In 2023, a charity shelter found gold Nike Air Jordans in a donation bin; the one-of-four-or-five pair sold for $50,800

A pair of bright gold Nike Air Jordan 3s was sitting near the bottom of a clothing donation bin at the Portland Rescue Mission in Oregon when James Free, who was a participant in the shelter's transitional program, spotted them in April 2023. He set them aside for staff to inspect, and they turned out to be custom sneakers that were made for filmmaker Spike Lee and his inner circle, one of only four or five pairs produced. In December, Sotheby's sold the pair for $50,800, with the hammer price going to the Portland Rescue Mission.The shoes looked like ordinary donations at firstThe Portland Rescue Mission receives large quantities of donated clothing and shoes, which are sorted and distributed to people who need them. When Free came across the gold Jordans, their condition stood out, as they were brand new while many of the surrounding donations were used clothing and footwear.The shoes were a custom version of the Air Jordan 3 that was designed for Lee. Sotheby's described the pair as having metallic gold leather, black, white and icy-blue details, a red interior, and custom logos that were connected to Lee's production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.The model first became publicly recognizable when Lee wore a pair at the 2019 Academy Awards. He was wearing the gold Jordans when he accepted the Oscar for adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. The shoes found in Portland were not Lee's personal pair, as Sotheby's identified them as one of a small number of pairs made for Lee to give to people in his circle. The model was never released to the general public.Staff initially thought the shoes might be fakePortland Rescue Mission staff first had to determine whether the shoes were genuine. Erin Holcomb, the charity's director of staff ministry, said that the shoes initially appeared too unusual to be authentic. Staff searched for information about the model and eventually took the pair to a local sneaker business for examination, and found that the shoes were identified as genuine. Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, whose name appears on the shoes alongside Lee's, was then contacted. Hatfield authenticated the sneakers and became involved in preparing the auction lot.Nobody at the charity knew who had placed the shoes in the donation chute or why, which left the organization with a rare collector item that had arrived in exactly the same way as thousands of ordinary shoes and clothes.Hatfield also supplied material connected to the original design, and provided a replacement shoe box and signed additional material for the auction. Sotheby's included that material with the shoes, along with provenance from the Portland Rescue Mission.The estimate was nowhere near the final priceSotheby's initially estimated the pair at $15,000 to $20,000, and the auction closed on December 18, 2023, and the winning price reached $50,800. The final figure was more than twice the top end of the estimate, and the entire hammer price was designated for the Portland Rescue Mission. Sotheby's waived its seller's fee for the charity, although the auction house retained the buyer's and overhead premiums.The Guardian reported that the shoes were one of only four to five pairs custom-made for Lee and his inner circle, and also confirmed that the pair had been found in the Portland shelter's donation chute in April before being auctioned at Sotheby's in December. The donor's identity was still unknown after the sale, while the $50,800 hammer price went back to the organization that had received the anonymous donation.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.