The Most Expensive Hockey Card Of All Time Doesn't Exist Anymore
In the history of sports, you could argue that Wayne Gretzky is the GOAT of GOATs. His records across the league remain intact even decades after his retirement.
His rookie card is a particularly interesting topic. There are two main cards to know about: the 1979 Topps and the 1979 O-Pee-Chee. Although they look almost identical, there is a significant difference between the two. The O-Pee-Chee (often referred to as OPC) is much rarer and far harder to find in good condition. This rarity explains why, until recently, there were only two PSA 10-graded OPC Gretzky rookie cards.
That situation has now changed. PSA has deactivated one of the PSA 10s, meaning there is now only one remaining in the PSA database. Users on the Blowout Forum noticed that one of the PSA 10s had been deactivated, specifically the one that previously sold for nearly $4 million.
Not uncommon, but something to watch.
— auburn35 (@35auburn) December 23, 2024
Blowout thread notes that one of the two @PSAcard 1979 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky PSA 10 RC's was recently deactivated. @gemrate shows the deactivation occurred on the 19th.@sportscardsliv1https://t.co/gg0DXpGymphttps://t.co/geAzXniphb pic.twitter.com/6y1yYAGzUF
Unopened case of cards with Gretzky Rookie is back at auction
This particular PSA 10 sold in March 2021 for $3.75 million.
However, this is not the only controversy surrounding the OPC Gretzky card in 2024. Back in February, an unopened case containing the card sold for $3.72 million but went unpaid for. The case was re-auctioned and, while it didn’t reach the initial price, still sold for a solid $2.52 million.
Are you down with O-Pee-Chee? A case of 16 sealed and unopened boxes of the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards returned to the auction block to lead @Heritage_Sport 's $23.77 million December 5-7 Winter Sports Catalog Auction.
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) December 9, 2024
🏒 Read the release: https://t.co/tubYulRoMu pic.twitter.com/CCpLc6KOXH
2021 was a period in the sports card market when prices were much higher than they are now, and there was also less transparency behind the scenes in grading. The OPC Gretzky rookie card is one of the most important cards in the hobby, so deactivating one of its PSA 10s is a significant event. PSA has improved its efforts in being more transparent about its operations, so there is a chance they may release a statement regarding the card.
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Now that there is only one PSA 10 OPC Gretzky rookie card, could it sell for $3 million again? The person who owns the remaining PSA 10 is probably thrilled that a card they thought had a population of two is now a population of one.
Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.