Most popular hockey cards of all time ?
 

What player or cards have you seen traded the most over your years of collecting ? I know there are Orr collectors, Gretzky collectors, Lemieux, Richard, Howe, etc.

I haven't checked ebay sales, but I would assume Gretzky and Lemieux have a slight upper hand on Orr, Howe, and the Canadiens great ones.

A more specific question could be which year of Gretzky trades the most ?
Is it his rookie, 2nd year, or doesn't matter ?

I think with Mario it's all about the rookie.

I think with Orr it doesn't matter, and some prefer not to own his rookie as they feel it doesn't have the eye appeal that some of his other cards have.

Your thoughts ?

1954 Topps Howe, one of my faves of all time!

It's not that the Orr rookie doesn't have eye appeal, it's because it's a lot of money even in the lowest grade. No matter how much nicer a players other cards look the rookie will always be the most desirable.

I sold my PSA 8 Orr rookie years ago because besides his Chicago cards, it was my least favorite. 70 opc #3 is right up there also.

My favorites are his 71 opc double trophy along with his 78 Canada Cup special, and 67 Topps.

You can pick up low grade Orr rookies for 1-2k.

Absolutely love this Gordie. It's right up there with his 63 Parkie. If that's yours, it's one beautiful card.
Funny thing about that card is that most players during that time could not perform the skill that Gordie is doing on that card.
He's doing an outside edge one skate stop. Something you'll see today's players do all the time, but many of the players during Gordie's time
could not perfect that.

Thanks Golden for the compliment on my Howe, bought that card in that holder almost ten years ago! Here are a few more that have some of my favourite images...

Yes, and there are a few reasons for that. Firstly, majority of the buyers pushing the market today watched Gretzky and Lemieux play, but not Orr, Howe and Richard, etc. Secondly, the Gretzky and Lemieux rookies, for a long time, were pretty cheap. Even today, it's much cheaper to pick-up a low grade Gretzky or Lemieux compared to the others. For example, a PSA 1 Howe rookie is over $3,000 USD now and a PSA 1 Orr rookie is about $2,500 USD! So, it only makes sense that these cards are not going to be as popular because most people don't have that kind of money to spend.

Rookie, obviously.

It's no different with Bobby Orr. Look at the price difference between his rookie and his second-year card. You can buy his 67' Topps in PSA 7 for about a thousand US, and his rookie in the same grade is about twenty-five times this amount! Everybody wants his rookie, period.