This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/10/2010
Offered is one of the most perfect copies of Teddy Ballgame's 1940 Play Ball issue we've ever encountered at Mile High. Recently and quite conservatively graded NM/MT 8 by the increasingly demanding cardboard specialists at PSA, it showcases outrageous MINT+ to GEM MINT crowning corners balanced by strong NM/MT+ to MINT bottom points, none of which really show any wear whatsoever. Both bottom points display some negligible blunting under magnification, but nowhere around the perimeter does there appear to be any real fraying, chipping, or other stock or edge imperfections. Equally impressive are both the front and back surfaces, neither of which shows any significant print that wouldn't be tolerated in the MINT 9 category. Some hardly perceptible toning can be located along the side borders of the obverse, while the interior image reveals a somewhat granular appearance, perfectly characteristic of the issue and in no way indicative of a NM/MT 8 overall evaluation. The centering, finally, appears nearly unimprovable, perhaps favoring the top border by a mere hair or two, but that's it; nowhere on either surface can we find any convincing hindrances to a grade of MINT 9, let alone NM/MT+ 8.5. You'll need to see it in person to believe it, but take our word: this is one heck of a high-end baseball card, easily among the top 10 examples in existence, and quite possibly one of the very finest of them all!