Jeremy Lin Rookie Card Hits $17,000 on eBay

That card is owned by Yair Rozmaryn, a card collector in Manhattan, who bought a Lin rookie card for $1,000 from another collector on eBay two weeks ago. At that point, Lin-sanity was in its infancy: Lin had his memorable 25 point performance off the bench against the New Jersey Nets at home. Two days later, he made his first start and put up 28 points against the Utah Jazz, again playing at Madison Square Garden.

Bidding for Rozmaryn's Lin card will end in 22 hours. (Photo: eBay screenshot)

I saw a lot of potential in him, said Rozmaryn to ESPN on Wednesday. He had two great games at the time. And I figured he appeals to a big audience. He plays in New York City. He seems like a really personable guy.

Then Lin goes out two games later and scores 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, a feat that arguably catapulted him to national and even international heights.

I got lucky, Rozmaryn said to the New York Times on Thursday. At the time, Lin cards were selling for $180 and now they are over $2,000.

But on Feb. 22, 2012, the card has now climbed just shy of $20,000. According to Rozmaryn's listing on eBay, the bidding will close tomorrow afternoon, but, despite that, Rozmaryn said that final bid may potentially be double what it is now.

I really think it's going to go for somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000, he said. I think it's going to go pretty high.

Rozmaryn said he had his card appraised by Beckett Grading and received a gem mint 9.5 rating, according to the New York Times. The card's serial number is 17 out of 25, which he said is a valuable number in the series because it is Lin's jersey number. That itself, Rozmaryn said, should bring in triple the amount of other cards in the series.

Rozmaryn's listing says that the card is in a safety deposit box at a New York City bank.

When Rozmaryn was asked what he would do with the money he earns after selling the card besides reinvesting in more cards, he said to ESPN, I definitely have to get my wife something nice or the consequences could be dire...Give some of it to charity...Make fun of my friends that they don't have [money] and I do. They've been making fun of me about collecting cards my whole life.