo on a real card.  You can see that there is some separation in color near the pupils of the eyes of the bulls.  

On many of the fake versions, clarity is reduced.  Here’s one example of the back of a fake Jordan rookie, where you can’t really see the whites of the bull’s eye.

6. Scoring Average – Missing Decimal

On many, but not all, of the fake Jordan rookies, the scoring average on the back of the card is missing the decimal in the ‘27.2’ average. 

Here’s a real card, with the decimal in the average.  If it’s missing that decimal, it’s 100% a fake.

**One disclaimer here – it is POSSIBLE that a scanner with a dust removal feature could show that decimal as missing in online photos, so be careful here. Don’t let this be the only check when evaluating a Jordan RC.

Also, I’ve seen some that have the decimal, but the 27.2 is offset to the right, like this one here—a total fake (note the fonts are also way off on this one);

 

7. Height And Weight Colons

One key item to look out for on the back of the Jordan rookie card is the colon (:) after the Height and Weight headers.  Here is an important lesson and something I just learned the other day that most collectors do not realize.  On most Jordan Fleer rookies, there is a colon after the Height and Weight headers, like this:

However, I have come across some authentic Jordan rookie cards up for auction that have a colon after ‘Height’ but only a single dot after ‘Weight’.  

This sort of dumfounded me at first, as I had never seen one in person.

Here is one example of a PSA graded Jordan that was recently for sale on eBay.  The buyer contacted me, panicked before he received the card, thinking he had purchased a graded ‘fake’.

An authentic Jordan with what appears to be a missing dot in the colon next to ‘Weight’s

** Same disclaimer as the section above! It turns out that many dust removal features on modern scanners will actually remove one decimal place from the weight.  Here is a photo of the same card received from a seller, who was now very happy with his purchase after seeing two colons in person.

What appeared to be a missing dot in a colon actually turned out to be a dust removal scanner mix-up

Just know, however, that if you have a Jordan card with only single dots after the Height and Weight, you can be assured that it is 100% a fake.  Here’s a fake example with missing colons (and fonts that are off also). 

I have never come across one in person that had a colon next to Height and a dot next to Weight… but if you see one, let me know.

8. Michael Jordan Letters Front

On the front of the Jordan Rookie card, the lettering should be clear, with clean white text on the light blue background.  Here is an example of the lettering on an authentic Jordan card.  

Now here’s the lettering on a common fake Jordan.  Can you see the difference?  Notice the lack of clarity between the white and the blue.  Also, the color blue background used on many of the fakes is darker than on the real Jordan cards.

9. Ghost In The Aisle

This was something I had never even noticed in all my years of examining Jordan rookie cards, but a reader alerted me to it.  After all these years, I can’t believe I never noticed the ‘Ghost In The Aisle’ on authentic Michael Jordan rookie cards.  On all authentic Jordan rookie cards, you will see that ghost (which is basically just a shadow of a fan walking in the stands).  We’ve circled it on the real card below:

We’ve circled the ‘ghost’ which is visible on all authentic Jordan Fleer rookie cards.

On many fakes, mainly due to poor print quality, the ‘ghost’ is missing.  Thus, this is at least one of the more important areas to check when trying to authenticate a Fleer Jordan rookie.  Note that not all fakes are missing this ghost, but it does help piece the puzzle together. 

Here’s one fake that has a missing ‘ghost in the aisle’:

10. Print Defects Typically Equal Authentic

Fleer often produced cards with little white print circles/defects, usually around the same spot near the top of the Bulls logo on the back of the card. If you have one with a print mark like this (and everything else looks good), this is a good sign that your Jordan rookie card is authentic.

11. Thin Borders Card Back = Dead Giveaway

I see a lot of these counterfeits in circulation now, often sold on eBay as reprints, but I often get buyers who are in the midst of being duped out of thousands of dollars.  One collector told me he purchased this one at an auction house in Sydney, where it was advertised as authentic. 

These should be an easy tell; compare this one to the back of an authentic Jordan, and you should be able to eyeball the difference.  As shown, there is minimal border padding between the edge of the card and both of the red boxes. There are many other problems as well, including the font being too bold, the red colors being too dark, and a lack of clarity on the NBA ball and NBA logo.

12. Watch Out For Backs That Are Too White

The 1986 Fleer cards were printed on thin, fiber-like paper stock and are now approaching 40 years old. The white borders on the back of an authentic card should never appear bright, crisp white — even cards that spent their entire life in a pack or sleeve will have developed some degree of off-white or yellowish tint simply from age.

If the back of the card you’re examining looks bright white — the kind of white you’d see on a freshly printed sheet of paper — you more than likely have a fake on your hands. Counterfeit cards are printed on modern paper stock that hasn’t aged, and that brightness is one of the easier physical tells to spot in person.

This is one of those checks that’s hard to evaluate from online photos alone, since camera settings and lighting can wash out or exaggerate color. If you’re buying in person, hold it next to another 1986 Fleer card from the same set — the difference in paper aging will be immediately obvious.

13. Back Lettering: Blue Font, Not Black

One of the easier tells that often gets overlooked — the lettering on the back of an authentic 1986 Fleer Jordan rookie card is printed in dark blue, not black. This applies to the player name, stats, and all text on the back of the card.

On many counterfeits, particularly the lower-quality ones, this text is printed in black. If you hold the card under good lighting and the lettering looks definitely black rather than dark blue, it’s a fake.

The stat headings — Year, Club, Pro Totals, and similar — should be in bold blue. The actual stat numbers are the same dark blue but not bolded. The copyright line at the bottom (© FLEER CORP. PHILA. 19141 PRINTED IN U.S.A.) should also be in blue, all caps, with correct punctuation throughout.

If any of that bottom text is in lowercase, misspelled, or missing punctuation — that’s another immediate red flag independent of the color issue.

1986 Fleer Jordan Rookie Card Reprint vs. Original: Key Differences

It should be clarified that there are several reproductions or ‘reprints’ of the 1986 Fleer Jordan rookie. These differ from an actual ‘fake’ or ‘counterfeit’ in that they were officially authorized and clearly identified as reproductions of the original card, with no intent to deceive anyone.

The most popular reprints that sometimes trip up novice collectors include the 1996 Fleer and Ultra — Decade of Excellence cards. These are easy to identify once you know what to look for: the words “Decade of Excellence” appear in gold foil lettering along the bottom of the card face, and the copyright on the back will reference 1996, not 1986. If a graded version crosses your desk, the slab itself will say “Decade of Excellence” — not “Rookie Card.”

The other category to be aware of is the “RP” reprint — cards listed on eBay or Mercari with “RP” in the title. These are not officially licensed by Fleer and are essentially illegal knockoffs. A seller using “RP” is technically disclosing it isn’t the real card, but many buyers miss this. If it doesn’t say 1996 Fleer Decade of Excellence and it isn’t a genuine 1986 card, it has no legitimate reprint status.

The bottom line: any card that only says 1986 on the back but fails the authentication tests in this guide is a counterfeit, not a reprint — regardless of what the seller calls it.

Still Need Help Authenticating Your Jordan Rookie?

If you are still unsure about your Jordan rookie, shoot us an email at ch***@*************ds.com, and we can see if we can help you out.

Also, if you find any good fakes, please let us know.  We are trying to get our hands on as many as possible to keep collectors informed.

Also, be sure to check out our price guide with constantly updated values for Michael Jordan’s Fleer rookie and his other cards from the 1980s.

 

Other Michael Jordan Rookie Card Articles

• How To Spot A Fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Sticker
• Determining The Sequence In A 1986 Fleer Basketball Wax Pack
• Jordan Rookie Card: A PSA Visual Guide Of Different Grades
• Investing In A Michael Jordan Rookie Card
• Michael Jordan Rookie Card Fakes: Don’t Fall For It
• Watch Out For Jordan Rookies In Tampered PSA Flips