The Post War Cards Newsletter #30
The Post War Cards Newsletter #30
š Howdy, thanks for checking out the latest issue of The Post War Cards Newsletter.
šļø Every week, I share a few nuggets about vintage sports cards, hobby history, and industry activity with collectors.
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š 1948-52 Exhibit Hockey Cards
1948-52 Exhibit Hockey cards always seem to sell for more than you'd think they will, especially compared to the exhibit baseball cards from the era.
Two of the pricier hockey examples sold on eBay recently. A Maurice Richard (Stairs in Background) graded SGC 7 sold for $1657 on March 13th. It's the highest-graded Richard across all the variations (16 total).
And the same seller sold a Gordie Howe graded SGC 4 for $3850 on March 15th. SGC has graded 13 1948-52 Exhibits Howe cards (three are higher than this example).
PSA only grades baseball exhibits, and I've heard this is because of counterfeiting issues with other sports exhibit cards, but that seems a little suspect. ESCO used a distinct cardboard type, so maybe I'm missing something else.
The 65-card 1948-52 hockey set was issued on heavy postcard-sized cardboard stock and is much scarcer than their baseball counterparts. SGC has only graded 328 1948-52 hockey cards, while they have graded 3648 1947-66 baseball exhibits. PSA has slabbed 13329 Exhibit baseball cards across what is, to be fair, a longer distribution run, but you get the idea. You will usually see the unnumbered hockey cards organized by team; Montreal (1-27), Toronto (28-42), Detroit (43-46), Boston (47-48), Chicago (49-50), New York (51), and the action subset (52-65).
šļø In The News
CBS Sports: MLB rookies to wear 'MLB Debut' patches on Opening Day that will be turned into Topps cards
Sports Collectors Daily: Beckettās Proposed Grading Scale Change Meets with Opposition
CNBC: How Fanatics and MLB are planning to keep the trading card boom going
Little Leauge: Little League Extends Relationship with Topps Through 2025
Go Banking Rate: Check Your Baseball Cards for Mantle, Ruth, Trout ā They Could Be Worth Millions
Wane: Baseball cards scattered around devastated Indiana neighborhood
WGEM: So how do you get on a baseball card? Former Twin Josh Rabe details the process
Clutch Points: Sports cards news: Fanatics planning early shakeup of NBA cards with planned Topps launch
Sports Collectors Daily: NBA Writer Tweets Topps Branded Basketball Cards Next Season
Axios: Air Jordans sell for record $2.2M as sports memorabilia booms
šØš¦ 1963 Post Cereal CFL Cards
The 1963 Post Cereal CFL set is a pretty incredible-looking group of 160 cards cut from the cereal boxes by hand, though Iāve read, they may have also been available from an order-by-number affiliate. Hereās an example:
The 2-1/2āā by 3-1/2āā cards are numbered and ordered by team. The large set size meant that 16 to 18 cards of players from each CFL team were included, which was big compared to most sets from the era, so there are a lot of lesser-known players in the set.
The cards can be found relatively inexpensively; for example, on March 11, 2023, a lot of 50 different cards sold for $86 on eBay, while another 36 (with duplicates) sold for $37. Complete sets can get a little pricier because of condition and a few key cards; REA sold a complete set in April 2021 for $2200, and a complete set was sold on eBay on February 7, 2023, for $1500. However, if you want to buy PSA pre-graded examples, theyāve only encapsulated 228 cards.
The set isnāt complete without its official album; at the time of release, it was 50 cents. These days, with some patience, you can pick up a copy in nice condition for around $50.
And if youāre a master set collector, you probably want to get your hands on a magazine advertisement, too; happy collecting!
āØļø On The PostWarCards Blog
April 3rd, 2023: Topps File Sets Part 2: Reselling History ā Notable Sales of Topps File Albums
April 4th, 2023: Unwrapping The History of O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards: A Look At The Early Wrapper Variations
April 10th, 2023: Topps File Sets Part 3: Individual File Copy Binder Pages
April 11th, 2023: From Regional Rarity to National Treasure: The Evolution of Jim Brownās Kahnās Wieners Cards
š O-Pee-Chee Company
I figured this was an appropriate image to close this newsletter with.
