(LOT 16)
Remarkable PSA 8 NM-MT Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey #53 Subject – Only One PSA Example Graded Higher!
BAMBINO MARVEL!!! This extraordinary PSA 8 NM-MT #53 Yellow Goudey Babe Ruth has only been bested by a single other example on the illustrious PSA Population Report. It was in 2021 that Memory Lane sold that one higher graded PSA 9 Mint specimen in the legendary Dr. Thomas Newman sale, with the one and only 9 fetching a record setting $4.2 million. While thirteen other PSA 8s join this remarkable offering on PSA's Pop Chart, it should be duly noted that this particular PSA 8 marvel truly suffices as one of the finer eye pleasing #53 Goudey Ruth's on the planet! Indeed, that notion is truly correct for we have never seen a more formidable example than this museum worthy gem that clearly emanates visual brilliance superior to even the PSA 9 copy.

One of the oldest and most profound clichés "a picture is worth a thousand words" certainly applies to this awe-inspiring PSA 8 gem that via its crystal-clear Ruth batting image, fine centering, sparkling hues, radiant yellow background, blinding white borders and blistering sharp edging rightfully earns pinnacle bragging rights amongst the most meticulous collectors. Indeed, while the 8 assessment falls short of the one and only 9, its awe-inspiring presence places it as one of the premier examples extant, and the bona fide headliner of this prestigious Goudey gathering. That notion is justified by Memory Lane selling another PSA 8 specimen earlier this year for the record price of $942K. Synonymous to an uncontrollable brush-fire, pricing for the most significant cardboard artifacts is steamrolling ahead, and the #53 Yellow Goudey Ruth irrefutably stands tall as one of the most exalted cards on the planet.

It's no secret that the finest sports cards continue to experience unfathomable pricing surges, spearheaded by an SGC 9.5 Gem Mint 1952 Topps Mantle realizing $12.6 million in August of this year. Other world-class cards have likewise achieved immense prices including an SGC 3 T206 Honus Wagner fetching a staggering $6.6 million, and a Baltimore News Babe Ruth privately selling for over $5 million! Additional momentous sales include a PSA Mint 9 '52 Topps Mantle and a LeBron James 2003-'04 Exquisite Collection Rookie Card both realizing $5.2 million, the previously mentioned PSA 9 Goudey #53 Ruth selling for $4.2 million, $3.8 million for a "1/1" Trout Bowman Chrome Rookie Refractor; and a PSA 7 Ruth rookie privately selling for roughly $3 million. Clearly, the premier and rarest sport cards are now viewed as not only collectables, but as bona fide investment commodities, and courtesy of Memory Lane, this PSA 8 Ruth "Queen Mary" memento has officially pulled into port. The 240-subject 1933 Goudey Gum landmark issue unquestionably suffices as one of the most prestigious pre-war sets in the hobby.

Babe Ruth's fascinating popularity ultimately inspired the Boston, Massachusetts Goudey Gum Company to include four different cards of the great Bambino in their inaugural issue, three of which portray the renowned Charles Conlon Ruth batting image (subjects 53, 144, & 149). The #53 yellow background subject truly resides as the most desirable and valuable specimen, substantiated by its superior pricing points that literally leave its three other peers in the dust. Over the past several years, while a vast number of PSA 8s for the three remaining Ruth Goudeys have surfaced (#s 144, 149 & 181), only the aforementioned PSA 8 Yellow Goudey #53 Ruth was publicly sold for $942K. Many elite collectors fortunate enough to have captured PSA 8 examples of the three other Ruth subjects, have painstakingly awaited the arrival of the next PSA 8 Goudey #53 Ruth, and now is your golden opportunity to seize one of the finest and most breathtaking #53 subjects.

This unfathomable offering truly stands as one of the most significant sport cards for the grade; synonymous with the Sultan of Swat's pinnacle standing as our National Pastime's greatest all-time player. The Babe exemplifies everything baseball represents, and it's no wonder that each and every day, his popularity increases profoundly. His pitching exploits with the Boston Red Sox combined with his uncontested batting achievements have earned him the rightful nod as baseball's greatest all-time baseball player, justifying why he was a 1936 HOF charter member. Baseball will never see the likes of him again, an unequivocal icon with a combination of sheer playing excellence and personality that prompted a seemingly infinite number of enchanted young fans to storm their local candy stores in 1933 with the hope of pulling a Babe Ruth card from a Goudey Gum wax pack.

While we will never know the fortunate baseball enthusiast who bought this #53 Ruth card for a handful of pennies, what we do know with 100% certainty is that the card has miraculously defied father-time by retaining virtually all of its original factory-issued attributes. Pack-fresh, to say the least, this world class offering could stop traffic, highlighted by Ruth's grandeur image featuring ultra-sparkling facial hues, impeccable resolution, and a nearly flawless rich yellow setting. It appears as if the Bambino has just walloped a baseball towards the furthest confines of any ballpark, with the timeless Charles Conlon batting image revealing Ruth donning his classic Yankee pinstripes as he completes his mighty swing. As previously mentioned, the immaculate surface exhibits dazzling white borders and amazing near-perfect centering, with most Goudey subjects exhibiting somewhat skewed images. The four right-angled corners are extremely sharp, no obtrusive blemishes are apparent, and the final exclamation point is a super clean verso.

A true cardboard blazer, it has rightfully earned the extremely rare 8 NM-MT valuation that places it in the top 1% of the approximate 1,100 PSA encapsulated specimens. Our utmost compliments to the previous owners who meticulously passed the baton and preserved this revered gem since its original 1933 issue date. The hobby has defined an overwhelming mystique for low population prestigious cards, and considering this momentous Ruth offering proudly reveals itself as one of the premier eye-pleasing examples, we cannot even begin to speculate on its potential value. What we can predict is that this museum worthy masterpiece's availability will once again prompt a bidding frenzy among the hobby's elite, with the most esteemed enthusiasts frantically fighting for its final ownership. One of the most significant Sultan of Swat heirlooms in the hobby, its pack-fresh aesthetics and sanctified PSA 8 grade combine to hoist its earth-shattering popularity to a pinnacle plateau!

MIN BID $200,000
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