Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/1/2011
Fantastic opportunity here to secure a run of O-Pee-Chee issues and in the process acquire the rookie cards of some of our sport's most memorable skaters and goalies. With the exception of the 1973-74 team logos, all inserts are present, along with some miscellaneous sets which include the Neilson's Gretzky issue (NM). Speaking of Wayne, there are two '79-80 OPC sets, meaning not one but two Gretz rookie cards! One is NM or very close, with only less-than-smooth edges and less-than-perfect centering as the apparent flaws, while the other is nicely centered and EX, with the respective sets mirroring Wayne condition-wise. The condition-sensitive '73-74 set ranges from EX+ to NM-MT, with EX-MT as the average, while the RC-packed '74-75 ensemble is quite sharp and averages NM or close to it. The rest of the '70s exhibit some handling and wear and average in the EX to EX+ neighborhood, with the four WHA sets also included. Typically, things get better in the '80s, with further details, along with specific conditions for the RCs of Robinson, Potvin, Bowman, Cherry, Trottier, Bossy, Bourque, Messier, Coffey, Fuhr, Yzerman, Neely, Lemieux, Roy and Hull available on our website. Good luck with dandy collection, housed in binders. The winning bidder will also receive boxes and boxes and binders of complete sets from the 1990s, making for a close to 30-year run of hockey cards! All the companies involved in the early-to-mid-1990s boom are represented including OPC, Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Pinnacle, Pro Set and of course, Upper Deck. More interesting value towards the end of the decade with the likes of Be A Player, OPC Chrome, Black Diamond, Gold Label and other issues, with inserts adding to the intrigue. Info on the more recent cards is also available on our website. The key Larry Robinson RC from ’73-74 is NM (OC), with O’Reilly RC similar and Billy Smith RC at EX-MT. Schultz RC is NM-MT while Barber RC is an exception at VG. A complete set of (17) OPC ring inserts appears NM. From ’74-75, the RC of Potvin is NM, with those of Bowman, Cherry, Gainey and Salming at EX-MT. There is a duplicate Trottier RC, with one EX and one EX+, while longtime teammate Mike Bossy’s first cardboard appearance is EX+ (OC). A word on the WHA sets now, with a set of ’73-74 mini posters present and followed by a sharp, mostly NM-or-better set from ’74-75. The other three sets show intermittent touched corners/wear and the odd crease here and there and are in the EX to EX+ range with the Mark Howe RC at EX-MT. To the 1980s now where the ’80-81 set features mostly EX-MT to NM-or-better cards, with Gretzky’s second year card (and his All-Star card) at NM+, and the RCs of Messier, Bourque and Gartner at EX-MT. Centering issues, along with corner/edge wear plague much of the EX to EX+ ’81-82 set, with a couple of small creases lowering the Coffey RC to VG+. Sharp corners and smooth edges standout in the ’82-83 cards, although so does intermittent poor centering, with the Fuhr RC at NM-MT (OC). The next two years (’83-84, ‘84-85), feature mostly NM to Mint cards and average NM-MT, with the Yzerman RC perfectly centered and NM, while the Neely, Gilmour and Chelios RCs are NM. A little upper left corner bend in an otherwise real sharp Mario RC lowers it to EX-MT in our book, with the MacInnis RC looking NM-MT and the set grading NM+ overall. We spot some intermittent corner touches in both the ’86-87 and ’87-88 sets, with the Patrick Roy RC at NM and a little better than the EX-MT average. A VG-EX Yzerman stands out as a card to upgrade. Remarkable centering is rather striking in the ’87-88 cards, with Robitaille RC NM-MT. The Brett Hull RC includes good centering but also a dinged lower right corner, rendering it EX-MT. The miscellaneous sets include the ’77-78 OPC glossy inserts, ’80-81 OPC Super Photos (5x7), Puffy Stickers from the ‘80s, ’83-84 Esso, ’85-86 OPC Box Bottoms, ’87-88 and ’88-89 OPC Minis and a 12-card Brett Hull/University of Minnesota-Duluth set. An instant collection or instant inventory with this 17-year run!
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