1971 Topps Johnny Unitas: The Rarest Unitas PSA 10 In The Market
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When it comes to vintage football cards of the ealy 1970's, collectors have always placed a premium on the super scarce high-grade examples of legendary players, however one of the rarest finds comes in the form of a PSA 10 Johnny Unitas football card from 1971 Topps Football. The 1971 Topps Football set is known to be an extremely fragile set of cards due in large part to printing issues, ink blemishes, cracking, chipping and centering issues that happen more often than not. The fragility makes it extremely hard for the collectors of these cards to achieve high grades from such companies as PSA.
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The former Baltimore Colts Quarterback, who was best known for playing against Bart Starr in 11 of 13 NFL Championships from 1958-1970, won three NFL championships, won one Super Bowl and was named NFL MVP three times.
From a collecting perspective, the ultimate achievement actually comes in the PSA 10 form of his1971 Topps Football Card and that's because there's only one that's known to exist. The card is as legendary as his career which spanned a total of 17 seasons with the Baltimore Colts (1956-1971) and a 5-game stint with the San Diego Chargers, Unitas finished his career with 40,239 passing yards, 2,830 completions, 290 passing touchdowns, and 13 rushing touchdowns.
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From a broader market pricing perspective you can find PSA 3s starting at about $11 and PSA 8s selling for roughly $210-$235, but for those of you in the market for either a PSA 9 or higher, the version of this card the prices are at least 10x – 15x higher for the PSA 9. According to PSA recent sales for the PSA 9 have been roughly $2,650 however there are no recorded sales for the PSA 10 version which adds yet another level of intrigue and mystery for those that may be looking for such a card.
So where would one value the PSA 10 of this card given its extreme rarity? Based on conversative estimates and the fragility of the set itself, I'd say that the range is probably somewhere between $18,000 - $25,000. Now that's not to say this card could end up in a private bidding war or be featured at an auction house filled with high-net-worth investors and go for much higher than my estimated range, but since there's very little data to go on, I'd rather take the conservative approach.
There's certainly no doubt that the 1971 Topps Johnny Unitas card is one of the scarcest Gem Mint cards from the early 1970's and although lower graded versions of this card offers collectors a great point of entry into the vintage marketplace, its the simple fact that only one singluar PSA 10 exists that adds a level of mystique that is rarely seen throughout the hobby as a whole and that's what makes this card attractive to those who seek the super rare.
Passionate sports card collector and writer based in Queens, NY. Lifelong fan of the New York Mets, Jets, and Rangers. Covering sports cards and collectibles with deep industry knowledge and enthusiasm, while bringing a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving hobby world on http://SI.com/collectibles.
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