This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/22/2010
Offered is an exceptionally fine example of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's iconic 1915 Cracker Jack issue that presents in the elite NM/MT to even NM/MT+ range but has been graded SGC Authentic due, exclusively, to its minimum size. According to SGC, the offered example shows no traces of being altered in any way; it just happens to have been issued with a slightly smaller horizontal dimension than is customarily tolerated for the issue, which is very well known to vary in size, both in height and in width. Near perfect MINT to GEM MINT corners and edges at every point around the perimeter encompass a brilliant obverse featuring an ever so slight diamond cut as well as a centering preference for the bottom border. Both surfaces are entirely free of any stains or toning and are characterized by factory fresh print and perfect preservation. Some scattered microdots of red ink can be observed in the obverse periphery, while the image itself presents a noticeably precise registration of the color tints used to bring the issue to life. Particularly impressive are the pristine details of Jackson's face, which have been rendered with such perfectly separated and pristine pixels that the image takes on that fine, powdery appearance characteristic of only the very finest Cracker Jacks in existence. Just as impressive as the image itself is the near perfectly saturated and borderline immaculate red backdrop, which very often exhibits fine, black print dots as well as traces of white from where the red ink didn't fully settle into the contours of the thin Cracker Jack card stock, neither imperfection of which is at all prominent on the offered example, to such an impressive degree, in fact, that we can comfortably call the susceptible backdrop MINT+ or even GEM MINT! An utterly spectacular example of one of the hobby's most famous baseball cards, bordering on MINT condition but cut a few hairs too short at the Cracker Jack factory to command the multiple tens of thousands of dollars it would no doubt otherwise fetch in today's market.