Nike Mercurial 2.1 R9 Prototype Sample Silver Blue World Cup FG
New with box and Sample tags
The Boots:
- One of the most iconic football boots ever made, designed after the original 1998 Mercurial R9 as used in the World Cup
- Incredibly rare, and not often seen in the "short tongue version" featuring the rounded tongue, see picture 2
- This short tongue edition was closer to the specs R9 wore in the 98 WC. R9 cut the long part of the tongue off to look closer to this boot
- This was the 2001 version released as the "Mercurial 2.1", featuring the same design as the 98 version, but with the modified tongue
- Overall, these are pretty much the same specs as what was released for the retail version of the Mercurial 2.1
- The Mercurial 2.1 featured a much stronger plastic material for the sole plate as well, it's the same design, but many of the 98 pairs crack and deteriorate, this soleplate is in incredibly perfect condition. Some light sock liner peeling.
The Sample Notes and Info:
- The boots themselves are absolute unicorns to find. The Mercurial 2.1 R9 is even more rare than the 1998 R9. But these are an extremely unique example of Nike prototyping history, coming directly from a former employee. You won't see a pair with this history behind it anywhere else
- What makes this pair extremely special is they are a pre-production prototype Sample that was used by the Mercurial designers during the prototyping process. They feature original markings and notes made by the designers
- The boots feature the date of inspection " 8 - 1 - 01 " written on both insides of the boots near the sock liner, see pic 3 or 4. They also have the signature of the designer who worked on them on both boots
- The boots also feature 2 circled areas near the toe box. Refer to pic 4. There are minor cosmetic imperfections, some webbing near the toe on the left boot, and the right boot missing some blue paint towards the sole. These are the original sample notes for issues that needed correcting prior to the release
- The right boot also features an arrow towards the middle of the instep pointing out some missing blue paint as well.
- Original Sample tags placed inside the left boot. Size 9US. With original Alpha project Sample bo
