Card of the Day: Barry Bonds 1997 Topps Hobby Masters #16

Card of the Day: Willie Mays 2019 Topps Gallery Masters #196

Card of the Day: Kenny Lofton 1997 Topps Hobby Masters #10

“Pin-Up” of the Week: “Arnie’s Army” April 6, 2017 Masters Commemorative Button

Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus began the 2017 Masters with a ceremonial tee shot.  Many people in attendance received a commemorative “Arnie’s Army” button in honor of Arnold Palmer who passed away last fall.  For decades, Arnold Palmer had legions of fans who would follow him around the golf course.  This large group eventually went on to be known as “Arnie’s Army”.

It wasn’t uncommon to see “Arnie’s Army” members walking around wearing buttons to show their pride.  These buttons are quite collectible today.  As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for people to list this new button for sale.  The going rate is $80+ per button.  That is actually more than what some of the original buttons 50+ years old sell for.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 1997 Masters Tournament Commemorative Pin

Tiger Woods hasn’t had the best golf game in about five years.  For the first time in his career, he is no longer one of the top 100 golfers in the world.  I believe he’s #104 right now.  He isn’t even on the cover of EA Sports PGA Tour anymore.  Rory McIlroy has taken that over.  Despite his fall from grace, his collectibles still carry significant value.  Collectors sure haven’t forgotten the things he accomplished while on top.  Recently, I saw a non-certified autographed picture with staple holes in the corner sell for $133.00.

Pins from the Masters Tournament are quite collectible.  They don’t even need to be rare employee or press pins either to garner that much attention.  The commemorative logo pins they sell at the souvenir stands you’ll see up for sale the most often.  Tiger Woods became a household name after winning the 1997 Masters, and that’s why this pin sells for $100.00 today.  This was Tiger’s first major victory, winning by twelve strokes over Tom Kite.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2014 Masters Berckmans Place Pin

Looks like Bubba Watson just won his second green jacket.

Condoleezza Rice, Lynn Swann, and Jack Nicklaus.  These are some of the people that will greet you while entering Berckmans Place at Augusta National Golf Club.  Located beyond the trees close to the 5th hole is this very posh 90,000 sq/ft venue that takes the Masters experience to a whole new level.  Its not for the common folk like you or me.  This is for the very wealthy.  Or at least people who think they have money.  For all we know they could be in debt up to their eyeballs.  Don’t let the public image fool you.

I’ll get straight to the brass tax.  Its going to cost you at least $6,000 per ticket before getting to step inside Berckmans Place.  What do you get for that much money?  Pretty much everything including food and drink.  Berckmans Place has replica greens, restaurants, big ass TVs so you can watch the Masters, and exclusive merchandise.  It wouldn’t surprise me if the bathroom attendants offer to wipe your ass too.  I’m sure for any die hard Masters fan this would be the ultimate VIP treatment.

The Masters has its slew of new merchandise every year.  The Berckmans Place pin is one of the harder collectible pins to find, but not the rarest.  They seem to sell for $6.00 to $60.00.

Card of the Day: Tiger Woods 2013 Upper Deck Masters Collection Masterpieces Auto

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2013 Masters Tournament Employee Pin

As of this writing, Jason Day is currently leading the 2013 Masters Tournament.  But that will probably change quite soon.  There are a lot of souvenirs fans can purchase if they are lucky enough to actually be in attendance.  One of the key items collectors look for are pins.  For this year’s tournament there are a handful of different pins that have been made.  Most of them can be purchased from any of the souvenir stands located throughout the course.  As with major sporting events though, its the items not for sale which gain a lot of attention.  Take the above pin as an example.  This pin is what many of the employees are wearing during the 2013 Masters Tournament.  You probably won’t find these for sale at the gift shops.  The few employee pins that have found their way on to eBay have been commanding some major prices.  They have been selling for $75.00 to $100.00.

I’d like to see Tiger Woods win it, but after that two stroke penalty for a bad ball drop he sunk down the leaderboard a bit.  Another person that is getting attention is 14-year old Guan Tianlang from China.  He is the youngest player to ever play in the Masters.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Brian Gray of Leaf Trading Cards isn’t trying to get him to sign some cards for their next golf product.  They are always going after the young players.

Flashback Product of the Week: 1997 Grand Slam Ventures Champions of Golf Masters Collection

When Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters Tournament, collectors were eager to get their hands on his cards.  At the time, they had to settle for only a few.  The first being his S.I. for Kids card that came packaged inside the popular kids magazine the year before.  The second being his 1997 Grand Slam Ventures Champions of Golf Masters Collection Gold Foil and Gold Ink versions.

The 1997 Grand Slam Ventures Champions of Golf Masters Collection is a 62-card set.  It has in it one card for every Masters Champion from 1934 to 1997.  Luckily, Tiger Woods just made the cut.  The most common version you’ll find are the Gold Ink cards.  They issued thousands of these within sealed sets.  The Gold Foil version is much rarer and was only made available to collectors that subscribed to the series.  Both version are very condition sensitive due to the black borders.  Obviously, the Tiger Woods cards are worth the most.  Sealed boxes can be found for $100.00.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2011 Masters Commemorative 75th Anniversary Pin

As you can imagine, these were available during this year’s Masters Golf Tournament that ended yesterday.  It celebrates the 75th anniversary of the tournament, and can easily be found for around $15.00.

Yesterday’s winner, Charl Schwartzel, does not have any cards.