This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/8/2023
The 1948 Leaf baseball series is one of the great enigmas of the hobby and tells a backstory as interesting as the beloved 1952 Topps inaugural series. Recognized as the first mainstream collection since the end of World War II, the '48 Leaf series is loaded with "rookie" cards, though many of the players weren't actually rookies. Stan Musial took his first at-bat 7 years prior, and Warren Spahn threw his first strike in 1942, for example. But this return to the baseball trading card market produced many important issues, with Musial and Spahn joined by Rizzuto, Kiner, Newhouser, and Doby as first-timers. And then there are the two legendary rookie cards, Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige. Now add in highly prized examples of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Honus Wagner, a skip-numbered system that had unsuspecting collectors chasing phantom cards, woefully poor quality control, and a large group of difficult short prints, and it's easy to see why building a high-grade set is so daunting. The featured unopened pack is one of the rare survivors in existence as only 2 other packs have ever been authenticated by PSA. The beautiful red, white, and, blue wrapper sits tightly around the thick combination of cardboard and gum, beautifully sealed to an impressive grade of 7 NM by PSA. With so many iconic issues from this set, there's a strong chance that something truly incredible is lurking just under that wax covering, but with only a handful of packs known to exist, taking the risk of finding out is quite the dilemma. An incredible piece of baseball history, easily at home on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame as it would be in an elite collection.