A PSA Gem Mint 10 1979 O-Pee-Chee rookie card of Wayne Gretzky recently traded hands for $80,000. 

Rick Snyder, founder and President of MINT State, brokered the sale between two of the company’s clients.

“Our consignor purchased the only PSA-graded Gem Mint 10 of Gretzky’s OPC rookie card in August 2005,” explained Snyder. “He made a recent decision to refocus his collection and asked MINT State to find a buyer. In less than 30 minutes, the card had sold to a private collector for $80,000, the highest price ever paid for a single hockey card.”Snyder continued, “Extremely high grade football, basketball, and hockey cards continue to escalate in value at higher rates than their baseball counterparts. The buyer viewed this as a rare opportunity to acquire the finest known rookie card of a major sport’s universally recognized all-time greatest player.”

It is the only PSA 10 Gretzky O-Pee-Chee ever graded by PSA.  According to the Beckett Grading Services population report, there have been 2 cards graded a Gem Mint 9.5 and none graded 10 Pristine.