This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/22/2018
When Goudey released their inaugural baseball card series in 1933, the Great Depression was no longer just a national crisis but had spread worldwide. Can you just imagine trying to explain to someone from that time period, perhaps doing odd jobs or selling apples on the street just to put food on the table or keep the electricity running for one more month, that the Babe Ruth card they were holding in their hand, a "throw in" with their purchase of a piece of bubble gum, would one day hold life-changing value for a large percentage of American society? Then again, what makes a thing valuable is the combination of scarcity and demand that wouldn't exist if we all had the forethought to predict such things. Goudey certainly had the right idea when they included America's greatest celebrity four times in the 1933 series. After all, "The Bambino" had already made a complete mockery of just about every offensive baseball record, obliterating previous marks with 652 lifetime home runs and over 2,000 RBI while achieving a .349 batting average and, just for good measure, posting a 93-46 record from his pitching days. Every collector has their favorite of the Ruth quartet, whether it be yellow, green, red or full-body Ruth. Putting aside the difficulty of preserving an 85-year old baseball card in such a way that it could achieve a NM/MT grade, the Goudey series in particular is notorious for their cards with red backgrounds experiencing pigment saturation that bleeds through to the reverse, an unintended and unfortunate pitfall that also limits the population of top grade examples. But that's not the case with this incredible PSA 8 example, which shows a faint outline on the reverse where the red color meets the white border but doesn't permeate through. In fact, that white border on the front advocates for the card's near perfect centering, just a hair toward the northwest but certainly qualifying for the grade and even higher. The artwork depicting Ruth, having just completed his mammoth swing, is delivered with flawless color and clarity while the rich, blood red background is consistent with no unusual stray marks. Each corner meets the qualifications for the rarely distributed grade with the upper two endpoints potentially qualifying for the next highest grading tier. The green print on the reverse seems particularly bold against the customary cream-white canvas and only serves to confirm the rarely seen grade. If you're fortunate enough to be in the market for one, we're confident that your exhaustive search ends with a winning bid on this stunning, world class 1933 Goudey Ruth card.