We have made the decision to break up an EXTRAORDINARY 1963 Topps set - the #4 Master Set on the PSA Set Registry. The 1963 set is a particularly difficult set to complete in high grade due to Topps' poor quality control in the era which resulted in considerable print defects. The large and colorful border at the bottom simultaneously lends a distinctive design element and a condition challenge, as they are extremely susceptible to chipping and wear. 

The example offered here is card #473, New York Mets, graded MINT 9. The 1963 Mets finished with a record of 51-111, good enough for 10th place in the 10-team National League. However, it was an 11-win improvement from 1962, the expansion team's first year in existence. 1963 was the final year of Major League games at the Polo Grounds, as Shea Stadium was ready by the start of the 1964 season. The Mets finished either 9th or 10th in the National League every year from 1962 through 1968 before famously, miraculously, winning the 1969 World Series.

Their 1963 Topps card features the team photo in front of a yellow and red background with an inset circle containing the classic Mets skyline logo. This card is nearly perfect, with great corners and strong edges. Centering is just ever so slightly south and west on the canvas, and while all of the colors remain bold and vivid, it appears as if the black ink layer didn't get a perfect print, leaving anything that should be black just a shade lighter. Even still, this card has tremendous eye appeal.

You won't find a nicer example of this card. And that isn't hyperbole. Not a single example ever seen by PSA has received a higher grade than the card offered here.