This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/4/2024
Presented is easily the nicest example of the important 1953 Bowman Baseball Black-and-White set that we’ve ever handled, an entirely slabbed beast that comes out to 87 percent being Near-Mint to Near-Mint to Mint. Thus, the default grade is a PSA 8, which accounts for 2/3 of the total. The complementary issue is identical to its more-beloved counterpart, the 1953 Bowman Color set, in almost every respect, except for the obvious. Limited to 64 cards and matching in size at 2 ½-by-3 ¾ inches, these black-and-white treasures have never looked better, with sharp photography on the front and uncommonly clean and problem-free card backs, with vivid red spot-color panels. The set is headlined by five Hall of Famers, the most notable being Casey Stengel, the most expensive card in the issue and found here in a sparkling PSA 8 o/c slab. The extra card listed is the No. 43 Hal Bevan variation (date of birth), with both versions included. Here’s the breakdown of keys and condition anomalies: No. 1 Bell – PSA 6, 5 – PSA 7, 9 Masterson - PSA 7, 15 Mize – PSA 8, 17 – PSA 6, 25 Sain – PSA 7, 26 Roe – PSA 7, 27 Lemon – PSA 7, 28 Wilhelm – PSA 7.5, 31 Woodling – PSA 7, 33 – PSA 7, 38 – PSA 7, 39 Stengel – PSA 8 o/c, 43 Bevan (1930 variation) – PSA 4, 43 Bevan (1950 variation) – SGC 86, 45 – PSA 7, 46 Harris – CTA 8, 48 – PSA 5, 49 - PSA 7.5, 52 Branca - PSA 7, 53 – PSA 6, 54 - PSA 7, 55 - PSA 6, 56 – PSA 5, 58 Konstanty – PSA 7, 60 Cox – PSA 6, 61 Gorman – PSA 7, 62 – PSA 6, 63 - PSA 5, 64 – PSA 7. The detailed breakdown includes 63 graded by PSA and two graded by other companies, including PSA 8 (37) - 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Mize, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 Stengel (OC), 40, 41, 42, 44, 47, 50, 51, 57, 59; PSA 7.5 (2) - 28 Wilhelm, 49; PSA 7 (14) - 5, 9, 25, 26, 27, 31, 33, 38, 45, 52, 54, 58, 61, 64; PSA 6 (6) - 1, 17, 53, 55, 60, 62; PSA 5 (3) - 48, 56, 63; and PSA 4 (1) - 43 Bevan (Birth Year 1930). Two cards are graded by other companies, including 43 Bevan (Birth Year 1950) SGC 7.5 and 46 Harris CTA 8.