Top 10 Most Expensive Hockey Cards in 2021
Hockey cards, as captured in discussions on the same over at runrex.com, have been around for more than a hundred years, and within that time, some of them have become extremely valuable. As the gurus over at guttulus.com, the most valuable cards in the hobby can easily fetch six-figure sums, with collectors always willing to get their hands on them, as long as they are in good condition. Here are the top 10 most expensive hockey cards in 2021.
1910 C56 Newsy Lalonde Rookie Card
Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde was a star lacrosse player as well as one of the most well-regarded hockey players of his time. He was part of the Montreal Canadiens, one of the founding franchises of the NHL in 1917, and one of the notorious “Flying Frenchmen”. His C56 card was considered his true rookie card, as covered over at runrex.com, and features “Newsy” as a member of the Renfrew Creamery Kings. According to guttulus.com, this card is quite scarce, with PSA grading 120 copies, and a PSA 8 version of the card is valued at $14,000.
1910 C56 Art Ross Rookie Card
Art Ross is considered one of the best defenders to ever play the game of professional hockey, and his contributions to the game even led to monumental changes in the way hockey was played. For example, he was one of the first players to skate up the ice with a puck as opposed to passing it to another player, and he was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1949. As is covered over at runrex.com, Art Ross actually has two cards in the C56 set, both of which are considered to be his rookie card. PSA has graded roughly 100 copies of each making the card fairly scarce and highly sought after. A PSA 8 version of this card is estimated to be valued at around $18,000.
1923 V145-1 Howie Morenz Rookie Card
Morenz is referred to by some as the ‘Babe Ruth” of Hockey because of his dominance as a goal scorer and his speed on the ice. His rookie card from the V145-1 set is the second most valuable in the set behind the Bert Corbeau card. As is discussed over at guttulus.com, this card has been graded roughly 45 times by PSA, and a PSA 5 graded card is valued at about $20,000.
1951 Parkhurst Gordie Howe Rookie Card
Gordie Howe is undoubtedly one of the NHL’s all-time greats. A 23-time NHL All-Star, Howe was considered to be one of the best all-round players to play the game because of his amazing offensive and defensive abilities. His longevity was such that he played an unbelievable 26 seasons, playing a game in five different decades, a feat that is unlikely to be repeated ever again. His rookie card from the 1951 Parkhurst set is one of the most sought-after hockey cards of all time according to runrex.com, with a PSA 8 graded version of this card being valued at $30,000.
1923 V145-1 Bert Corbeau Rookie Card
While Bert Corbeau was an average player by most measures, his card from the V145-1 set is among the most valuable hockey cards out there as covered over at guttulus.com. The V145-1 set is mostly recognized as an anonymous issue, although many believe that it was released by the William Patterson candy company. Corbeau’s rookie card is very rare, with only a handful graded by PSA because it was short-printed by the company since collectors could win a pair of skates if they assembled the 40-card set. The limited printing was so that the company wouldn’t have to give away too many skates. This rarity is why it is so valuable, with a PSA 4 – VG-EX version of this card being valued at $40,000.
1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card
This is one of two rookie cards of the ‘Great One’ on this list. As the experts over at runrex.com point out, this particular rookie card is probably the most well-recognized card in the history of hockey cards and is a must-have for sports card collectors. A PSA 9 version of this card is worth around $45,000 or more.
1911 C55 Georges Vezina Rookie Card
Most people are likely familiar with the Vezina name because of the ‘Vezina Trophy’ which is awarded to the best goaltender each year in the NHL. He is arguably the game’s greatest goaltender of all time and was also one of the original inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945. Vezina’s rookie card, as articulated over at guttulus.com, is one of the most valuable hockey cards of all time and the most expensive in the 1911 C55 set. A PSA 8 (near mint copy) version of this card is valued at a tasty $75,000.
1958 Topps Bobby Hull Rookie Card
Hull is arguably one of the best players to ever play the game of Hockey. He was an offensive wizard, with blistering speed and a shot that ultimately earned him the nickname “The Golden Jet”. His 1958 rookie card is at the top of most vintage hockey collector’s wish lists. From discussions on the same over at runrex.com, the card is also very rare and PSA has only graded it around 400 times, which means it’s going to cost you if you are to get your hands on it. A PSA 9 version of this card is valued at an estimated $150,000.
1966 Topps USA Test Bobby Orr Rookie Card
One of the greatest to ever play the game as well as one of the most revolutionary defensemen of all time, Bobby Orr is a Boston legend. His 1966 Topps rookie card is one of the most sought after hockey cards in the hobby, and although PSA has graded this card roughly 900 times, which means that they aren’t scarce by any means as discussed over at guttulus.com, given the demand, higher graded copies will most certainly set you back a few bucks. A PSA version of this card is also valued at upwards of $150,000.
1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card
This is the most valuable card in the hobby as per the subject matter experts over at runrex.com. It is by no means a scarce hockey card given that PSA has graded more than 5,700 copies of it, but the fact that it features the game’s most recognizable faces in Wayne Gretzky, who won four Stanley Cups in what is considered the greatest NHL career of all time which ended in him holding the NHL’s records for goals, assists, and total points. Near mint copies of this card can fetch upwards of $70,000 easily. However, if you can get your hands on the only 2 cards to have achieved PSA 10 status, then you will have hit the jackpot. This is shown by the fact that a PSA 10 version of the 1979 OPC Wayne Gretzky rookie card recently sold for a staggering $1.29 million at auction.
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