This is the cornerstone of vintage basketball collecting. In 1961, Fleer was the only major company making basketball cards — Topps had stepped away — so card #8 is Wilt Chamberlain’s one and only recognized rookie, and the key to the entire set.

It captures him at the start of the most physically dominant career the sport has known — the man who would score 100 points in a single game.

One of the true grails of the hobby.

Demand has pushed it into rarefied air: a copy brought a reported $1.7 million, a record for any pre-1980 basketball card. In gem condition, its ceiling is anyone’s guess.