While Upper Deck’s groundbreaking 2003 Exquisite Collection release helped redefine ultra-modern, high-end collecting that remains a pillar of basketball cards today, it wasn’t the company’s first foray into developing a premium product. In 2000, UD’s Ultimate Collection hit retail shelves with a $100-per-pack price point. The line remained popular with collectors in the following years, leading up to LeBron James’ introduction to the NBA in 2003. Collectors eagerly chased the King’s rookie autos in both Exquisite and Ultimate, including cards such as this beautiful Ultimate Signatures Gold from the latter.
The Signatures Gold parallel featured varying print runs based on a player’s jersey number. Thus, LeBron’s is /23. This example, hand-numbered 22/23, showcases four 9.5 subgrades for a true BGS 9.5 grade and a deep blue Auto 10 signature from the king. Those who pass on this Ultimate Collection LeBron RC could ultimately regret letting a golden opportunity to obtain this signature piece go.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/09/2025.
