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1970 Topps #712 Nolan Ryan SGC 10 Gem Mint - "POP 2"; Highest Graded Example!
RYAN BLAZER!!! This miraculous 1970 Topps #712 high-number masterpiece of the legendary right-handed fire-baller Nolan Ryan has been rightfully awarded the perfect SGC GEM MINT 10 assessment. Most significantly, the paltry two examples that have achieved the hallowed "10" grade on the SGC census report represent a microscopic 0.2% of the nearly 950 SGC encapsulated Ryan subjects (PSA's "Pop" Chart reveals only three "10s"). It is no secret that low-population "10 GEM MINT" cards representing our National Pastime's greatest players are achieving record-setting price tags each and every day. Such was the case for a PSA 10 GEM MINT '70 Topps Ryan that fetched a momentous $132K in August 2021! Indeed, hallowed "10" cards for baseball's legendary stars appear to know no bounds with regard to their infinite-like investment potential, and this Nolan Ryan cardboard gem certainly falls into that glorified niche.

Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is certainly one of the greatest pitchers who ever lived. His 5,386 strikeouts and seven no-hitters are records that certainly appear unapproachable, and his reputation as one of the game's greatest pitchers was solidified in 1999 when he was voted as the starting pitcher on baseball's "Team of the Century". His 1970 Topps subject was issued the year after the "Miracle Mets" turned the baseball world upside-down by miraculously defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. While Ryan would show "flashes of brilliance" throughout the 1969, '70 and '71 campaigns, his ongoing inconsistency frustrated manager Gil Hodges, with Ryan eventually traded to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi before the start of the 1972 campaign. Only a year later in 1973, the flame throwing right-hander would post his first "20-win" season, compiling 21 victories while breaking Sandy Koufax's "modern-day" single-season strikeout record by fanning an unfathomable 383 batters.

Synonymous with that achievement are the record-breaking aesthetics of this truly immaculate #712 high-number cardboard offering that offers virtually unimprovable attributes. Highlights include a classic Ryan pitching pose with the bygone Shea Stadium as his backdrop, impeccable clarity, brilliant hues, pinpoint corner tips, and radiant surfaces revealing no flaws whatsoever. Pack-fresh in every conceivable way, the final exclamation point is the near-impossible to find virtually "dead-on" 50/50 centering, with most 1970 subjects exhibiting skewed images. Possibly boasting the finest eye appeal of all the existing "Gem Mint 10" examples (we simply cannot imagine any '70 Topps Ryan subject besting the aesthetics of this extraordinary example), now is your golden opportunity to jump aboard the "Ryan Express" and ride this "best of the best" keepsake directly to the winner's circle!

MIN BID $5,000