This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/11/2018
Since the dawn of card collecting, hobbyists have been compelled to identify and acquire the true rookie cards of baseball’s elite legends—the Ruths, the Mantles, DiMaggios and such. But, until recent years, only the most astute among us could even cite Lou Gehrig's first card, much less aspire to actually own one. Now, unequivocally, this Exhibit card dating from Gehrig's first full season with the Yankees in 1925 has come to be universally recognized as Lou Gehrig's rookie card. As such, it’s stature among the hobby’s most coveted objects has ascended stratospherically.
Introduced through 1925's Exhibit arcade card production, Gehrig's first commercially distributed card was randomly issued through direct vending appliances. This exceedingly scarce "Henry L. Gehrig" arcade card displays its famous subject (in news-photo style) with a nicely detailed, black-and-white image. The blank-backed, 3-3/8" x 5-3/8" collectible is among the more visually impressive examples we’ve seen. The card presents an EX-EX/MT appearance with very minor corner wear and the slightest edge faults. PSA has strictly graded the card VG-EX 4 with an added “MK” qualifier due to faint traces of (illegible) writing across the top edge of the reverse. Notwithstanding it’s technical assessment, this easily stands among the most impressive Lou Gehrig rookie cards seen in the marketplace in recent years.