A high school basketball jersey believed to be worn by former President Barack Obama sold at auction for six figures.
The white sleeveless jersey with the number “23” emblazoned across the front and back sold Saturday night in Texas for $120,000 to an unidentified collector of American and sports artifacts.
The sale was offered through Heritage Auctions by Peter Noble, who was three years behind Obama at Punahau School, a prep school in Hawaii. Noble realized what he had after seeing a photo of Obama wearing the No. 23 jersey while playing as a guard during the 1979 Hawaii state championship team.
“It was worn by an eighteen-year-old Barry Obama during his senior year at Punahou as a member of the 1979 Hawaii State Champion boy’s varsity basketball team,” the auction description read. “It was fortuitously rescued from being discarded when the new varsity jerseys arrived on campus only because our consignor Peter Noble, three years behind Obama at Punahou, had worn the same number ’23’ jersey while on the junior varsity team.”
Noble said a portion of the money generated from the sale would be donated to the Punahau School.
