Nearly 20 years have passed since Wayne Gretzky called it a career, but his cards continue to ignite passion in the hobby.
High-end graded copies of his 1979-80 OPee-Chee Rookie Card (#18) remain objects of desire for the well-heeled. Within weeks of this issue going to press, a quartet of Mint 9 copies reportedly sold for between $28,000 to $35,000 each. Whether the buyers were investors or collectors looking for a centerpiece, they had to be thrilled with their purchases.