(LOT 29)
"Ultra-Rare for the Grade" 1888 N162 Goodwin Champions (N162) Adrian "Cap" Anson (PSA NM/MT 8) – "1 of 3"; Highest Graded Example!
In 1888, Goodwin & Company issued a beautiful 50-card gathering in direct competition of the previous year's 1887 Allen & Ginter compilation. These exquisite cards (dubbed N162) were distributed in packs of Gypsy Queen and Old Judge cigarettes and included eight baseball players as well as other popular sports athletes of the day including football, cyclists, tennis, chess, etc. The set's most actively sought after and valuable subject is the immortal 19th century Hall of Famer, Adrian "Cap" Anson, presented here in an unfathomable PSA NM/MT 8 holder, with this highest graded example only joined by two other PSA 8 specimens! Remarkable as it may seem, this 133-year old "best of the best" marvel has stubbornly defied father-time, somehow managing to retain virtually all of its original factory issued attributes.

While it has been quite some time since a PSA 8 N162 Anson publicly sold, a PSA 7 did fetch in excess of $32K in December 2020, justifying the potential six-figure+ value for this extraordinary masterpiece. The Goodwin Champion cards are ultra-popular with vintage enthusiasts most likely due to their brilliant assortment of color patterns, with most other 19th century cards and cabinets depicted in either Sepia toned or black & white cardboard. The offered legend, Adrian "Cap" Anson, is by far the most illustrious "player" for any 19th century collector. The Hall of Fame 1st baseman of the Chicago club was the first member of the illustrious 3,000 hit club, and ended a remarkable 27-year career with a .329 lifetime batting average. Furthermore, he clubbed 97 home runs, and five over a two-game span, in an era where only a few each season was a formidable feat.

Speaking of which, this 1888 N162 Goodwin Champion offering is a marvelous home run in itself! Anson's stoic lithographic portrait image reveals sharp resolution while emanating a brilliant array of blue, yellow, orange and pink hues tones. Atypical for this issue, the image depicts near-perfect centering between four snow white borders, and both the obverse side and reverse surfaces are nearly immaculate. Rounding out its world-class attributes are pinpoint corners, a super clean flipside checklist virtually clean surfaces and overall aesthetics that place it as the arguable finest looking N162 Anson on the planet, bar none. Miraculous to say the least, it certainly appears as if this museum worthy tobacco gem has just been pulled from a pack of cigarettes, and aside from the iconic "Anson in Uniform" Old Judge rarity, its "finest of its kind" PSA 8 assessment arguably places it as the most significant 19th century cardboard memento!

MIN BID $25,000
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