Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card is the Holy Grail of Canadian sports collectibles – and I own one

Last August, a Topps Gem Mint 10 Gretzky rookie was auctioned for US$1.2-million. But that’s nothing compared with what has happened to the value of the O-Pee-Chee card.

“People were stuck at home, bored, couldn’t get out of the house, so they started sorting through their cards and saying, ‘Wow, there’s some money here!’” As life has returned to normal, some of the heat has come off that market; Mr. Martin figures that Gretzky rookie-card prices are down about 30 per cent from their peak. Still, he says, owners of the cards have enjoyed a big appreciation from the pandemic-fuelled boom.

PSA provides an online “Photograde” guide to help card owners self-assess the potential grade and value of the most highly valued rookie cards out there – such as Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky. The guide is more than just an academic exercise; establishing an approximate grade helps determine how much the card should be insured for if an owner chooses to ship it to PSA for formal grading.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up the way they used to when Mr. Gretzky got the puck behind the Calgary Flames’ net. Might I actually have something valuable here? But the highlight here is hockey cards – stall upon stall, row upon row, displayed inside glass cases like jewellery. They span at least eight decades of NHL history. The price stickers range from a few dollars to many thousands. The show is also a hotbed for autograph seekers – a steady stream of ex-NHLers sit down at tables in the heart of the convention floor, scribbling their names on pieces of memorabilia bought to them by queues of admirers and collectors.

The big kicker of submitting cards for grading is the cost of insurance. The grading companies require clients to have their cards shipped to central grading facilities, where they are carefully examined in what amounts to laboratory conditions, and then shipped back to the owner in a tamper-proof sealed case with an assigned grade attached.

It's the most valuable card produced on Canadian soil, marking the rookie year of The Great One, and the centrepiece of multimillion-dollar sports-card auctions. One of them sold for US$3.75-million during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Scott Stinson: Golf's holy war may be over, but no one knows who's getting the spoilsA week after the shock union between the PGA Tour and their Saudi rivals, the top golfers in the world still don\u0027t know what\u0027s going on
Source: OttawaCitizen - 🏆 21. / 68 Read more »

Former federal Minister of Sport Kirsty Duncan renews call for safe sport inquiryLiberal MP Kirsty Duncan has again called for an inquiry into Canada's safe sport crisis. Duncan spoke before the standing committee on Canadian Heritage on Thursday, making seven recommendations on the scope of a potential inquiry.
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Standing Committee on the Status of Women provides recommendations based on studyThe Standing Committee on the Status of Women recommends that the government of Canada establish a national review process to determine whether a national sport organization can receive federal funding under the Sport Support Program.
Source: CP24 - 🏆 30. / 67 Read more »

Canadian passports, other documents lost in wildfires to be replaced for free: fedsSpecial measure covers permanent resident cards, Canadian citizenship certificates, Canadian passports and other travel documents
Source: nationalpost - 🏆 10. / 80 Read more »

TSX positioned to outperform S&P 500 for the next decade: Strategist - BNN BloombergThe Canadian equity market could potentially reward investors more than the S&P 500 over the next 10 years, one strategist says.
Source: BNNBloomberg - 🏆 83. / 50 Read more »

Top 5 things to get you up to speed for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand PrixFormula One is back in Canada for a second consecutive year as the Canadian Grand Prix gets underway this week in Montreal.
Source: TheTorontoSun - 🏆 23. / 68 Read more »