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Presented is a superb example of Babe Ruth's rookie card, universally regarded as one of card collecting's most recognizable and highly prized baseball-card rarities. This is a card that is a classic in any condition! It would be hard for a piece of cardboard to better symbolize the history, the essence of American sport, than this Sporting News rookie card of Babe Ruth. The distinction between the rookie status of the M101-4 and M101-5 Ruth cards, which feature the very same image and card number, has been blurred since it has been discovered that both sets were actually issued in 1916. Both qualify equally as Ruth's first Major League card. (Note: The 1914 Baltimore News card of Ruth featuring him as a minor leaguer, of course, predates both the M101-4/5 issues.) The rookie card of Babe Ruth is one of the most significant cards in all of card collecting. Graded FAIR 20 by SGC, this is a stunning card, presenting as a strong Very Good to Excellent example, with near-perfect centering (a rare and desirable quality in this card), four strong corners, and no distracting print lines. A small surface abrasion is present near the left border, but it is not, in our opinion, distracting to the overall display value of this card. It should be noted that this example was previously encapsulated as Authentic by PSA, potentially due to this abrasion, but the card was submitted (in the PSA holder) to SGC for review several years ago, and they found nothing precluding it from receiving a numerical grade. We agree with this assessment after careful evaluation ourselves. This is a very striking card with outstanding eye-appeal. While this card will be more affordable than a higher-grade example, all Ruth rookie cards have seen a tremendous surge in pricing as collectors appreciate the hobby's most important cards in all grades. This is a magnificent example of one of the most famous and highly prized of all baseball cards. Reserve $25,000. Estimate $50,000+.