Mario Lemieux's Eight Rookie Cards

Mario has 8 Rookie Cards, two of which are technically peelable stickers.
Let's go through them all.

First, let’s start with a giant WARNING. Mario Lemieux has had numerous reprints of his rookie cards from major manufacturers. Additionally, there are unscrupulous individuals that have used modern technology to create FAKE realistic looking Mario Lemieux rookie cards. When making a large investment, understand the person who is selling the card and his or her reputation. The person selling the card may not even know that the Mario Lemieux Rookie Card is a fake, as he or she may have bought it as a genuine real rookie card. I personally recommend buying graded versions of the card (from a reputable grading company - PSA, BGS, SGC, CSG, KSA ), if you can not see it in person, if it is a dealer that has not yet earned your trust or if the online photos are poor quality, limiting the ability to distinguish it as authentic. Please check out this video on which can provide criteria to verify authenticity of a Mario Lemieux Card.

Insert Video on signs to look for when determining authenticity for a Mario Lemieux Rookie Card.

Prior to and during the Junk Wax Era, O-Pee-Chee distributed cards in Canada and Topps sold hockey cards in the United States. The Junk Wax Era was a period between mid 1980's and mid 1990's when sports trading card manufacturers over produced large quantities of sports and non-sports cards resulting in greater market supply than consumer demand. Since Mario Lemieux's rookie card appears at the begining boundary of the Junk Wax era, condition is a critical factor in monetary value as large quantities were produced.

Major Set Releases:

1. 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee #9
   
2. 1985-86 Topps #9
   - The two most prominent and well known Mario Lemieux Rookie Cards are the 1985 O-Pee-Chee #9 and 1985 Topps #9. If you look at the front of these cards they are indistinguishable from each other. Only on the back of the card will you be able to tell if it is an O-Pee-Chee (OPC) or a Topps card. On the back under the NHL Shield Logo, you will see either the Topps brand or the O-Pee-Chee (OPC) logo. In small print you will also note the different copyright information just to the left of the trademark logos. Since the O-Pee-Chee was distributed in Canada, you will notice English and French are written for the NHL Stats and Summary section. Just something additional to note, when adjacent to each other, the O-Pee-Chee (OPC) is more vibrant in color than its Topps counterpart. O-Pee-Chee had 264 cards in its set, while Topps only had 165 Cards in their 1985-86 hockey set. O-Pee-Chee cards were printed for the Canadian market and are typically more difficult to find in a high grade compared to their Topps counterparts due to lower quality card stock and printing standards.
   
   This is card #9 in a set of 264 O-Pee-Chee cards.
   
   This is card #9 in a set of 165 Topps cards.
   
3. 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee #262 (Rookie Scoring Leaders)
   - Mario Lemieux’s OPC Rookie Scoring Leaders is sometimes forgotten or overlooked by American collectors. This card only appears in the O-Pee-Chee set, as the Topps set ended at 165 cards. This card can be found for a significantly more reasonable price than the iconic Mario Lemieux #9 rookie card from both O-Pee-Chee and Topps.
   
   This is card #262 in a set of 264 O-Pee-Chee cards.
   

Box Bottoms:

4. 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Box Bottoms #"I"
   
5. 1985-86 Topps Box Bottoms #"I"
   - More challenging to find, expecially in good condition are the 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee and Topps box bottoms. The box bottoms were easily damaged and rquired separatation by cuttiing the bottom of the box for creating a standard 3.5 inch by 2.5 card. Therefore, in a higher grade box bottoms are scarse and more difficult to find. Both O-Pee-Chee and Topps box bottom sets contained only 16 cards. These cards had alphabetic system "A" to "P". A new image was selected for the front of the card, but it has a quite similar design to that of a major set release for 1985-86 OPC and Topps card #9. The logo has switched to the left hand corner, and borders are yellow reflecting the colors of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The backside of the card is almost identical to the major release, except for the letter "I" in the upper corner replaced where a number 9 appeared in the major set. A commonly seen characteristic of the box bottom cards is to retain a small sliver of the cardboard box outline. It can occur from trimming the card, an example is on the top of a card in the picture below.
   Condition Issues: Because the cards were hand cut by collectors from the bottom of the wax pack boxes, you'll typically see this situation with miscuts and other damage to the card. As with the Major Set release, these box bottoms cards routinely suffer from centering issues.
   
   This is card #I in a set (A-P) of 16 O-Pee-Chee cards.
   
   This is card #I in a set (A-P) of 16 Topps cards.
   

Stickers:

6. 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #97
   
7. 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #72 / #199
   - O-Pee-Chee also released stickers in a separate 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Stickers hockey set that are smaller in size than their regular trading card counterpart. The 1985 O-Pee-Chee Stickers set consisted of 255 stickers, with some of the stickers being distributed together on an individual card. The reverse side of the sticker features the sticker number and Lemieux's name as well as an option to purchase a team puck by redeeming multiple sticker backs. These stickers were manufactured in Italy as noted in the lower right of the reverse side. Because these are stickers and not cards, many collectors chose to peel the sticker off of their card around the time of purchase. Condition and the removal of the backing have limited the availability of finding the stickers in good condition. These stickers possessed quality issues, off center printing and surface issues. Consequently, they are more fragile and thinner than the normal 20 point thickness of a regular rookie card. The size of the stickers additionally are smaller than a normal 3.5 by 2.5 typical trading card.
   
   This is sticker #97 in a set of 255 O-Pee-Chee stickers.
   
   This is sticker of both #72 and #199 in a set of 255 O-Pee-Chee stickers.
   

Odd:

8. 1985-86 Super Star Sports 7-Eleven NHL Collectors' Series #15
   - Sponsored by convenience store 7-Eleven, Mario Lemieux appears with fellow Pittsburgh Penguin Mike Bullard on the front of the #15 card in a 25 card set. The set was no made with normal card stock (cardboard), but instead is in a "credit card" hard glossy plastic format type. The 7-Eleven NHL Collectors' Series have rounded edges, measure approximately 3 3/8" by 2 1/8", and feature head shots of Lemieux and Bullard in a black background. These cards were produced in Canada by Super Star Sports and contain information on the Pittsburgh Penguin franchise on the back with the team logo and 7-Eleven logo. The plastic cards are more durable than traditional card stock and the delicate Lemieux rookie stickers. Condition is always a critical factor on value, but these oddball store promotional cards hold similar level of value to the Lemieux rookie stickers.

Estimated Worth based on Sales:

Due to multiple differentiating factors, the 1985-86 OPC #9 typically sells for a higher price than a Topps #9 Rookie, for raw cards of similar condition or of the same grading level. The OPC may have a higher desirability with hockey being traditionally a more popular sport in Canada than in the United States, particularly in markets without an NHL presence. When comparing side by side the OPC has a brighter background. O-Pee-Chee cards were printed for the Canadian market and typically are more difficult to find in a higher grade than their Topps counterparts. Lower quality card stock and alternative printing standards cause a variance between the two cards. A difference in value is evident in the sales numbers for both graded and ungraded cards of equal quality.

Online Mario Lemieux Rookie Card Price Guides (Free):

• 1985-86 OPC #9
• 1985-86 Topps #9
• PSA Graded 1985-86 OPC #9
• PSA Graded 1985-86 Topps #9