I'm drifting back to the card show In The Villages last month. Let me start off with some numbers:
There are 354 members and I have "a" postcard of 265 of them. 75%.
Now, here is the tricky part. They (the internet) say there is 853 different versions of those 354 people. THEY ARE WRONG. I have probably a hundred variations that aren't listed so HA!
Yes, there are variations and just like baseball cards some are intentional, but make absolute sense. ie: Spanish. The others are mainly print variations usually pertaining to "what is printed inside the postage stamp box", but there are countless others. Of course the stated print date is one, but TCDB doesn't count those even though there is also typically a design logo that is different on them in the bottom left corner too.
I count them as being different because they are and in an obvious manner at that.
I have in my HOF plaque "box" 337 different (I've been too cheap to buy a 100 count box of the 4 pockets to store them properly in a binder). I should probably do that...wait a minute just a thought.....I can tell people who ask what I want for a Christmas that I want that (hopefully two people will get them, because I could use them all).
Here are three of the back variations that I got in this box. Clearly they are different. Well, not exactly as they are not they same person, but you get the idea.
The differences can be in the stamp box, bottom left corner, not to mention the print date. That is not to say every year I want to buy a complete set to get different print date....heads up they actually don't print all of the cards each year.....just the new ones, and any "stock" that is low.
I don't have any yet from the last 3 inductions. Typically you'd pay .99 for each one directly but then you have shipping. I still need 89 people, but I don't mind waiting to catch them for a quarter or fifty cents at a show somewhere.
It looks like I got 28 new to me plaque cards and pretty sure I only scanned the needed ones.
Now it is time for what is probably going to be the most watched MLB division series game this season. GO BRAVES!
I have only a few of these (players connected to the Dodgers), but I could tell early on -- probably when I was a teenager, as we lived close to Cooperstown -- that these had a lot of variations.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of these cards but the rendering of the faces are not very good. Bob Gibson is not even close, IMO. But good luck to you on your collection efforts.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the game on ESPN. Bottom of the 9th. Let's go Braves!
ReplyDeleteImpressive collection of HOF postcards. I think I have accumulated approximately 10 to 15 over the years.
These are very neat and I have never seen these before. I watched the game and unfortunately the offensive blast the Dodgers got in one inning was all they needed. A very important game 4 coming up. Enjoy it all!
ReplyDeleteI bought a complete box set when we visited the hall in the 90's. I think I still have it somewhere. I think.
ReplyDeleteI have a few of these signed. And the one alumni guy (Mussina). Have been tempted to get a set of the Giants but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Sadly waited a bit too long to get a set of everyone since the kids would've loved it when they were younger.
ReplyDeleteChasing the variations is simultaneously madness and something that could be very cool in revealing print runs and whose cards are selling out faster.
My son and I visited the Hall of Fame in 2004. I purchased a complete set of the postcards then, with the idea of updating it every 2-3 years. I did order the latest ones 3 or 4 years later and have never purchased any more. Getting “current” is on my to-do list but the shipping costs are crazy. Nice that you found a bunch at a show. I’ve never seen any at the shows here in St. Louis.
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