Dateline: 09/25/99
Over two years ago I wrote about the new trend to cut things up and stick them on sportscards. At that time I was looking at everything from rattlesnake to football helmets, but who would have thought that things would go as far as they have today. I mentioned recently on the About Sportscards Forum how I have been pulling game used memorabilia cards out of almost every box lately, and I guess I'm not alone.
Almost every product that Upper Deck releases has some kind of game used item cut up and stuck to an insert card. Even their beautiful, low-end MVP line has balls, bats, pucks, and sticks from big stars in one of every 4 boxes. Collector's Edge has been cutting up footballs and basketballs for a couple years now with many products coming with one memorabilia card per box.
Skybox is the latest to enter the memorabilia
card market as they even cut up the hats that
first round picks wore on NFL Draft Day
This past week Playoff released what might be the most aggressive game jersey card set ever as they took 72 jerseys and cut them into over 21,000 cards. While that still doesn't mean one per box, most people are reporting at least one Gridiron Gear card in every three boxes of the red hot Leaf Certified Football set. While Certified is a beautiful product that make it easy for the every day collector to find a jersey card, the result is low prices for what were once the most valuable inserts.
So, what will the future bring? Who knows. They seem to be cutting up just about anything these days so nothing would surprise me. We've seen bats from members of the 500 HR Club (including Babe Ruth). Shoes, gloves, tires, and firesuits on NASCAR cards. As with every new gimmick, collectors get bored quick. I think that the next step is something we've already seen, autographed memorabilia cards. Collector's Edge played with the idea a couple years ago, and now Upper Deck has pushed it with the recent autographed Michael Jordan Game Jersey cards.
I was lucky enough to pull this beauty myself a few weeks
ago and it's possible that autographed memorabilia cards
are what the near future will be bringing.
Who knows what we'll see next, but as we reach the new millenium I'm sure that the card manufacturers will be busy coming up with more ideas to keep us all ripping open their packs.
ANDY
CHAT