A recruitment letter Michael Jordan received from legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith went on the auction block on Friday, according to ESPN.
New Jersey-based auction house Goldin Auctions is handling the proceedings after acquiring the letter and other documents from a North Carolina man who retrieved them when he bought the contents of a storage locker .
Another letter, this one signed by then Tar Heels assistant coach Bill Guthridge, is also part of the lot.
Goldin founder Ken Goldin told ESPN the documents were originally part of a batch of personal items Jordan donated to "Michael Jordan's 23," a restaurant that opened in Chapel Hill, N.C. in 1999. Goldin added when the establishment closed in 2003 some of the items on the wall went into the storage and later became the property of the man who bought the locker when the bill went unpaid.
"In my more than 30 years in the business, this is the first time I've ever seen documents like this," Goldin said. "A recruiting letter to a major high profile athlete has never been available for the public to buy."
The auction lists an opening bid for the Smith letter at $5,000, with the Guthridge letter having a $2,500 reserve. The letters, as well as Dean Smith's handwriting on his letter, has been deemed real by authentication company PSA/DNA.
Goldin is also auctioning what he claims is an original copy of the Jordan's UNC diploma and an original copy of his transcript with his UNC course load. The diploma carries a $7,500 reserve, while the transcript auction starts at $1,000. The auction, which includes the Jordan items, closes on Feb. 7.
Goldin previously sold a Jordan game-used jersey formerly owned by entertainer Penny Marshall for $51,518 and last month Grey Flannel Auctions sold the pair of shoes Jordan wore in his famous "Flu Game" for $104,765.
"Michael Jordan is the Babe Ruth of modern athletes in terms of sports memorabilia," Goldin told ESPN.
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