Darren Jensen: The Most Expensive Sticker Ever

When I started building the Goalie Archive, I assumed the biggest challenge would be tracking down expensive rookie cards. I was wrong.

Sometimes one of the hardest “cards” to find is a random sticker. The 1986 O-Pee-Chee Darren Jensen sticker, to be exact.

Darren Jensen Rookie Card

Ever heard of Jenson? Nope? Neither had I. I found out Jensen played parts of six NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and became one of the many goaltenders who never had a card. His only true rookie collectible appeared in the 1986 O-Pee-Chee Sticker set, where he shares a sticker with Brian Engblom.

That should have made the search simple.

It didn't.

After years watching eBay, dealer inventories, and card shows, I couldn't find a single Darren Jensen sticker for sale. Eventually I gave up trying to find the single.

Instead, I bought the entire 1986 O-Pee-Chee Sticker set just to acquire one sticker.

Hundreds of stickers in the set. One I actually wanted.

To anyone outside the hobby, that probably sounds ridiculous. But collectors understand. Sometimes completing a collection means making purchases that don't make financial sense. You're not buying value—you're buying the missing piece.

Ironically, the Darren Jensen sticker itself isn't particularly valuable. In fact, if you already owned the set, you probably wouldn't think twice about it. Yet because so few people bother breaking apart complete sticker sets if you have a complete one.

In fact, the day I got the 1986 set and book in the mail, I pulled the Jensen and relisted the complete set minus the Jensen. It sold quickly, thankfully.

The Darren Jensen rookie sticker now sits in the 1980s archive.

Sometimes the most satisfying addition to a collection isn't the most expensive card.

It's the one you had to buy an entire set just to get.