Cards Cards and more CARDS!!!!

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:26 pm

I'm not a super active card collector, but as with most things in this wide spread hobby it comes and goes in spurts. I'm always building sets, but most of the time only when it's convenient or I stumble across stuff.

Here's an idea of my own card collections:

Marvel Masterpieces
I'm a big fan of the Marvel Masterpieces sets because they make for great hunts with a myriad of chase and promo cards. The '95 and '96 sets are ridiculously pricey and their corresponding insert and chase cards are somewhat tough to find across all of the years. I keep these in a very large, single binder because I like to look at them from time to time.

Some '95 M cards, bound.

My Masterpieces binder - each set has a custom cover sheet checklist which includes notations for all of the inserts and promos, etc.

Indiana Jones
I've been in a bit of an Indiana Jones fad for a while now, and it was a neat to find that there were several Indy card sets to chase down. I've got all of the sets that I know to exist, and I've been looking for Sketch cards on and off for a while now. I've amassed a pretty decent collection of these and they are a lot of fun.

Indy Sets from the 80's to now. The slabbed cards are official Topp Blank Backs - there's one of each in existence.

Some Indy Sketch Cards - these are a ton of fun!

Random Comic Cards
Several years back I stumbled upon a few pretty cheap boxes of cards and have been set building out of those for years. I've got a bunch of misc. sets in acryllic cubes as well. Stuff ranges from the standard Marvel Universe fair to some of the Olivia stuff to Conan. I'm not too active on these, but again, I sort of try to fill them as I see them.

Iron Man
Of course I collect Iron Man cards! I've been buying random Iron Man cards for years and keep them in a few of the couple hundred Iron Man tins that I bought in bulk a few years back as well. I've got a lot of the newer Ritten House stuff as well including all of the Armor cards which are pretty damn scarce.

Collection of random Iron Man cards over the years - there are no doubles in any of these three tins

Rittenhouse Binders - these were special orders & the only place to get the P3 card for the set.

A look at this sets armor cards. Like costume cards, but produced with cuts of the movie armors.

Chip in with your own card sets and let's enjoy the things we have during this crap economy rather than think about the things we want!

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:35 pm

Wow. I've been on a non-sport card buying binge lately.

Pick up some neat stuff for a dollar plus shipping for a base set.

I need to dig up my camera.

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:36 pm

Chiclo wrote:Wow. I've been on a non-sport card buying binge lately.

Pick up some neat stuff for a dollar plus shipping for a base set.

I need to dig up my camera.

Go for it!!

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:31 pm

Chiclo wrote:Wow. I've been on a non-sport card buying binge lately.

Pick up some neat stuff for a dollar plus shipping for a base set.

I need to dig up my camera.

Are there any cards in particular you are looking for? I have a little N-S collection that I am gonna move out soon... mostly Marvel stuff, some DC (Batman & Superman) and others.....

-slym

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:34 pm

IMJ - any idea why it's the '95 & '96 cards that are so expensive? What about the first three sets??? I have those and was going to put them on eBay soon, but if they aren't worth a darn, I will save my fees.

-slym

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:24 pm

very cool

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:32 am

slym2none wrote:
Chiclo wrote:Wow. I've been on a non-sport card buying binge lately.

Pick up some neat stuff for a dollar plus shipping for a base set.

I need to dig up my camera.
Are there any cards in particular you are looking for? I have a little N-S collection that I am gonna move out soon... mostly Marvel stuff, some DC (Batman & Superman) and others.....

-slym

What sets are you thinking about getting rid of? I used to have lots of complete Marvel sets when I was younger, but I think I might have only 1 left now.

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:44 am

slym2none wrote:IMJ - any idea why it's the '95 & '96 cards that are so expensive? What about the first three sets??? I have those and was going to put them on eBay soon, but if they aren't worth a darn, I will save my fees.

-slym

Here's a breakdown of what I've seen of the market with some thoughts on each Masterpieces set:

'92 - This was the first one so it's always going to be a fan-favorite. The basic set is still somewhat desirable, but the chromium insert cards for this set are still actually pretty pricey and I think were actually somewhat short packed when released. The promo cards (both Prototypes and Promos) are also somewhat scarce commodities (some more than others - the Wolverine Promo or any of the Prototype cards for example) and the really desirable cards are the mini expansion set found only in the limited MM Tin set (which I have a member here to thanks for having now).

'93 - This set is a bit of a letdown for me. It's a clean card set by most standards, but by Marvel Masterpieces standards it's a bit sub-par with some weird artwork and odd character choices. You can still pick this set up pretty cheap, and the foil-etched chase cards won't set you back too much. The promos for this set are tough to compile completely though. This set didn't suffer overproduction as much as the next one though...

'94 - This might be the best looking Masterpieces set, but they were overproduced like crazy and were clearly the sales zenith for the Masterpieces cards (you can tell from how cheap the sets are everywhere and how many unopened boxes are still floating around for sale pretty cheap). However, the parallel Gold Signature set is a great investment and takes a while to build. Each Gold Sig card was only one per pack and there was a card to parallel each card from the regular set. You can find the standard '97 set dirt cheap, but the Gold Sig set is what most collectors are trying to build. The chase cards were pretty neat and also had parallels (standard, Bronze) as well. As a whole, this is my favorite Masterpieces set because of the artwork, layout and size between the standard set and parallels.

'95 - This is when Masterpieces began a smaller distribution. The market in general had crashed for comics and I'm surprised that this and the '96 set were even produced. A complete '95 set will almost always set you back at least 50 - 75 bucks, but I've actually seen nice sets sell for 550 bucks in the past on eBay during seller droughts and what were probably multi-national bidding wars. The standard set probably had a low print run due to lower orders for the cards, so I can only imagine how scarce the E-Motions parallel set are ($550 on the bay). The artwork is so-so, with some really awkward paintings of the same characters over and over. It's still a fun set to put together though because of how scarce it is. The chase cards are also plentiful in this set and pretty scarce. The canvas chase set was a terrific idea and I think it's one of the coolest insert sets I've ever seen. The Mirage chase set cards are stated as being the toughest pack pulled cards of any year (per Allender's House of Checklists) and might cost you several hundred dollars apiece!

'96 - this is sort of the pinnacle of a Masterpieces collector’s collection. This set sells for ludicrous amounts of money (I've seen them sell on the bay for between 700 and 1500 bucks - a spread that I can't explain beyond bidding wars). Each card of the standard set sells for several dollars each because they are apparently so scarce. I'd say the art for these was somewhat awkward and only so-so, but the set retains its value because of how low the print runs were rather than the quality of card. The chase cards are just as a pain to find and pay for as the '95 sets chase cards. There was a Gold Border insert set of I think 6 cards that sells for between 75 and 150 bucks on the bay (another wild variance, but I've seen it) and the rest of the chase cards for this set are so scarce that I have a hard time even finding them online from time to time. The double impact set alone sometimes can cost as much as the regular set (6 cards for 600 or so bucks?!). I concede to the fact that this is (and should be) a pricey set, but I also think that there is some urban legend stuff going on that has inflated prices on it beyond what they should be to where they are now. I won't believe otherwise until I see some print run data on the '96 Masterpieces set.

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:12 pm

Thanks for the phenomenal post, IMJ!!!

-slym

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:15 pm

Chiclo wrote: What sets are you thinking about getting rid of? I used to have lots of complete Marvel sets when I was younger, but I think I might have only 1 left now.

Well, the sets and chase cards will probably go up on eBay - I should have been clearer in my original post, I meant to say are there any single cards you need to complete a set you are working on, or maybe are interested in some incomplete sets?

I'll make list of what I have, OWOTO.

-slym

JustCallMeAric · Post by **JustCallMeAric** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:45 pm

I'll try to post some of my t-206 and vintage baseball cards when I get a chance.

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:38 pm

JustCallMeAric wrote:I'll try to post some of my t-206 and vintage baseball cards when I get a chance.

Oh man, vintage Baseball cards. Don't even get me started on those again, lol! I should put up some pix of my Mantle's, Schmidts and Billy Williams collections...

JustCallMeAric · Post by **JustCallMeAric** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:45 am

IMJ wrote:
JustCallMeAric wrote:I'll try to post some of my t-206 and vintage baseball cards when I get a chance.
Oh man, vintage Baseball cards. Don't even get me started on those again, lol! I should put up some pix of my Mantle's, Schmidts and Billy Williams collections...

I don't have a whole lot of vintage cards but I think they are pretty cool. I am trying to get at least one card of every player in the 1st HOF class. Right now I have a banged up Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson (neither are from any of the premier sets).

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:39 am

If a quick scan of eBay is any indication, it seems that Topps has reprinted a lot of their old cards in recent years. I even saw an official Topps reprint of one of the authentic Mantle's that I've got.

Definitely not happy about that one.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:13 pm

very sweet stuff

vikingspawn · Post by **vikingspawn** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:10 pm

That's an impressive Indiana Jones collection up there!

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:37 pm

This is the stuff I have - it fits on one large (4-row) box with room to spare.

I didn't have as much as I thought!

•MTV's Beavis & Butt-Head - 150 cards, 6 of 10 "Scratch 'N Sniff" cards (#s 3-8)
•1992 comic Images Wolverine "From Then 'Til Now" - 90 cards, Prism cards #s P3, P4, P5, P6
•Skybox Batman "Saga Of The Dark Knight" - 100 cards, Foil Chase B2
•1992 X-Men series 1 - 100 cards, all 5 holograms
•1993 X-Men series 2 - 100 cards, all 9 gold foils, holos H1, H2, & H3, "Comic Book Collector" promo card, 3-D holo #H-X
•"Death Of Superman" - 100 cards, promo "Ø Ø Ø", F1 foil, S1 & S3 "spectra-etch"
•1994 Marvel Masterpieces - 140 cards, all 10 Holofoil, all 9 Power Blasts
•1994 Flair Marvel, 150 premium cards, all 18 Power Blasts
•1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men "Chrome" - 110 cards, 2x #29 Gold Signatures, Alternate X #s 3,5,6,7,9-14,17,20, Lethal Weapons 1-4 of 9
•1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men - 150 cards, all 10 Suspended Animation, Sinister Observation #s 1,3,6,7,9,10, all 9 Hunters/Stalkers

I have never seen the "gold signature" cards for the '94 Marvel Masterpiece cards, and I bought mine straight from my LCS. There is an X-Men set with gold sigs...

I also have dupes/singles of the Upper Deck/Pyramid VALIANT cards, Unity cards, the Death Of Supermans, '94 Fleer Ultra X-Men, '94 Fleer Marvel Spider-Man, the Comic Images Wolverines, Beavis&Butt-Heads, and the Batman cards.

Are there any good online price guides for cards? The only thing I find is extremely outdated or is just somebody selling.

-slym

vikingspawn · Post by **vikingspawn** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:51 pm

Anybody ever collected Groo cards?

Been looking for regular singles to complete my sets....

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:29 pm

the death of superman stuff is great

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:41 pm

superman-prime wrote:the death of superman stuff is great

Wanna buy 'em? They are going up on eBay soon. Unfortunately, they aren't "worth" all that much. The Batman stuff is even worse... I'll be lucky to sell the set + one chase card for a buck.....

-slym

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:48 pm

pm me what all you got for both and ill check it out

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:48 pm

superman-prime wrote:the death of superman stuff is great

The chase cards were pretty cool. Almost rival Marvel Masterpiece cards.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:50 pm

i got the first masterpiece set with chase a while back for 5 bones i think

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:53 pm

superman-prime wrote:pm me what all you got for both and ill check it out

What I have is listed out in the post a few above here... and like I said in the other post, they are going on eBay so HOPEFULLY I will get FMV for them. Unfortunately, the FMV for Batman sets is about a dollar, and the same for each of the foils cards. The Superman cards sell for $5-9 for a basic set with the spectra-etch cards going for around $3 each and the foil "S" badge card for $6-9 each.

I only hope I can get that much for those!

-slym

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:06 pm

IMJ that was a cool post to read.

Is there some site where I can see pics of these cards?