Thursday, March 23, 2017

1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky RC

Oh boy, I figure it is about time to share this one. I have actually had it for about a year and a half but with my time away and stuff I have finally got around to scanning and sharing this. The unfortunate part is this card is slabbed so scanning it wasn't as successful as I hope and I didn't really feel like playing around with the camera today. So please keep that in mind as you proceed through this post.

1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky RC
To say I have wanted this card my whole life would be a bit of hyperbole as I have only been collecting since 1990. However, I have wanted this card ever since then so that pretty much feels like my entire life. Having a pretty tight budget meant that I couldn't drop 2000+ on a PSA 9 or 10 but at the same time I felt life is short why not at least get a decent one for a decent price and then worry about a better one for my OPC set later. As it stands I am not done my Topps set and even with this card I am still about a dozen (give or take) away from the set. While my set is an average of Ex-Mt or better I was willing to let a little go when it came to the Great One.

The card itself is stunning in person. Don't let the grading fool you at first glance it looks like a 7. However, it is truly a 4 and it's flaws are visible if you take a few moments to scan around and tilt the card. You can see corner wear on the upper right and bottom left.Tilt the card and you will see the upper left is a tiny bit soft. On the back by the 1978-79 there is a tiny hairline crease that sometimes takes me a while to find depending on the light etc. Also a tiny bit of browning on the edge of the card make it truly a 4 I suspect. Enough of the bad, this card is all great to me and it a very very fun addition to a collection I always felt needed at least one Gretzky RC.


Here is the back side, the scanning didn't turn out as well as the front but I wanted to share it anyway.


I bought this card knowing it was a PSA 4 and would have its flaws. Given how difficult they are to spot I felt it was an amazing purchase and am so pleased to have it in my collection. I honestly don't ever see myself getting rid of it ever, even if I added more Gretzkys to my collection. My end goal is to have a nice one in the 7 range in both Topps and OPC to go along with my autograph and game used Great Ones.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing one of the most important cards in my collection. Are there any cards in your collection that you would say are keystone cards which you had to have or knew needed to be apart of the collection?

4 comments:

  1. SWEET!!!!! That's an absolute beaut Dave, one of the greatest hockey cards of all time. I have a slabbed copy as well that I picked up back in 2010, in a PSA 8 (http://shoeboxlegends.blogspot.com/2010/05/card-of-month-may-2010.html).

    It was possibly the most expensive single card I've ever picked up to date at $360, but in retrospect that now looks like an incredible bargain as the most recent Topps PSA 8 on eBay that ended about a week ago went for $1,276!!! Wish I would have grabbed a few more 7 years ago as an investment!

    Congrats on landing that epic card Dave, just awesome! You really will cherish that one forever.

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    1. Thanks Shane!! WOW, that was a pretty amazing price if you ask me. Once you put it in that perspective I would say it was a phenomenal deal. I bought mine for $172.50 which I would do again in a heartbeat. I imagine the key is to always be looking and bidding!

      Thanks for the kind comments and congrats on owning history yourself!!

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  2. Great buy. I really can't think of a particular card that I would consider a keystone. Speaks to my lack of focus, I guess. Wait, what were we talking about?

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    1. Hahahaha, one flipping through my collection would come up with the same conclusion I would guess! I believe we were talking about.....

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