Easily the most iconic and best-known of all his cards the 1938 Goudey #274 Joe DiMaggio is one of the most important cards of the gum card era. Extremely desirable in any grade high-grade examples are few and far-between with just six examples at the NM-MT level or higher having been graded by SGC. Presented here is one of those examples. The 1938 Goudey issue was really the last mainstream set produced by that company; subsequent issues came in the form of premiums or the spotty and largely inconsequential 1941 cards. The 1938 set was produced with card backs similar to those of the company's popular 1933 and 1934 sets and was actually intended to give the impression it was a continuation of the 1933 issue - the 1938 set's first card was numbered 241 (the 1933 set concluded with card #240) and initially was advertised on the card backs as a complete set of 288 cards. The company then reversed course and produced just 24 subjects in the first series and followed up the initial 24 with 24 virtually identical cards of the same players adding the whimsical cartoon images with biographical information scattered around each card's obverse. As was the case with many of the Goudey cards over the years the 1938 issue is plagued by centering problems and the heavy card stock is subject to toning and discoloration. While 1938 Goudey cards are difficult to begin with well'centered examples are even more so. The offered example is one of the best-centered ones we have seen; the even surface toning is consistent throughout the card. The quality of the image is dark and bold. Indeed it is one of the finest examples of this card that we have encountered with just mild corner touches keeping the card from potentially grading even higher. Between PSA and SGC just five examples of the #274 DiMaggio have graded higher. A truly exceptional card rare and extremely desirable.