The Perfect Valentine’s Day Set – 1954 Red Heart

I don’t believe there could be a more appropriate set to talk about on Valentine’s Day than 1954 Red Heart.

If you were a card collector and had a dog back in the 1950s, Red Heart Dog Food is what your pooch would have eaten.  From a collecting standpoint, there couldn’t be a better example of a regionally issued set.

Coming in at only (33) cards the set is relatively small.  It is split-up between (11) red, (11) green, and (11) blue background cards.  Red backgrounds are said to be the most difficult to find.

Mailing two Red Heart Dog Food labels along with 10 cents to the John Morrell & Company would’ve gotten you (1) 11-card series.  The color you received depended on where you lived.  Certain colors seem to be more/less popular in different regions of the country.  This type of distribution method made it difficult to complete a set.

The checklist is packed with Hall of Famers – Richie Ashburn, Ralph Kiner, Duke Snider, and Enos Slaughter to name a few.  Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial are two of the most popular subjects.  Stan Musial doesn’t appear in either the 1954 Topps or 1954 Bowman sets.  His card from 1954 Red Heart isn’t easy to find (red background), and has a high demand due to his lack of main-issued 1954 cards.  Mickey Mantle is also absent from 1954 Topps, but does appear in 1954 Bowman.

Collectors could take advantage of this mail-in offer all the way through the early 1970s.  That’s a long time for a promotional program to go on.  You can’t say collectors didn’t have enough time to get their hands on them.

Card of the Day: Adam Haseley 2013 Leaf Perfect Game #81

Card of the Day: Mickey Moniak 2015 Leaf Perfect Game National Showcase Pure Green Parallel Auto

Sportkings Series F To Focus On Miami Dolphins Perfect Season

The Miami Dolphins 17-0 Perfect Season is one of the biggest accomplishments in NFL history.  Fans probably won’t see this ever happen again.  Despite all of this, no card manufacturer has ever dedicated a portion of any of their products to this monumental event.  Over the years they keep praising teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.  Finally, someone has stepped up to the plate and has given members of this team their long over due time in the light.  That someone would be Sportkings.

Sure, some of these players have autographs and relics in other products, but nothing like this.  Sportkings Series F, due out August 1, will feature a new concept called Anthology.  The first Anthology Autograph Card insert set will feature the members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins.  13 members of the Dolphins will be featured in this insert set.  There are 72 of each player hard-signed featuring their home jerseys and 72 of each player hard-signed in their away jersey.

The Perfect Season Anthology autographed/memorabilia cards feature pieces of seat from the Orange Bowl that are signed by players such as Bob Griese, Jim Kiick, Howard Twilley, Nick Buoniconti, and more.  I’m glad Sportkings was able to include guys like Buoniconti, Twilley, and Fernandez.  These guys don’t have many modern day cards.

After the way collectors reacted to the Art Cards found in Series E, it shouldn’t surprise you that they’d make a return this year.  Check out these all hand-painted bad boys!

1933 Sport Kings Gum Hand-Drawn Cards

Body of Work

Memorable Moments Puzzle Cards

First Pitch

First Pitch

First Class

First Class

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Sportkings Series F will also have a ton of cut signatures, autographs, and relics.  Be sure to visit Dr. Price’s blog for more info.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: New England Patriots Super Bowl XLII Champions Perfect Season “Phantom” Pin

This is what collectors refer to as a “phantom” pin.  According to this pin, the Patriots won Super Bowl XLII and had a perfect 19-0 season.  I think we all can agree this didn’t happen because the Patriots lost to the Giants.  Pin manufacturers make these things up ahead of time so they can strike while the iron is hot.  Somehow pins like this find their way out onto the secondary market, even though they were most likely suppose to be destroyed.  Collectors love stuff like this and these pins can command some insane prices.  The above pin has a Buy It Now price of $999.19.

I have a few “phantom” pins in my personal collection.  I have a Tampa Bay Rays 2008 World Champions pin and a 2009 Phillies World Champions pin.  Both of which I purchased from The Pin Man.

The Perfect Christmas Gift For Any Phillies Fan

The Philadelphia Phillies have a ton of great stuff in their online store over at MLB.com.  But there is one item that might be a little more difficult to find.  I’m referring to the “Phillies Dream Scene” print that is modeled after the mural which is in the Diamond Club of Citizens Bank Park.  You might be able to find prints available for sale in art galleries, but you can always contact the artist, Jamie Cooper, at: jamie@jcap.com.au

No Phillies fan should be without one.  I have a print hanging in my room and

it looks great.  Here is a little info about the print:

• It’s printed on 300gsm quality art stock
• The size is approx. 39 x 15 inches
• Each print comes signed by Jamie Cooper
• The print is accompanied by an A4 sheet with the entire story of the painting including the many hidden secrets woven into the scene
• Price is $125 plus postage and handling ($25)

Click to enlarge

Perfection!

Over the last few seasons, I have watched the Phillies do some amazing things.  I was on the edge of my seat last night while watching Roy Halladay pitch the 20th perfect game in major league history.  This was the first time I’ve ever watched someone pitch a perfect game too.  The last Phillies pitcher to throw a perfect game was Jim Bunning back in 1964.  Congrats to Roy Halladay!!!!  That was one of the best games I’ve ever watched.  Collectors can find his most popular rookies in 1997 Bowman Chrome.

Braden Gives Collectors More Reasons To Bust ’07 Exquisite

First off I’d like to say congrats to Dallas Braden for pitching the 19th perfect game in MLB history.  I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to retire 27 batters in a row.

Braden is one of those players whose actual rookie cards contain the famous “Rookie Card” logo.  Usually collectors treat “First Year” cards with more respect than the funky logo ones.  But in this case Braden doesn’t have any “First Year” cards to go after.  2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Baseball has become a very popular product and I constantly catch collectors busting boxes online.  Having the chance of pulling a Lincecum or Braden signature, along with other popular rookies and veterans will only increase the demand of this product.  ’07 UD Exquisite Baseball is one product Upper Deck did extremely well on.  Braden’s perfect game will just add fuel to this popular brand.

Now, go dig out your Dallas Braden cards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect Season Pickup

This morning I received a notice that I had won this Nick Buoniconti autographed card.  It comes from that Pro Football Hall of Fame set they issued near the end of last year.  The set features 253 total cards and 130 of them are autographed.  Buoniconti does not have any certified autographs and/or relics that can be found in packs.  I was lucky to find someone who decided to break their set apart card by card.  The Hall of Fame only made 150 sets, costing around $5,000.00 each.  This card only had one bid and I snatched it up for under $50.00.  Its going to be a long time before I find another person willing to spend that kind of cash on a set, and then want to break it up.  This card will fit well into my Perfect Season collection.  Its also an on-card signature and should arrive this week.

Welcome To Perfectville: Population 1

The Colts just lost their first game this year which means the ’72-’73 Perfect Season Miami Dolphins are safe for another year.  Every year there seems to be a team that looks like they might go all the way without losing, but it hasn’t happened in 36 years.  There are a ton of players from that team that should have relics and autographs made, but only a handful do.  Griese, Csonka, Yepremian, Scott, Little, and Shula make up the small amount of players that have relic and autographed cards.  I’d like to see more.  I highly doubt we’ll ever see another team go undefeated again.