The First Wayne Gretzky Parkhurst Masterpiece

Upper Deck released the 2011 NHL Parkhurst set just about a month ago and a carry-over from other Upper Deck sets is the Masterpieces, a hand painted card limited #/10. Upper Deck created the Masterpieces set with a 30-card checklist with each card limited to 10, there were multiple artists including Ben Young and Kelly Akins.

The big names on the checklist, Gretzky and Howe, were painted by an artist that regular readers of my blog will recognize, Jared Kelley. Last Friday the first Wayne Gretzky card (#7/10) showed up with an opening bid of $10 but was at $100 in only 23 minutes. After 7 days and a number of bids the card closed this evening with a winning bid of $312.65, well above the other Parkhurst Masterpiece cards currently up for auction.

 It makes you wonder if the painted Parkhurst Masterpieces will become as popular as the painted Presidents from Goodwin Champions.

The Great One Sells At A Great Price (Well...Expensive)

In a day where one subject is the topic of almost every news outlet a single rookie card went up for auction through SCP Auctions and ended up making waves in the hobby. A 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky PSA Mint 10 that less than 3 years ago sold on eBay for $50,000 ended up closing at $94,162.80.

 One thing that has been pointed out is the rough edges of the card and the question of this being a true Gem-Mint card. If you look closely you will notice that three of the edges (right, left and bottom) are in rough condition. Is this card really a PSA 10 or did PSA error (on the side of the Great One)? I included the scans of the front and back of the card so you can get a better look.