This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/5/2018
Graded GEM MINT 10 by SGC. With Payton Manning's eclipsing of Brett Favre's all-time touchdown passing mark as well as all of the exploits of Tom Brady, the debate over who is the NFL's all-time greatest quarterback once again surfaces in virtually every sports bar in America. Names like Baugh, Marino, Elway, Unitas and Bradshaw get bandied about along with Manning and Favre, but few would argue that Joe Montana, who made his cardboard debut in the 1981 Topps set, is front and center of that conversation. One of the most highly-coveted rookie cards ever made, the '81 Topps Joe Montana card accounts for over 16,916 of the almost 46,333 total submissions to PSA for the entire set but about 99.94% of all submitted Montana's are sent home without the coveted PSA 10 designation. When it comes time to look at the SGC census report it reveals that just 8 of the 1923 copies of this illustrious card have been graded GEM MINT by the South Florida grading firm. Whether it's print dots, mediocre registration, suspect centering or a myriad of other reasons, the 1981 Topps Joe Montana rookie card is one of the most difficult modern era football cards to find at PSA's highest level. The featured item could certainly stand as the marquee piece in most any football card collection, perfectly centered with GEM MINT endpoints and a blemish-free central image delivered with spot-on registration. You don't get many opportunities like this, simply because there aren't many out there!