This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2017
Each card has been graded NM-MT 8 or finer by PSA. Presented is a 66-card complete set of 1965 Topps "Battle" non-sports cards. This incredible assembly - verified by it's 8.86 GPA - merits "#1 Current Finest" accolades on the PSA Set Registry! Goldin Auctions is proud to present this remarkable set – a painstakingly constructed gallery that has claimed pinnacle Registry status for the past eight years! Though long revered by serious collectors, only with the recent surge in non-sports collecting has this scarce 1965 Topps issue begun to achieve the widespread recognition it deserves. This production features renderings by legendary artist Norm Saunders, and contains his greatest number of contributions to a single non-sports series. The Battle set was intended to capitalize on the popularity of television's "Combat!", a World War II-era drama that had been the subject of a multi-series non-sports success (produced by rival trading company Donruss) only a few months prior. In typical Saunders fashion, drama is present in every Battle card's frame. The artist's magnificent illustrations, characterized by his unique color selections and application, created a number of cards that are considered to be among his greatest achievements in the genre. Includes: Graded PSA GEM MT 10: 2 cards w/#'s 18 and 54; PSA MINT 9: 50 cards w/#'s 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65; PSA NM-MT+ 8.5: 5 cards w/#'s 1 "Fight To The Death", 19, 28, 32 and 36; PSA NM-MT 8: 9 cards w/#'s 2, 8, 17, 23, 30, 44, 45, 56 and 66 CL. Locating truly high-grade assemblies of this issue has been a persistent challenge for collectors. To date, more than 4,175 cards from this set have been submitted to PSA and only one hundred ninety-seven specimens have achieved a PSA MINT 9 or higher assessment. This gallery contains fifty of the one hundred ninety-two PSA MINT 9 copies (26% of the total population at that level) as well as two of just five known PSA GEM MT 10 examples!