Card of the Day: Dan Marino 1992 SkyBox Prime Time Armed & Dangerous #272

Card of the Day: Buck O’Neil 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time #15

Product Highlight: 1993 Topps/McDonald’s All Time Greatest Team Trading Card Glasses

McDonald’s has been making collectible drinking glasses for decades.  I never really got into them, except for when they made a set for the movie Batman Forever in 1995.  Topps and McDonald’s teamed-up in 1993 to bring collectors a set of ten glasses.  Printed on each glass is a Topps baseball card.  If you purchased any Extra Value Meal with a Coke Classic you had the opportunity to buy one of these 16-ounce All Time Greatest Team Trading Card Glasses.  Each glass features the player’s facsimile signature too.

Here’s the checklist:

• #1 Nolan Ryan 1969 Topps #533
• #2 Johnny Bench 1970 Topps #660
• #3 Lou Gehrig 1961 Topps #405
• #4 Joe Morgan 1973 Topps #230
• #5 Cal Ripken Jr. 1985 Topps #704
• #6 Brooks Robinson 1961 Topps #10
• #7 Roberto Clemente 1961 Topps #388
• #8 Willie Mays 1957 Topps #10
• #9 Babe Ruth 1962 Topps #139
• #10 Carl Yastrzemski 1970 Topps #10

The first nine glasses were sold nationally.  In order to get the tenth glass, you needed to live in the Boston area.  That makes Carl Yastrzemski the rarest of them all.

2019 Leaf In The Game Used Sports Set To Arrive In Time For The National

Earlier this week I was excited to announce that Leaf In The Game Used Sports is making it’s return in 2019.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, the 2018 version of this product was just loaded with one low-numbered hit after another.  I never had a bad box.

Leaf has released the official sales sheet for 2019 Leaf In The Game Used Sports.  As is the case with a lot of sales sheets, some of these autographs and patches could change between now and the time it actually comes out.

The configuration looks similar to last year – (12) boxes per case, and (5) hits per box.  July 31, 2019 is the set release date.  I’m sure it will be one of the eligible products that you can use for Leaf’s wrapper redemption program during the National Sports Collector’s Convention.

Pirates ’04 UD Etchings Auto Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Josh Fogg 2004 Upper Deck Etchings – Etched In Time Auto #’ed/325.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, January 6, 2017 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

Card of the Day: Ted Williams 2001 Topps Heritage Time Capsule Korean War-Worn Uniform Relic

Flashback Product of the Week: 1954 Parkhurst Race Against Time

Parkhurst had a nice thing going throughout the 50’s and 60’s until Topps came along and built up a relationship with O-Pee-Chee.  Although they are mostly known for their hockey sets, Parkhurst did make it’s share of sets for other sports.  One of these “other” sets was released in 1954 called Race Against Time.  It’s technical designation is V339-12.  The Race Against Time set only consists of 40 cards.  Every card in the set depicts a famous race in history, except for card #39 which is a fantasy race between two spaceships.

On the front of each card is a nicely illustrated picture of a specific race.  The 40 cards cover a wide variety of vehicles such as cars, horses, motorcycles, and even ice boats.  It really is a diverse set, but with a common theme.  The reverse side contains a fully detailed historical write-up about the event (in both English and French).

Like most vintage sets, condition is everything.  Cards from this set are very affordable.  Not unless you need one that is in pristine condition.  Singles can usually be found for under $20.00.

TeenyFreaks Arrive Just In Time For Halloween

Party Animal Toys keeps rapidly expanding their TeenyMates line.  Their newest addition, TeenyFreaks, takes these little guys in a whole new direction.  One that might be a bit scary and disturbing.

TeenyFreaks are 1″ collectible figures that come with a “split personality”.  Every figure has a friendly individual on one side and a “freaky” alter-ego on the other.  Each blind package contains (2) figures and (2) puzzle pieces.  TeenyFreaks are the first unlicensed product Party Animal Toys has ever made.

TeenyFreaks are available exclusively at the impulse section of Target stores nationwide and online at the Lil’ Teammates Shop.  Given that this is Halloween time, I can easily see TeenyFreaks being handed out on Trick-Or-Treat night.  From what I can see, TeenyFreaks have to be the most colorful and creative figures they’ve made yet.  Immense detail was taken into consideration when it came to the design of the figures, plus the artwork looks great.  If they make a Series 2, I would like to see some sports figures thrown in to the mix.  They wouldn’t have to be connected with a specific team either.  A generic baseball player would work just fine.

I opened (2) packs of TeenyFreaks and pulled the following:

• (1) Zoo Creeper
• (1) Heavy Metal
• (1) Doctor Oculus
• (1) Yummy Mummy

OYO Sportstoys Field Set Review

According to Santa Claus, there are only 97 more days to Christmas.  Kmart has already rolled out the first Christmas commercial this year, and it’s just the beginning.  It really does come sooner with each passing year.

OYO has recently added a new lineup of toys to their collection that I’m sure will be a big hit this holiday season – Field Sets.  Collectors began snarfing up OYO’s Field Sets this past summer during the All-Star Game in New York.  Now they offer four types of Field Sets for each MLB team – Starter Set, Infield Set, Outfield Set, and the Game Time Set.  If you’re looking to go all out, it’s best to go with the Game Time Set as it is the highest level, and consists of the other three sets in one.

The 157 piece Game Time Set contains the following:

• 136 OYO Building Blocks
• 10 OYO minifigures – 9 OYO team characters & 1 OYO Umpire (The umpire minifigures are exclusive to the Field Sets)
• 11 baseball accessories (9 gloves, 1 bat, and 1 ball)

Although the minifigures that come along with each Field Set don’t represent specific players, their facial expressions completely make up for it.  The faces on the Field Set minifigures are much more animated when compared to the actual player minifigures OYO sells separately.  You could always take the head of a Field Set minifigure and put it on the body of one of the player specific ones.  That’s one of the great things about OYO’s toys.  They’re interchangeable.  Not just with each other either, but with other building toys such as Lego.  So if you wanted to have two OYO teams playing against one another and during the game they get invaded by some Lego alien set, it’ll work.  Its limited only by what your imagination can come up with.

What would I like to see OYO do next?  They are currently working on blind packages that contain a few random minifigures.  I think this is a great idea, as the blind packaged collectible market has taken off.  But the figures inside need to have some type of chase factor.  Minifigures with variations would work.  How about randomly inserted redemptions for you to get your very own minifigure made?  I think they need to expand on the Field Set idea and move into stadiums, vendors, team buses/planes, fans could build.

OYO has really hit a niche market that I think Lego missed.  Anything that can connect you with what you love now to something you played with during your childhood is awesome.  If you think these things are popular now, wait until the Lego movie comes out next year.

Card traders’ fortunes shift over time

My local newspaper, The Daily Item, published an article on one of my local card shops – Shaffer’s Trading Cards.  They have been in business for 35 years and keep on going.  I’m sure if you’ve been to any of the major shows you’ve seen Bill Shaffer and his wife Darlene.  It was an interesting read.  I thought you would enjoy.  I’ve pulled some great stuff from his shop, including a Willie Mays 2004 Topps Tribute Cut Signature Edition Auto #’ed 1/1.  Enjoy!

By Francis Scarcella
Daily Item

“LEWISBURG — You may have $2.2 million sitting in a box in your attic and you don’t even know it.

In the early 1990s, baseball cards were being produced at an estimated 81 billion cards per year with some of those cards being worth hundreds of dollars each, but more than 20 years later popularity and price have seen ups and downs, said Bill Shaffer, owner of Shaffer’s Trading Cards.

Except for the T-206 1909 Honus Wagner rookie card.

In 1979, the Wagner rookie card was thought to be one of 10 produced. About 40 that have been discovered.

The most recent Wagner card to be sold was in 2009, where a buyer fromCaliforniapaid $2.2 million for it.

“The vintage stuff has skyrocketed in price,” Shaffer said. “It’s the newer stuff that isn’t as much or has stayed the same.”

Shaffer has been dealing with trading cards for 35 years and it’s the living he and his wife Darlene chose to have.

More than 35 years ago the Topps Company was the only company selling trading cards of Major League Baseball.

A few companies came along, and in 1981 Fleer and Donruss card companies made their debuts.

“Then a bunch more started to pop up,” Shaffer said.

“One after one, companies began buying each other and in the end only one company was left standing.”

The Topps Company remained the leader in trading cards, Shaffer said.

“They never did attempt to buy anyone or do anything. They stayed doing exactly what they were doing and they are now the only licensed company to sell Major League Baseball cards.”

The Topps Company issued its first cards in 1951 and was founded in 1938 as Topps Chewing Gum. In its early years, Topps produced a popular penny “Topps Gum” from a factory inBrooklyn,N.Y.In 1950, Topps added trading cards to its product line. Baseball cards appeared in 1951 now the company produces trading cards that features football basketball players, in addition to entertainment cards and stickers and albums.

Shaffer said that even though it appears that children are the collectors, it is an adult business.

“They started with putting cards in cigarette packs,” he said.

A pack of cards in 1979 cost around 15 cents, Shaffer said.

“Now the price is at $2 per pack,” he said.

“I’ve lived through all the changes and price changes.”

Packs of cards used to have bubble gum included with them, but that practice has since stopped, Shaffer said.

Searching value of what you may have, or may have found hidden away, is as easy as buying a price guide, Shaffer said.

“You would be surprised at some of the prices,” he said.

“Most of the cards that were made in the early 90s were over made which lead to price being brought down.”

Shaffer said if you are a rookie and looking to start a collection — start with rookies.

That’s where people go,” he said.

“They get a hot rookie and collect from there.”

But if you are looking for that Wagner card and you get lucky and find one, even if its ripped it could buy you a new house.

“I saw one that was missing a piece of the card at a trade show and it sold for $150,000,” Shaffer said.

“They say there is only 40, but they just keep popping up.””