Upper Deck, a California based trading card company, posted an Instagram photo of a historic pull from a pack of hockey cards this week.

According to Instagram user @r50biciste, Markman Breakers from Markman Sports Cards & Collectibles in Louisiana pulled a cut signature of Lord Stanley in a pack of 2017-18 NHL Splendor.

The signature is a rare collectible of the man behind the Stanley Cup – sports’ oldest and most celebrated trophy. The card is worth thousands of dollars.

The cut signature appears to be from a letter and done in quill pen. It shows Lord Stanley’s signature as Frederick Stanley, which is what Lord Stanley was known as until 1886. The famous politician would take on the name “Lord Stanley of Preston” after serving as Colonial Secretary in the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893.

According to Wikipedia, Lord Stanley was a big sportsman. He donated the Cup after becoming a hockey fan due to his sons playing the sport.

Stanley’s sons became avid ice hockey players in Canada, playing in amateur leagues in Ottawa, and Lord and Lady Stanley became staunch hockey fans. In 1892, Stanley gave Canada a treasured national icon, the Stanley Cup, known originally as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. He originally donated the trophy as a challenge cup for Canada’s best amateur hockey club, but in 1909, it became contested by professional teams exclusively. Since 1926, only teams of the National Hockey League have competed for the trophy. This now-famous cup bears Stanley’s name as a tribute to his encouragement and love of outdoor life and sport in Canada. In recognition of this, he was inducted into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945 in the “Honoured Builders” category. The original size of the Stanley Cup was 7 inches (180 mm) and is now around 36 inches (910 mm) and 35 pounds (16 kg).

For most star hockey players or Hockey Hall of Famers, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of authenticated autographed cards available through trading card companies. But for important figures such as Tim Horton or Terry Sawchuk, who died before cards became a craze, the only autographs to come from them are signatures from vintage letters or checks.

According to 2012 article by Beckett, a respected industry price guide for sports cards, there were only 41 cards with Lord Stanley’s name on it. From 2001 to 2012, there were only 10 cut autographs of Lord Stanley – one of which is this cut signature, signed Stanley of Preston, from 2012 ITG Superlative Hockey.

Photo: Beckett

On eBay, there are only two cuts signature cards of Lord Stanley available and they are both listed at very high prices.

This legendary cuts card from 2007-08 The Cup (Upper Deck) is available as a Buy It Now for $25k.

Meanwhile, a 2008/09 Upper Deck Black Trophy cut of Bobby Orr and Lord Stanley is going for $9,999.99 Canadian.