My Lemieux rookie quest

burghman

I’ve only been in the hobby for a year, primarily for investment purposes, but shortly after starting I set my sights on getting a high-end Lemieux rookie. Prices of graded cards were a bit steep, so I started picking up some “unopened” packs. I busted a pack this morning and was met with this as the first card:

My heart jumped into my throat - centering was certainly good enough for a high grade, and 3 of the 4 corners looked really strong.

And then I flipped the card over:

Once again, centering looked strong enough for at least a 9. But that mark!?!?

There are some other weaknesses on the front too that would have prevented a high grade, but I might have talked myself into slabbing it anyway if not for that disaster on the right side.

Back to the drawing board.

LOTSOS

@Huckleberry said:
You know there is also a Mario Lemieux yellow box bottom rookie card. I believe it is a little more rare. It is a 1985 opc box bottom Mario Lemieux. It is yellow colored.

There is a Topps version also.

@burghman Sorry about the card. But the up side is you pulled your own Mario RC from a pack!

Not sure how many you opened to find it but they are not a sure thing buying packs. I’ve cracked 3 BBCE boxes for cards for my 85T set. They fall about 3-4 per box. I’ve gotten 1 PSA 10, 1 PSA 9, and most are likely 8s or less including a few disasters.

Kevin

burghman

Thanks Huckleberry and Kevin.

I only opened 5 or 6 packs so you’re right - I should be happy to even get one. There are a few boxes available on eBay - I’ve considered going that route also, hoping that the few that I’d get would offset the $1K+ that a box costs. But like you say, if I get a box of disasters there’s only a couple other cards of any value and not nearly enough to offset the cost. Maybe when I’m independently wealthy...

LOTSOS

Jim,

If you are only looking for that card itself then ripping won’t make much financial sense as you noted.

I figure I will break even when I sell everything but what I keep for my set but that will take a long time. If you're interest in a raw copy I have a few that present like 10’s on the front but have wax stains on the back, some solid 8 candidates and I have a PSA 9 that I’d part with.

Kevin

akuracy503

Nice pull. These are certainly satisfying for personal collections.
The only opinion I have on the matter of investment is to jump on an O-pee-chee in the highest grade you can afford. Store it away and enjoy.

LOTSOS

@akuracy503 said:
Nice pull. These are certainly satisfying for personal collections.
The only opinion I have on the matter of investment is to jump on an O-pee-chee in the highest grade you can afford. Store it away and enjoy.

While I concur that if you are looking to spend big money and are looking at it as an “investment” OPC would look like the way to go but I’m not sure about jumping on it right now. I think the card hasn’t bottomed out yet.

It’s dropped over 50% in the past year and a half. It was one of the few hockey cards that was run up during the “buyers group” frenzy. I’m betting that it will drop below $8k before it slowly begins to rise.

The Topps has also fallen from a high of $3k to right around $2k. I think eventually Topps in high grade may show more growth. As people who didn’t rip the product as kids, so aren’t emotionally invested, realize that they can buy a PSA 10 Topps for 1/5th of an OPC.

akuracy503

Wow I had no idea these were going for that kind of money.
I was away from the hobby during the buyers group shenanigans.

I’ll have to lookup the story behind that again and the “hot” cards

GreenSneakers

As you eventually send some off to be slabbed, let me assure you the Mario RC is one of those cards that get the "extra attention" during the grading process. True for both OPC and Topps.

slum22

Wow, what a roller coaster of emotions that must have been. While disappointing that it is not gradable that is still a beautiful card. You should still be excited to pull that even if it stays in a one touch or top loader. I will say, if you are collecting on a budget buying singles will get you a lot more usually over time than ripping. There is a premium for ripping that is priced into unopened box and pack prices. Good luck in your Lemieux search.

burghman

Thanks for all the feedback. Short story long, my plan was to acquire a bunch of “unopened” packs, let them appreciate, then open some until I got my card, slab the rest, and resell the slabbed to recoup some cash. My results off eBay were mixed - some packs arrived that looked good, some were very questionable, and others were clearly resealed (and one arrived wide open - in my zeal to get a good deal, I completely overlooked the fact that the listing never mentioned unopened; I mean, who in their right mind would list an open pack with garbage inside... just someone trying to dupe a rube like me, but lesson learned!). My involvement in the CU break got my juices flowing so I opened the 3 questionable packs, leaving 3 decent packs. Figuring that they were likely resealed and probably didn’t contain anything good, I opened them as well a few days later. Oops, though I do wonder if someone opened it up and resealed it after finding this marked-up copy

Just for my curiosity, does anyone have an opinion as to whether the mark in the original post would be PD or is that after-printing damage? Or does it even matter, in that it’s so intrusive that it would grade a 1 or 2 regardless of the cause? I have no intention of getting it graded - I just can’t see someone buying a PD that looks like this - just curious since I’m still learning the grading ins and outs.

Kevin - I’ve got some interest in one of your presentable raw cards. I’ll PM you to see what we can work out. Thanks.

mrpeanut39

Is that a wax stain on the back?

burghman

@mrpeanut39 said:
Is that a wax stain on the back?

Yep, much more obvious in the photos than in person, but it was the bottom card so it has some darkening from the wax - definitely not as pronounced as many but still shows some wax damage.

jay0791

Mario is one of the greatest ever and his card is iconic IMO.

The one you have has the stain and mark and probably not worth getting graded.

I would just buy a psa graded of what you can afford.

I just bought a psa 9. Look for the tilt that is found on many of them. Usually it doesn't affect the grade but without it I believe its worth a premium.

FYI the unopened experts on these boards say buying packs on ebay is very very risky . Most will not buy

if it is not certified by BBCE.