Graded by PSA NM-MT 8. Offered is one of the holy grails of card collecting, the ultra-rare 1933 Goudey #106 Napoleon (Larry) Lajoie. Actually issued in 1934, this card was produced by the Goudey Gum Company to keep the irate card collectors at bay. A year earlier in 1933, Goudey produced their initial 240 card set, but 'neglected' to produce card #106. Everything else about the set was superb, with a great design, bright colors, multiple cards of the best players, and detailed player highlights on the reverse.
The set had everything. Except, no #106 was produced.
Goudey gum customers began writing letters to Goudey, complaining of the lack of card #106. Eventually, Goudey printed #106, but it was produced a year later in 1934 on the high number sheet.
These #106 Lajoie cards were only sent by mail to each person who had written the company, along with a letter of apology. However, these cards were never inserted into packs or made available for purchase by the public, therefore creating very few complete sets.
In regards to condition, a key factor in the Lajoie card is centering. It was printed on a specially designed 1934 Goudey high number sheet and the card was placed in the extreme right column so consequently about half the Lajoie's seen have extremely narrow right borders. The offered card is very well centered, just slightly to the right, much better than most examples. This example has very strong corners, with only a hint of wear on the lower right and even under magnification the card holds up well. The reverse is perfectly centered, another superior attribute to this card's value. The color is above average with no surface wear. It has the appropriate cream-colored toning of age, which guaantees this card has not ever been tampered with, and appropriately gives this example an overall vintage look. It's a very high-grade and eye-appealing example of one of the most valuable and sought after cards in the hobby.
No high-grade 1933 Goudey set is really complete without it. Graded by PSA NM-MT 8.
