Only Two PSA 10s Exist: The Gretzky Rookie Card Market

Published on June 26th, 2025 9:28 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card isn't just hockey's most iconic collectible - it's a symbol of rarity, imperfection, and market obsession.

It came out of a low-budget Canadian print run. O-Pee-Chee wasn't Topps. It wasn't polished. Their cards were cut with wire blades that tore, not sliced. Centering was inconsistent. Ink ran hot and cold. Corners softened in the packs themselves. Quality control didn't exist.

Add in soft cardboard and mass handling by kids, and you get it: most of these cards didn't stand a chance.

That's why PSA 9s are so rare. And so expensive.

Recent sales show just how far they've come. One went for $124,440 in a verified SportscardInvestor listing. Another cracked $225,000 on eBay. In 2019, you could grab one for around $26,000. Today? Expect to pay close to $140,000 - more if the centering is near perfect.

And that's just for a 9.

PSA 10s are in a different league. Only two are known to exist. One was sold privately for $3.75 million in 2021. The other hit $1.29 million at a Heritage auction. These cards are essentially unobtainable. Vault pieces. Institutional-grade assets.

But even PSA 9s are flexes. These aren't impulse buys. Collectors eye them for weeks. They look at borders. They compare color tone. They want sharp corners, even edges, centered logos. One flaw? It drops value fast. A slightly tilted cut can knock five figures off the price.

There's no room for forgiveness at this level.

This card doesn't survive off nostalgia alone. It's backed by Gretzky's GOAT status. Most points in NHL history. Four-time Stanley Cup champ. Face of an era. The demand isn't just emotional - it's generational.

The card checks every box. Historic player. Brutal print run. Limited population. Wild auction activity.

No other hockey card comes close.

This is the card that defines what a grail looks like. It's the one that makes collectors pause, reassess their budgets, and occasionally sell off half their collection to land one.

Sharp copies don't just rise in price. They disappear. Into private collections. Into safes. Out of public view.

If you own a PSA 9, you're sitting on elite cardboard. If it's well-centered, you're holding a six-figure asset that might not be replaceable.

The Gretzky rookie card is more than a collectible. It's a survivor. A freak. A fluke. And the rarest kind of perfection in a hobby built on imperfection.