1923 William Paterson hockey card set brings $99,000 to Classic Auctions

The finest set of 1923-1924 William Paterson V145-1 hockey cards ever assembled has sold in part of Classic Auctions' Fall 2013 Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction, which closed on November 5.


The collection is the current finest and all-time finest on the respected PSA Set Registry. Assembled by Simon Borque, known to collectors as Simgin, it sold for $99,114.

Most of Borque's collection was sold in the auction, containing the finest examples from almost every pre-war hockey card set, approximately 95% of which hold the number one position on the PSA Registry.

Over 600 of the cards in Borque's collection are "1 of 1", meaning that no other PSA-graded card exists in better or equal condition. A further 400 are the highest graded of their type, but have rivals in other collections.

Among the rarest of the entire collection was the Bert Corbeau card from the 40-card 1923-1924 William Paterson V145-1 set, which is one of the most sought after in the hobby with only around 10 known to exist.

Only a handful of the cards were ever produced featuring the Toronto St Patrick defenceman. They were created as part of a contest by candy company William Paterson, in which those who collected all 40 cards would win a pair of skates. However, the Corbeau card was short-printed, resulting in a limited number of winners.

Such is the importance of Borque's collection, it is expected to alter pricing guidelines across the entire hobby. See the website dedicated to the collection here.

Borque, president of a civil engineering firm and a collector since childhood, commented: "I made a lot of sacrifices, because I was not a wealthy man. But I am always a passionate man.

"There's no more challenge for me, because I think I have the best. It's like, the job is done," he explained to the Calgary Herald.

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