Wayne Gretzky

His earliest card of any kind, an oversized Italian-issued Sportscaster card that predates his O-Pee-Chee and Topps rookies. These cards were often pinned to walls, so sharp copies are scarce.

His recognized rookie card and the most important hockey card ever made. Its chip-prone blue borders and frequent miscuts make high grades rare, and a PSA 10 sold for $3.75 million in 2021.

The Gold tier of the StarQuest insert from his final season, serial-numbered to 100. The top rung of a four-color parallel ladder and one of the rarest numbered Gretzky cards issued while he was still playing.

The American Topps twin of his O-Pee-Chee rookie, with the same photo and number in the U.S. flagship set. Printed in larger quantities, it trades at a fraction of the O-Pee-Chee price.

His hand-signed, hand-numbered checklist card #18 from Upper Deck's Hockey Heroes tribute to his career, numbered to 2,800 and distributed through factory-sealed Upper Deck Authenticated sets rather than packs. It predates his first pack-issued autograph by two years.

His first certified autograph pulled from a pack, from the debut Be A Player release that guaranteed a signed card in every pack. His autograph was limited to 300 copies.

His first autographed memorabilia card, hard-signed above a three-color patch from his 1997 All-Star Game jersey and hand-numbered to 99. The closest thing to a rookie patch autograph for a player who retired before they existed.

His first memorabilia card. He was left out of Upper Deck's 1996-97 Game Jersey debut, so this Series 2 insert is the first to carry a piece of his jersey.

His first card in Team Canada colors, from Upper Deck's 1991 Canada Cup subset, the tournament Canada won that fall. He led three earlier Canada Cups in scoring without a national-team card to show for it.

His first card as a Los Angeles King, issued months after the 1988 trade from Edmonton. Rather than airbrush a jersey, Topps used a press-conference photo of him holding up the new Kings sweater.

His second-year card, issued after his first NHL season, in which he won the Hart Trophy. The most accessible way to own an early Gretzky.

The refractor of his gold-tier card in 1995-96 Finest, whose checklist was split into bronze, silver, and gold rarity tiers. The scarcest of his two Finest refractors that year and a signature chrome card of the era.