Lot # 14: 2001 Bowman Chrome Japanese #351 Ichiro Suzuki Rookie Gold Refractor #52/99 PSA GEM MINT 10 - 1 of 1!

Graded GEM MINT 10 by PSA. Presented is the finest known example of one of modern-card collecting's most significant trading cards and Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki's most important rookie card: a 2001 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor. During the 2001 baseball season, Ichiro took America by storm, winning both Rookie of the Year and MVP,  becoming the first player to do so after Fred Lynn in 1975. Ichiro would go on to redefine consistency, grace, and global influence in the modern era. The offered example is the Japanese text variation (relating to the stats and biography printed on the reverse, which were printed in both English and Japanese). Only available via redemption cards which expired in 2003, a mere 99 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Ichiro rookie cards were produced. Fifty English text variation copies have odd serial numbers, while 49 Japanese text variation examples feature even serial numbers. This is the ONLY Japanese text variation example to have received a PSA GEM MINT 10 grade in existence! There are no BGS 10 examples on record. All 49 examples of the Japanese text variations are accounted for, and none appear to remain ungraded, so this is truly a unique specimen sitting atop the hobby's population reports. This is a magnificent card in every way imaginable, with beautiful colors, a flawless surface, and sharp corners. Serial numbered 52/99 on the reverse. More than two decades after its original redemption window closed, it remains a centerpiece-level acquisition, appealing to Ichiro collectors, Japanese baseball historians, and elite modern card investors alike. This offering represents a possible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own Ichiro's most prestigious rookie card. With contemporaries like Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols — a fellow 2001 Rookie of the Year winner — recently realizing six-figure results for their own iconic PSA GEM MINT 10 rookie cards (each with a higher population than the offered example), it is possible that this card will finish the auction process as one of the most significant and valuable modern rookie cards of the era.