Collector wants one of every MJ card made
Turner is two-thirds of the way there
CHICAGO — Often you’ll read about a Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth trading cards selling at headline-grabbing prices and being let go for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, yet you might never know the identity of the reclusive bidder. Not so with Nat Turner. It’s no secret that the co-founder and CEO of New York-based Flatiron Health has what’s believed to be the world’s most prolific collections of Michael Jordan cards and one of the most impressive assortments of sports cards known to exist. His Instagram account, which features front-and-back snapshots of many of his prized picks, has about 8,000 followers.
“I’d say he ranks right at the top of modern collectors, probably by far,” said Nick Cepero, an independent sports collectibles expert. “I know his collection is extensive throughout everything.
“Especially with Jordan, (it’s) probably one of the best.”
But the question was put to the man himself: Are you the Jordan collector?
“Well, yeah, probably,” Turner finally admitted with a laugh. “I don’t like to be cocky about it because it’s not my goal. But yeah, I have a lot.”
Turner, who along with longtime friend and partner Zach Weinberg, amassed a fortune starting and selling a variety of businesses, is unique among top collectors in that he doesn’t just pursue high-end Jordan cards but low-end ones as well.
He estimates that there are about 6,000 Jordan cards and he has about 4,000 of them. But he’s not out of the Jordan acquisitions business just yet.
“My goal is to have one of every Jordan card,” said Turner, who made Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2015. “And I’m pretty close.”
Turner talked with the Tribune about his hobby. Some questions and answers were edited for clarity and brevity.
Why collect Jordan cards rather than another sports icon?
I grew up watching Jordan. It’s pretty simple. I was a big baseball fan too. I actually do collect baseball as well.
I got back into card collecting right after I graduated college, which is 2008. I started trying to buy the cards that I wanted as a kid. I had a job at that point, more money, so I was able to. As a kid I knew who Babe Ruth was but I wasn’t watching him on TV like I did Jordan. That’s why. For me, it was Jordan and Kobe (Bryant). Have you ever met Jordan? No, I never have. I’m a big golfer, and I think my best chance will be if I ever happen to be at the same golf course as him. He probably would think I’m weird. I’m one of those superfans that the celebrity thinks is psychotic, but whatever.
What was your first sports card?
My dad gave me a 1975 Topps Hank Aaron (when he was 6 or 7 years old, which Turner uses as his Instagram avatar). My dad’s from Atlanta, Ga. (Aaron is a Hall of Fame Braves legend). It was really beat up. He was always away on work — he’s in the energy industry — and he went to a card shop somewhere and he brought that home.
And he gave me a Hank Aaronsigned baseball when I was a kid too. He had three of them. He had sent them off to Hank Aaron — that was his favorite player. As a kid he sent him three baseballs, and Hank Aaron sent all three back signed. I still have it. I have one in my office. He has one in his office. I don’t know where the third one is. My sister probably has it.
Do you remember your first Jordan card?
I do. I found it the other day. It was a 1995 Topps Finest Mystery card.
I’m at my parents’ home in North Carolina, and my mom found (it). … I have like boxes upon boxes of cards from when I was a kid. Most of them are in really bad shape. They’re not necessarily valuable. … Not all of them, but like maybe 1 percent are in plastic sleeves or binders. It’s just interesting to see what I thought was valuable back then.
These Jordan cards obviously were in plastic. This is like a really thick 1-inch plastic screwdowns. It was probably like a $5 card back then, but to me, that was, you know, the card. … For me the chase really was more valuable than the card ownership at the time. I’d rather have pulled the card than owned the card, if that makes any sense.
How did you find that Jordan ’95 card when you were a kid?
I pulled it in a pack at (Houston card shop) The Dugout. … You couldn’t see the card. It was like a mystery, right? It was like a black peel on the front of it. You had to peel it away to see which player you got. I peeled it and it was Michael Jordan.
It was amazing. I mean, Jordan was my favorite by far. He was everything. (The Bulls) won the championship that year, man. … I wasn’t buying boxes. I was buying a pack or two here or there, so it was really rare to pull something big; the odds were never in my favor.
I had a lot of Michael Jordan baseball cards — but I found my stack, my binder of them the other day. None of them are very (valuable) — actually now, if you’ve followed it, some of these ’90s baseball cards of Jordan are like $1,000 if they’re gem mint. There are tens of thousands of them and all of a sudden they’re worth something.
It still blows my mind. I found my binder of Jordan and (Scottie) Pippen. I had them organized by player. … I had them with stickers over them with what Beckett said they were worth at the time.
Which Jordan card makes you most proud to own?
You actually wrote about it: the Precious Metal Gems green from ’97. I also bought the ($900,000) dual Logoman with LeBron (James and Jordan) that came out. … I have that one too.