5 Essential Cards for Starting a Pelé Collection

If you are looking to start a Pelé collection, these 5 cards are must haves for your collection!

Hey there football/soccer collectors!

I am starting a series to help newer collectors start their collecting journeys! In this series I will provide a list of 5 cards that I think are important to have if you are looking to collect a certain player.

Some notes on the selection process:

• nothing too rare, comes to public auction more than 2 times per year

• nothing too expensive in a low grade (anything over $10K in a PSA 1 condition)

• all cards are playing year cards, no post career cards

• only cards/stickers, no matchbooks/album cut outs/etc.

• this is all based on my thoughts, so if you don’t agree that is perfectly fine! Please let me know what you do think should have been included!

Here are the 5 essential items, listed in chronological order:

1. 1958 Editora Aquarela Ltda. Brasil Campeao Mundial #10 (Black and Blue Number)

   In my opinion, this is the best overall image of any Pelé rookie out there. The stunning blue background with the full headshot of Pelé in the famous yellow national team kit. These stickers came as part of a perforated sheet, meaning collectors had to carefully remove them from each other. There are two variations of this, with a blue and black number on the back. This album was produced and distributed in Brazil, which to me makes it a better option than many rookies that were made outside of Pelé’s home country. While not one of the rarest rookies, this one is a classic that deserves to be a part of a starting Pelé collection!

   

2. 1958 Ave Ltda. Colecao Titulares #50

   This Pelé rookie may be small, but its image and importance are huge. This album, which included teams from across Brazil, features one of Pelé’s great rookies produced in Brazil. Pelé is featured two times in this album, with the counterpart, #86, featuring in a selection farther down in this post. The horizontal sticker of Pelé in his Santos kit is a great image with an action shot in the background. In 1958, customers could turned in the completed album to get a soccer ball. I’m sure many wish they had kept the album instead!

   This set is not Hand Cut and the flip has been changed by PSA.

   

3. 1962 Editora Vecchi Futebol Mundial #19 / 1962 Lampo Calcio Mondiale Series Hand Cut #44

   Arguably the greatest designed set of all time, this flag border sticker card of Pelé is a key piece to any Pelé collection. The set comes from 1962, which is the year that Pelé won his second World Cup. There are two versions of this sticker, one produced in Brazil and one produced in Italy. The Brazilian version features the number of the sticker on the back with the players name and position. The Brazilian version is much thinner than its Italian counterpart which comes as cardboard like material. The Italian version is Hand Cut, as they packets issued a panel of 2 players. This is a key set in vintage soccer and features many other legends that played in the 1962 World Cup.

   

4. 1965 Crack Golazo #86 / 1966 Crack Figuritas Tarjeton #124 / 1967 Crack Figuritas Sport #1

   The only full size cards on the list, this great image of Pelé in his Santos kit comes from Argentina. What intrigues me about this item is the fact that it is a card and the fact that Pelé is in his Santos kit, which is surprisingly less common to find than his Brazil kit. This set takes heavy (almost complete) influence from the famous 1960 Topps Football set that was released in the USA. Overall this card is a great piece to have in a growing Pelé collection. There are a few other Crack Argentina cards of Pelé that I recommend looking into such as the 1966 pink card and 1967 cartoon photo with Pelé wearing a crown!

   

   

   

5. 1970 Panini Mexico 70 World Cup

   The 1970 Panini World Cup set is arguably the most famous vintage soccer set in existence. This set, produced by Panini, was the first ever World Cup set produced by the Italian sticker giants. There are four known back variations of this sticker: Panini (green back), Bisvalida, Multi-Language (red and black back) and Red & Blue Hand Cut. The Red & Blue back has seemingly been the rarest version of the three, with only 8 copies authenticated by PSA.

   

WARNING: There are two official reprints of this sticker from 1990 and 1994. ALWAYS check the back of the sticker you are buying and make sure the back does not say ‘SONRICS’ or ‘WORLD CUP STORY’ as these are not original 1970 World Cup stickers.

If you are interested in taking your Pelé collection to the next level, here are 5 items I recommend to keep your eye out for as they may be harder to find and will cost you a bit more!

1. 1958 Alifabolaget #635

   The most expensive soccer card to ever sell publicly is the 1958 Alifabolaget Pelé graded a PSA 9. This card is considered to be ‘the’ Pelé rookie by many and is very expensive even in low grades. This card originates from Sweden, the country that hosted Brazil for the World Cup that they went on to win with Pelé as the rising star. To date only 6 copies of this well known card have ever achieved the PSA 9 grade, with none ever getting a PSA 10.

   

2. 1960 Tupinamba Ltda. Colecao Quigol #109

   An iconic design in the soccer collecting hobby, the Quigol set is beloved for its bold images of players mixed with intricate designs. While the thoughts on the dating of the Quigol have changed over time from 1958 to 1960, that does not change how beloved this sticker is to the soccer collecting community. The intricate design coupled with the smiling Pelé image is iconic and hard to forget. Like the Alifabolaget, this sticker is not too rare compared to some of the other rookies, but it is hard to find a high grade copy due to the sensitive nature of thin stickers.

   

3. 1958 Bremer Fachring Kaffee #12 AKA ‘The cyring Pelé’

   Pelé at just age 18 was making himself known by leading Brazil to their first ever World Cup victory in 1958. After Brazil defeated Sweden in the tournament final, the young superstar cried tears of joy as he was able to avenge the infamous 1950 Brazil loss against Uruguay. This famous image was captured and put onto a sticker in Germany. It is a collector favorite due to the raw emotion it shows and the fact it is considered a rookie for Pelé.

   

4. 1958-59 VAV Figurine Calcio with Vava

   A unique color and piece, this Pelé rookie out of Italy is a stunning item to have in a Pelé collection. Not only do you have Pelé on the card, but another world class player and Brazilian legend, Vava, makes an appearance. This item is extremely difficult to find in a PSA 4 or above as many of these were miscut or stuck into an album.

   

5. 1958 Ave Ltda. Colecao Titulares #86 (All variations)

   I mentioned this sticker in the first section with its counterpart being a ‘cheaper’ option. This pink background unique sticker features Pelé in his Brazil kit among the rest of his teammates on the album page. This sticker has seemingly been harder to find then the other Pelé in the album (sticker #50). PSA has authenticated 72 copies of sticker #50 but only 37 of sticker #86. There has also been known to be three variations of this sticker: star and facsimile autograph (pictured below), facsimile auto only and star only.

If you are a treasure hunter, here are 5 ultra rare Pelé grails to set your sights on when you see them hit the market, if they ever do!

1. 1957 Americana Ltda. Balas Futebol #11

   The true rookie of Pelé. Almost impossible to find, this stunning Pelé grail comes from Brazil from the 1957 Balas Futebol album. There are three known versions of this sticker: Yellow background with no number or points, blue background #11 with 2 points and a blue background with no number worth 2 points. All three versions are equally impossible to find, which adds to their grail status.

   Of all the Balas Futebol albums to be released, this one happens to be one of the hardest to find as even commons are difficult to locate. Only teams from the state of Sа̃o Paulo were included, meaning the likes of Garrincha and Didi did not feature in the set. As of writing this post in August of 2023 only 2 copies of this sticker have been graded by PSA and no other players from the set have been graded.

   

2. 1957-58 Oliveira & Benassi Balas Equipe #54

   This incredibly rare rookie of Pelé is considered to be a top grail in soccer collecting. Featuring a photo of Pelé before the 1958 World Cup, this sticker boasts a stunning yellow background that makes the player pop. What makes this sticker even more incredible is that fact that it was one of four ‘key’ stickers in the Balas Equipe album. Like what McDonalds does with their Monopoly game, Oliveira and Benassi short printed several stickers from the set so that only a few people could win prizes that were given out. This means that this Pelé happened to be a key sticker and therefore just a few copies were ever even printed of it.

   As of August of 2023, just two copies of this sticker have been graded by PSA and a PSA 1.5 is the highest graded of the two. This sticker will forever be almost impossible to find, creating a grail chase for Pelé collectors.

   

3. 1958 Jose Innocente Balas Centro Goal #142

   Extremely similar to the design from the Balas Equipe, the Jose Innocente produced album, ‘Balas Centro’, featured a stunning Pelé that is a top Pelé rookie. This sticker, like many on this list, is extremely difficult to locate with only 6 copies ever having been graded by PSA as of August 2023.

   A funny story myself, I have a copy of this sticker in which I bought in Brazil in 2021. I had to meet up with a seller in their car as they didn’t want to risk doing the transaction in public. Fun times, maybe I can write about the story in more detail in a different blog.

   

4. 1958 Americana Ltda. Album Futebol

   Considered by many Pelé collectors as one of the best designed rookie stickers, this Pelé from Americana Ltda. features a striking blue background coupled with O Rei in the Brazil national team kit. This set only featured club teams from Rio de Janeiro, which Santos was not. Luckily this album also contained the players of the Brazilian national team meaning we were lucky enough to get this amazing rookie that only has 17 graded copies by PSA!

   

5. 1958 Americana Balas Campeonato #32

   One of the rarest Pelé rookies out there, this sticker produced by Americana Ltda. in Sа̃o Paulo features the up and coming super star with a bold yellow background. The album was produced only featuring the teams from the state of Sа̃o Paulo, meaning there is no Garrincha or Didi featured. Only 1, yes 1, copy of this sticker has ever been graded by PSA, making it a true unicorn. Time to start chasing one down.

   

I hope you have enjoyed, please feel free to email me at chicagoorangecards@gmail.com with any feedback on this article or players you would like to see next!

BONUS SECTION: Pelés that I think are worth grabbing if they come up(just a few more examples, but there are plenty of good Pelé cards to buy!):

DISCLAIMER: This article is not investment advice. Please carefully research and comp all purchases you may make. All photos used are public images.