Pele: >$1,000 Sale for a Non-Rookie

[Collect Equity]

Wow, this is the first time I remember seen the sale of a vintage (not a modern 1/1 or auto) Pele card for more than $1K that wasn't his rookie year(s) (1958 - 1959):

1962 Nannina Mondiali Del Cile PSA 4 - $1,031

I like this card a lot and I know that PWCC can command a premium, but that is about 2x - 3x what I would have expected that card to go for.

Maybe this is a sign of what is to come with rare / high-end Pele cards. That would be great on one hand because I own some and frustrating on the other because it would eliminate me from the playing field (which is why I moved from baseball to Pele in the first place - I don't have budget to pick up the baseball cards I like in this range).

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Have you seen other Pele non-rookies go for this much? Is this good or bad for the soccer card hobby?

Also, on a side note, how many different vintage (pre-1980) soccer cards are there that have ever sold for more than $1K. I can think of a half dozen Pele, plus key rookies of Platini, Maradona, Cruyff, and a few others. I'd be surprised if there are more than 20 cards that can command this price.
(edited to add: I just remembered a number a few early English cards that can also command this price. But I can only think of ~20. The total population of vintage soccer that could be $1K or more might be only 40 - 50 different cards).

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

I love it. Who wants to buy some 60s Pele cards?

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

I love it. Who wants to buy some 60s Pele cards?

[samosa4u]

A thousand dollars for a 62' Nannina Pele is quite a lot, in my opinion. This card is not rare at all. Furthermore, I believe he has two cards from this set (one with a straight face and the other is of him smiling).

There are other Pele cards from the 60s that are a lot more difficult to find. One of my favorites is the 1962 E.D.I. Milano Calciocampioni Mondiali Del Cile:

[Collect Equity]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

A thousand dollars for a 62' Nannina Pele is quite a lot, in my opinion.

I totally agree that this is a lot of money for a Nannina. There are a lot of other good candidates of 1960s Pele cards I would have guessed to reach $1K before this one.

Originally Posted by samosa4u

. This card is not rare at all. Furthermore, I believe he has two cards from this set (one with a straight face and the other is of him smiling).

It does have two variations in the set. In some ways having two variations in the set could be an argument for bringing it down in price. But for me it's the opposite as variations increase a cards desirability because once I get one I need the other variation(s).

One interesting thing to note is the side facing (smiling) variation also sold in the same auction in a higher grade (PSA 4.5 v. PSA 4) for just shy of $800 (See LINK)

I haven't seen one or the other variation being more rare, so I am guessing it's just a matter of who is bidding. In comparing the two cards, the 3 highest bidders were: $1,031, $1,006, & $777 for the front facing PSA 4 and $796, $786, and $654 for the Side Facing (smiling) PSA 4.5 card. So they actually would have both ended in the same exact ballpark if the two $1K bids hadn't both been placed. I am guessing that the price discrepancy is just related to luck of who's bidding and there was also likely a $1K bid on the second Nannina as well but no one bumped it up.

Originally Posted by samosa4u

There are other Pele cards from the 60s that are a lot more difficult to find. One of my favorites is the 1962 E.D.I. Milano Calciocampioni Mondiali Del Cile:

This card also has two variations, one with and without writing. Do you know if these were released by the same manufacturer? Also, have you seen one as being more rare than the other?

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Collect Equity

Do you know if these were released by the same manufacturer? Also, have you seen one as being more rare than the other?

Sorry, I have no clue.