Graded GEM MT 10 by PSA. Hall of Famer, in his debut O-Pee-Chee (Canadian Topps) appearance. Presented is the one-of-a-kind item that is absolutely the very finest Wayne Gretzky rookie card in existence. The mesmerizing attributes of the most valuable hockey card on the planet are properly realized, at last, in this beyond-spectacular collectible. Here is an item that transcends its sport, in the sense that it stands as arguably the most valuable modern trading card of any kind; the legitimacy of its worth far exceeds the moment-in time phenomenon that have seen other contenders for this honor (the 1996 SI Kids Tiger Woods rookie comes to mind) realize six-figure prices. More fitting by far would be a comparison of Gretzky's rookie card to that of a parallel icon: baseball's Mickey Mantle. That, latter worthy is most famous in cartophilic terms for his cherished 1952 Topps depiction. Yet, that item – almost thirty years older, scarcer on the basis of high-number status, and, by a contrarian perspective, not even a bonafide "rookie" card – has attained the PSA GEM MT 10 tier on three occasions...from a "mere" 1,352 copies graded by PSA. Contrast this to Gretzky – the man who embodies his era and who became an idol for the citizens of an entire continent – whose difficult O-Pee-Chee (true "rookie!") has been holdered at a pace nearly three times that of Mantle. So, close to four thousand of this incomparable player's first-year O-Pee-Chee cards are held within PSA encapsulations with, again, just one "10" ever realized. The numbers define true exclusivity, wherein the keystone card here offered is almost three times more rare than another, universally revered figure's classic portrayal. Bottom line: it would be appropriate, on the basis of grading-rate statistics, for the serious enthusiast to consider that the vaunted '52 Mantle in a "10" is much more likely to be found than an O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card of equivalent caliber. Now, that's an elite collectible! (One can reasonably speculate, as well, that the PSA GEM MT 10 Mickey Mantle card – and remember, there are three of those – is probably worth millions ... or tens of millions!) The incomparable showpiece presented here features sublime distribution of its colors beneath starkly apparent, super-bright gloss. The item's brilliant blue borders are amazingly well-aligned, the surrounding corners betray no hint of circulation, and the card's central likeness of the youthful Oilers' superstar displays impeccable focus – as well as the conspicuous absence of the usually seen dot-above-shoulder printing anomaly. Finally, the distinctive O-Pee-Chee "rough-cut" edges, a pitfall aspect in many of the industry's lesser copies, reveal breathtaking, never-touched perfection in this unassailably Gem Mint condition gum card. Here's the only indisputable, paragon-level exemplar, of a globally coveted, rookie-year tribute.

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