PSA Reports Record Sports Card Set Sale
A hobby record has been established with the $360,000 private sale of the 1933 Goudey
Sport Kings card set that is ranked number one on the PSA Set RegistrySM, according to
Joe Orlando, President of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and Editor of Sports
Market Report.
The 48-card Sport Kings set that recently changed hands between collectors for more than
a third-of-a-million-dollars is comprised almost entirely of cards graded PSA NM-MT 8 or
better.
"The previous high price reported for an intact set of sports cards was $276,771 when
MastroNet, a major auction house, sold a set of 1952 Topps baseball cards with each graded
PSA NM-MT 8 in December 2002. The $360,000 paid for the Sport Kings set is now the highest
price paid for any intact set, and it certainly underscores the strength of the market for
high-grade, rare and historic cards," said Orlando.
"The Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe and Bobby Jones cards, as well as several others in this
1933 Goudey Sport Kings set, were graded PSA Mint 9."
The sale was brokered by Memory Lane, Inc. in Tustin, California between "two very
active PSA collectors," according to Orlando: Andy Kaplan who sold the set, and an
anonymous buyer.
"In all my years of collecting and dealing in sportscards, the 1933 Goudey Sport King
set is by far one of the toughest pre-World War II sets to complete in high grade," said
JP Cohen of Memory Lane.
Orlando noted there have been many sportscard sets that were broken up and the cards individually
sold over the years.
"For example, the PSA-graded Harris Collection of T206 cards was auctioned by SportsCards Plus
for an aggregate sum of over $1 million a few years ago. But to my knowledge, the recent $360,000
transaction involving the Sport Kings set is the highest price ever paid for an intact sportscard
set," Orlando stated.
"The 1933 Sport Kings set has long been one of the most desirable productions the hobby has
ever known. This set combines legendary names from a variety of sports; baseball, basketball, boxing,
football, hockey, wrestling, golf and even swimming are all represented among others with brilliant
artwork."
Kaplan said assembling the 1933 Sport Kings set in high grade was challenging.
"I never dreamed that my goal would turn into a journey that took me years to complete. Putting
together any set is tough, but when putting it together in high-grade cards, the word, ‘tough,’ is an understatement. The Sport Kings set is popular, so when a scarce, high-grade card did surface the
competition was a factor. From my experience in a market that’s filled with knowledgeable and aggressive collectors, it would be a real challenge – if not impossible – to put together yet another set like this
one."
PSA of Newport Beach, California is a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT). For additional information, contact PSA at (800) 325-1121 or online at www.PSAcard.com.
Source: Collectors Universe, Inc.
Date: September 22, 2004
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