There’s not much doubt that during his prime, Sandy Koufax was the king of diamonds. From LA to New York, there was no pitcher who struck fear in the hearts of hitters as he struck them out on a variety of knee bending stuff.
Collectors are about to find out there’s a 7 of diamonds Sandy, too.
The rarest Koufax card known to exist—or at least tied for the honor—is an obscure postcard sized issue of Koufax that was part of a playing card design in a set known as the1962 Pittsburgh Exhibits.
One of them has just emerged from a collection and is coming to Heritage Auctions this summer. The card has been graded VG 3 by PSA.
The 1962 Pittsburgh Exhibit set consisted of 82 3-1/4″ by 5-1/4″ cards in a playing card style design. Believed to have been available to those visiting the penny arcade vending machines at Kennywood Amusement Park in West Mifflin, PA, the set is blank backed.
While PSA has graded 11 cards of Koufax from the set, they are all featured on the 7 of hearts—except the one consigned to Heritage that stands as the lone copy of its kind. That makes for a tough guess as to the value but safe to say it may sell for a five-figure price.
In all, PSA has graded only 249 cards from the set, which includes past and present stars including Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente. In addition to the baseball players in the set, there are also boxers, television and movie personalities, musicians and cartoons.
Heritage Consignment Director Jason Simonds says the card was held in “a Dodgers collection featuring everything from cards to pennants to programs.”
It’ll be part of the company’s July Card Auction.
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Behind the Exhibits: The Early Cards (Part I)
Behind the Exhibits: The Multi-Player Cards (Part II)
The Toughest (and Easiest) Sandy Koufax Cards to Find in High Grade
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