This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/22/2010
Recently graded SGC 92 NM/MT+ 8.5, the featured E93 Standard Caramel copy of Hughie Jennings is the second finest graded example in the hobby, surpassed by a lone MINT 9 example at PSA, which may or may not present as powerfully as the offered paradigm of near perfection. Bust out the high-powered looking glass, and inspect and admire this mini miracle of preservation all you want; it will still be difficult to ascertain precisely why the SGC graders opted in favor of NM/MT+ over MINT, as virtually every feature appears to lean in favor of the latter. Starting from the outside, highlights include deadly sharp GEM MINT corners at all points but the mere MINT bottom right, which, only under magnification, shows the smallest imaginable touch to the very peak of the still MINT point composing the corner. The edges, likewise, border on perfection, appearing GEM MINT from the front but showing some microscopically rough and perfectly (and reassuringly) characteristic contours around the extreme perimeter of the immaculate MINT to GEM MINT reverse. As evidenced by our high resolution scan, the obverse centering reveals a gentle inclination for the east, which may have prompted the SGC graders to deny higher consideration, although we still feel it falls well within the generally accepted guidelines for MINT, those being approximately 60/40 to 65/35. The borders glow with the clean incandescence of pure white, while the interior image mesmerizes with near perfectly saturated applications of jet-black ink to Hugh's cap, collar, and belt, along with perfect and almost 3-D-like color separation between the image and its incredibly impressive blue backdrop, which appears unusually immaculate for the issue save for a few fine microdots of white concentrated under Hughie's arm and just behind his cap. The thorough saturation of the blue background elsewhere, in addition to the aforementioned blacks as well as the grey of Hugh's flannels, is a true anomaly for the issue, clearly entitling it to its elevated status as one of just 28 examples from the entire E93 Standard Caramel issue to exceed NM/MT 8 status from both SGC and PSA, from a combined submission pool of nearly 2,300 total specimens. Join the ranks of the hobby elite with a winning bid on this sugary sweet slice of true, blue hobby royalty. Eeeee-yah!