The set features 45 sepia-toned postcards from the earliest era of professional hockey, and the names will mean something to Canadiens fans. Georges Vezina is in there, the goaltender the NHL named its annual award after, along with early Habs icons Jack Laviolette and Newsy Lalonde and several other Hockey Hall of Famers including Art Ross and former Habs superstar Joe Malone, who was with the Quebec Bulldogs at the time.
The set features Canadian players from pro hockey's earliest era.Classic Auctions
The cards, which predate the NHL by seven years, were printed in Britain. They show players in their historic wool sweaters representing teams like the Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs.
The Canadiens were in their second-ever when these photographs were taken.Classic Auctions
What makes the set so valuable beyond its age and rarity is its condition. All 45 cards were professionally graded by SGC, and 43 of them came back rated EX 5 or better, meaning they've held up remarkably well for pieces of cardboard that are over 110 years old.
"This set was originally produced in extremely limited quantities and is extraordinarily rare," said Marc Juteau, founder and president of Classic Auctions. "It has been professionally graded and authenticated, and remains in very good condition for its age."
The sale was part of a larger auction event featuring over 1,000 lots that collectively brought in more than $2 million. Another standout was a team-signed, game-used basketball from Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers, the same game immortalized in the Netflix documentary The Last Dance. That one sold for $180,972 USD, or about $247,243 CAD.
The hockey postcard set is one of only a handful known to exist worldwide, which goes a long way toward explaining the final price tag.
It's also a good reminder that old sports cards can be worth more than people realize. "If you had invested in baseball cards at the end of the 1970s and sold them all at the end of the 1980s, nothing would have given you a greater return on your money," writes Thomas Clemmer of canadianhockeycards.com. "Not even real estate."
So if you've got some hiding in a shoebox somewhere, it might be worth finding out what they're actually worth.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
Demidov is the first Montreal player to wear No. 93 since Doug Gilmour. 