Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2015
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2015
The current high bids for the cumulative group of sublots, $18,268.00 is currently higher than the total for the set, $0.00 (this lot is currently losing)
Utterly extra-special and exceptional is the opportunity offered with this truly remarkable group of pre-war treasures, encapsulated and adding up to the finest of its kind in the world. The cards, known simply as V129s since their manufacturer is not even known(!), are, in terms of scarcity/rarity, considered by most to be second only to Sweet Caporal postcards among pre-war cardboard collectibles which picture hockey players. Earning recognition on the PSA Set Registry as the Current Finest and “The Number One Set of All-time” for five straight years, the near complete set, (missing only the almost-non-existent Harry Oliver card), is a star-studded and rookie card-laden bonanza, with two of hockey’s all-time greats brilliantly leading the way condition-wise.
The Rangers’ Bill Cook, one of the greatest scorers of the pre-war era, is the greatest V129 scorer in the history of PSA, his un-improvable MINT 9 shocker being the only V129 card ever to be awarded such a lofty mark. The PSA Population Report is a fine indicator of the relative minuscule supply of these sepia-tone cards with less than 500 of them, (all players combined!), ever encapsulated by the firm. The key Howie Morenz example here is a peerless one-of-one PSA chart-topper at NM-MT+ 8.5 and joins the Cook card as the only two superior to NM-MT 8 – phenomenal! There are 11 other Pop-1s with none higher, including, miraculously, #1 - Red Horner’s rookie card at NM-MT 8! Other unique 8s are the RCs of 9-Alex Levinsky, 10-Bill Thoms, 27-Albert Leduc and 35-Red Beattie. Also alone in first place on their respective lines of the PSA chart are 20-Ebbie Goodfellow RC at NM 7 and 30-Butch Keeling RC and 45-Lorne Chabot RC, both at EX-MT 6. The set’s key rookie card, that of the legendary Eddie Shore, is slabbed EX 5 and is a Pop-1 with just one example ever graded higher, with the important Charlie Conacher RC posting the exact same mark and statistics. The other key card, featuring King Clancy, is a Pop-2 EX-MT 6 and edged only at PSA by one other card #8. The individual grades of all 49 cards, which sum up to a set rating of 5.52, may be viewed on the PSA Set Registry, which reveals that there are only two other near complete sets of these elusive, elusive prizes. The rookie cards of Hall-of-Famers Bailey, Jackson, Primeau, Hainsworth, Dutton, Weiland, Siebert, Ching Johnson, Clapper, Barry and Bun Cook further up the appeal here, with longtime serious hobbyists having sought certain V129s for lengthy periods of time. The time has come to add to your important encapsulated pre-war hockey card shrine!
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