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1902 W600 Sporting Life Napoleon Lajoie SGC EX 5 - Extremely Rare Green Mount - Newly Discovered!

Sold For: $44,400
Year: 1902
Auction: 2019 Summer
Lot #: 2
Auction: Featured
Presented is a stunning newly discovered example of Cleveland Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie from the W600 Sporting Life cabinet-card set. While the offered example would be impressive and noteworthy alone for its assigned grade of EX 5 by SGC (submitted by REA), it is further remarkable for its extremely rare green mount. This is now one of only four examples confirmed to date with this dark green mount according to several advanced collectors and W600 scholars. (The other players known are Hall of Famers Rube Waddell and Bobby Wallace.) This is only the second example of this rarity that we have ever had the privilege of offering. As a point of reference, the first one we sold, which was graded PSA EX-MT 6 [MK], realized $45,000, and another, unqualified example offered at public auction since then realized $60,000. This example is also new to the hobby, as it was just recently consigned to us by a noncollector from Rhode Island who happened to keep this card and one other W600 common (which she decided to keep) in a local bank vault as a family keepsake for decades. It is interesting to note that since Lajoie was a native of Woonsocket, Rhode Island (outside of where our consignor is from), and was a very big baseball star at the time, it would make perfect sense that the family would decide to treasure a card of this legendary Hall of Famer and protect it from the outside elements, which explains its immaculate condition. W600s are one of the rarest sets from the early part of the century and are one of the most substantial and well-made cards sets ever produced. They have, with good reason, always been highly prized by serious collectors. Even without taking into consideration the extremely rare mount color, this is one of the rarest and most impressive of all Napoleon Lajoie cards. Bright, fresh, and impeccably clean, with a crisp image of Lajoie in street clothes. The mount is virtually flawless, with very light touches of wear visible at the corners and along the edges. The blank reverse displays light shadowing along the left edge, but otherwise perfectly clean. An extremely significant addition to any advanced Nap Lajoie, W600 Sporting Life, Hall of Fame, type-card, or prewar-card collection. Reserve $10,000. Estimate (open).
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