Wow, this is the first time I remember seen the sale of a vintage (not a modern 1/1 or auto) Pele card for more than $1K that wasn't his rookie year(s) (1958 - 1959):
1962 Nannina Mondiali Del Cile PSA 4 - $1,031
I like this card a lot and I know that PWCC can command a premium, but that is about 2x - 3x what I would have expected that card to go for.
Maybe this is a sign of what is to come with rare / high-end Pele cards. That would be great on one hand because I own some and frustrating on the other because it would eliminate me from the playing field (which is why I moved from baseball to Pele in the first place - I don't have budget to pick up the baseball cards I like in this range).
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Have you seen other Pele non-rookies go for this much? Is this good or bad for the soccer card hobby?
Also, on a side note, how many different vintage (pre-1980) soccer cards are there that have ever sold for more than $1K. I can think of a half dozen Pele, plus key rookies of Platini, Maradona, Cruyff, and a few others. I'd be surprised if there are more than 20 cards that can command this price.
(edited to add: I just remembered a number a few early English cards that can also command this price. But I can only think of ~20. The total population of vintage soccer that could be $1K or more might be only 40 - 50 different cards).