Griffey Collector's Thread

[deadman31]

Yes, I have one. Unfortunately, these 'oddball'/regional cards don't get the love they deserve and are often far more rare then pack released/name brand product. They were limited to 125 which were only available to certain executives in the business. There were 3 different versions of this card: Gold (being the more common /2500), the silver at /250 and then the copper at /125 or less. Hope that helps!

I'll always be a 'Kid'...like THE 'KID'!

Thanks for the help. I am a semi retired Griffey collector. Every couple of years I like to come out of the woodwork and pickup some stuff I missed(alot). I have one that I recently picked up from comc thru amazon
the description reads

Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball Card) 1987 Mother's Cookies Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium Giveaway [Base] #KEGR

http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r528/deadman31/11bhf4cbcxL.jpg


its really tiny with nothing on the back. you can barely see it with the naked eye.

anyone have ideas?

 

[clarkfan]

Thanks for the help. I am a semi retired Griffey collector. Every couple of years I like to come out of the woodwork and pickup some stuff I missed(alot). I have one that I recently picked up from comc thru amazon
the description reads

Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball Card) 1987 Mother's Cookies Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium Giveaway [Base] #KEGR



http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r528/deadman31/11bhf4cbcxL.jpg


its really tiny with nothing on the back. you can barely see it with the naked eye.

anyone have ideas?

I think the card (or sticker actually) in the picture is the 1990 Publications International Sticker. The description of Mother's Cookies is inaccurate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Uncut-S...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[Hawk8]

has anyone even seen a gold version of this card? i havnt seen any pulled.

Love seeing stuff like this. I have only seen 2 Dawson Golds and I grabbed the first one, haven't seen the Dawson black

 

[deadman31]

I think the card (or sticker actually) in the picture is the 1990 Publications International Sticker. The description of Mother's Cookies is inaccurate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Uncut-Sealed-1990-Publications-International-Stickers-Griffey-Jr-Maddux-/161276464596?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item258cd38dd4&nma=true&si=EkvMWoQGdClsgvCb66OIR2qioZ8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

awesome. Thanks. I knew the description made no sense.

 

[Sevilst]

Oh man - I really hope that Griffey collectors are buying these for their PC's and not as an investment

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-E-X200...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

1:288

This card is also 1:288 Why the price difference?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201094872811?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648


If the Cut Above insert was numbered it would probably be close to /750 maybe even higher. So why the price drive in this insert card? We all have one. This isn't a >/100 rare card that only a few can snag.

Looking for some input on this as I'm a bit puzzled.

 

[tidel144]

Oh man - I really hope that Griffey collectors are buying these for their PC's and not as an investment

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-E-X2000-A-Cut-Above-2-Ken-Griffey-Jr-RARE-/201096961920?pt=US_Football&hash=item2ed2501f80&nma=true&si=oKBKrFxF%2BWkmOO7yFyKTJC6%2Fqe4%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

1:288

This card is also 1:288 Why the price difference?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201094872811?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648


If the Cut Above insert was numbered it would probably be close to /750 maybe even higher. So why the price drive in this insert card? We all have one. This isn't a >/100 rare card that only a few can snag.

Looking for some input on this as I'm a bit puzzled.

It sounds so simple and even terse, but my guess is GC's being GC's - Griffey collectors being Griffey collectors. There seems to be no method to the madness; his 90s stuff is on fire right now, but has generally seen a steady increase in price for the past 6-8 months; adding to the complexity is the stark contrast of certain cards' end prices (e.g. '96 Hitting Machine Gold Medallion, '96 Thunderclap Gold Medallion, Flair Legacies). It's reached a point to where now I'm not surprised by any sale price (eBay or offline) of his rare cards in this era.

Whether it's a new influx of Griffey PC collectors, Griffey investors, 90s insert/parallel collectors, set collectors, or the increased demand for certain inserts/parallels, one of the only conclusions I feel safe drawing is that these pre-2000 high-end cards will only continue to rise in cost/value as time goes on. I also believe the post-2000 auto/game-used saturation, artificial scarcity, and lack of card design creativity (especially in the past few years) has contributed to a rejuvenated interest in the 90s insert/parallel market recently. But that's for another conversation.

Get those wallets ready!

 

[Sevilst]

@tidel144

Well said, thank you for the input.

In regards to that Ultra Gold Med hitting machines insert - I still believe that is the rarest Griffey Insert (per pack pull ration) in existence. I brought it up a few pages back but I believe it's 1:2880

Here's a little article about it.

Not sure how mass produced Ultra was but there can't be THAT many of these out there at those odds.

http://www.radicards.com/reviews/1996-ultra-hitting-machine-gold-medallion-baseball-cards

There are a few cards that I look at in my PC and never thought much at the time of pick-up besides "Awesome got another Griffey." Now though, some of those that I picked up say 5 years ago would be nearly impossible to find, or would be a pretty penny to add to my PC.

It is nice to see Griffey's stuff climbing up to what Jordan 90's inserts go for. I mean seriously, if Griffey isn't the damn near greatest ball player we've ever seen I don't know who is! Hitting, fielding, personality, no steroids.

 

[goobmcnasty]

@tidel144

Well said, thank you for the input.

In regards to that Ultra Gold Med hitting machines insert - I still believe that is the rarest Griffey Insert (per pack pull ration) in existence. I brought it up a few pages back but I believe it's 1:2880

Here's a little article about it.

Not sure how mass produced Ultra was but there can't be THAT many of these out there at those odds.

http://www.radicards.com/reviews/1996-ultra-hitting-machine-gold-medallion-baseball-cards

There are a few cards that I look at in my PC and never thought much at the time of pick-up besides "Awesome got another Griffey." Now though, some of those that I picked up say 5 years ago would be nearly impossible to find, or would be a pretty penny to add to my PC.

It is nice to see Griffey's stuff climbing up to what Jordan 90's inserts go for. I mean seriously, if Griffey isn't the damn near greatest ball player we've ever seen I don't know who is! Hitting, fielding, personality, no steroids.

A few things based on my observation:

After a long hiatus, I have been buying Griffey inserts pretty heavily for the past 8 months or so. I am not a rich man, so I have a budget, a ceiling, a limit, etc, so it's not like I'm a BY-ANY-MEANS-NECESSARY type of buyer.

Recently (the past month or two mostly) there have been 2-3 Griffey buyers that are paying RIDICULOUS prices from some of the tougher Griffey inserts. Once two of them have the card, the prices drop back down to normal (because there is nobody else to drive the price to ridiculous prices.) This explains the huge price differences ($50 for a 96 Hitting Machine Gold Medallion vs. $350 Hitting Machine Gold Medallion.) Even though the ridiculous prices are real [and not shilled] they AREN'T real [as far as a determination of current consistent market value.]

You also have to take into consideration "copy-cat bidders." For example, The $100 Cut Above sells for $550 in a legitimate auction. A copy-cat bidder will pay $400 for it in another auction, thinking he can make a quick $150 flipping it... which I still don't consider a legitimate determination of the current market either. The general population of collectors will not pay $550 for this card, so in a few fluke auctions it may fetch that, but in my opinion, is not WORTH that.

As far as the Gold Medallion Hitting Machines: In 1996, these were the perhaps TOUGHEST insert cards of all time to pull. Extremely TOUGH. But there is a huge difference between TOUGH and RARE. TOUGH implies that if buying packs/boxes/cases, you'll have to spend tens of thousands to pull one. RARE implies not many of them were printed. So even though the Hitting Machines were impossibly tough to pull, given the print runs of the mass-produced 96 Ultra set, they aren't as rare as you'd think. I don't have exact numbers, but there are a lot more Gold Medallion hitting machines out there than you might think. They pop up WAY too often to be considered RARE.

I'm going to stop right there to ask if I am making any sense.

 

[Sevilst]

^ That was crystal clear, thank you.


Do you believe there is a possibility that some were not aware how "tough" the Ultra GM were? And perhaps they just got overlooked in collections because they were not numbered?

 

[clarkfan]

But there is a huge difference between TOUGH and RARE. TOUGH implies that if buying packs/boxes/cases, you'll have to spend tens of thousands to pull one. RARE implies not many of them were printed.

I agree 100%. I have seen lots of cards I would consider tough to find, but not rare. Gold Medallions for Clark were difficult to knock completely off my need list but still obtainable. Some (for me) were harder than others (Thunderclap Gold Medallion, even the On Base Leader Gold Medallion), but I never really worried about finding them. I knew they were out there and not that rare. Compared to other inserts of their era though, they can be underrated in value. By 1996 or 1997, when the companies truly starting making rare cards (mostly the parallels), that's when the GM's seemed to get overlooked, b/c before the truly rare ones hit, the difficult cards like 1991 Donruss Elite's or these GM's became pretty common.

In Griffey's case, that doesn't mean they won't be worth a lot of money. Take the Thomas 1990 Topps NNOF. I wouldn't call that card rare at all. There are usually multiples of them any given time you search on ebay and definitely on ebay sold, so maybe tough or difficult, but not rare. It's just expensive. It always sells for way way more than most Thomas cards do b/c of the hype & story. I think as hot as Griffey cards have become, there will always be significant value in the GM's just don't invest in them thinking they will always command these current premiums they have.

 

[tidel144]

A few things based on my observation:

After a long hiatus, I have been buying Griffey inserts pretty heavily for the past 8 months or so. I am not a rich man, so I have a budget, a ceiling, a limit, etc, so it's not like I'm a BY-ANY-MEANS-NECESSARY type of buyer.

Recently (the past month or two mostly) there have been 2-3 Griffey buyers that are paying RIDICULOUS prices from some of the tougher Griffey inserts. Once two of them have the card, the prices drop back down to normal (because there is nobody else to drive the price to ridiculous prices.) This explains the huge price differences ($50 for a 96 Hitting Machine Gold Medallion vs. $350 Hitting Machine Gold Medallion.) Even though the ridiculous prices are real [and not shilled] they AREN'T real [as far as a determination of current consistent market value.]

You also have to take into consideration "copy-cat bidders." For example, The $100 Cut Above sells for $550 in a legitimate auction. A copy-cat bidder will pay $400 for it in another auction, thinking he can make a quick $150 flipping it... which I still don't consider a legitimate determination of the current market either. The general population of collectors will not pay $550 for this card, so in a few fluke auctions it may fetch that, but in my opinion, is not WORTH that.

As far as the Gold Medallion Hitting Machines: In 1996, these were the perhaps TOUGHEST insert cards of all time to pull. Extremely TOUGH. But there is a huge difference between TOUGH and RARE. TOUGH implies that if buying packs/boxes/cases, you'll have to spend tens of thousands to pull one. RARE implies not many of them were printed. So even though the Hitting Machines were impossibly tough to pull, given the print runs of the mass-produced 96 Ultra set, they aren't as rare as you'd think. I don't have exact numbers, but there are a lot more Gold Medallion hitting machines out there than you might think. They pop up WAY too often to be considered RARE.

I'm going to stop right there to ask if I am making any sense.

Goob, I agree with your observations - collectors with deep pockets or flippers always shake the market for a short time; another potential explanation are the environmental factors (e.g., Griffey's potential HOF induction next summer). Eventually values will eventually stabilize (whenever that may be), but it seems as though things will settle at higher values. Great explanation on the difference between "tough" and "rare" as well.

Sevilst - I believe the 2000 UD Game Jersey Patches were 1:10,000 packs. And to the points you and clarkfan brought up - unnumbered cards do go overlooked because they aren't numbered and certain cards definitely sell for more than others due to hype/story. For example, the '98 Donruss Limited Star Factor Limited Exposure (#19) was stated to have had less than 40 sets produced (I remember reading a previous post where a board member spoke with a Donruss representative while waiting for a damage replacement and the rep said the print run was 38). This card is not numbered and it doesn't command nearly as much as a '98 PMG /50 probably due to a myriad of reasons revolving around serial numbers, popularity of the PMG set in general, etc. Strip away everything but the print run and asethetics (both cards look so nice in-hand) and you have two cards with a print run less than 50; however, add back in all the factors and I would bet the PMG would sell for substantially more. But that's the fun of the hobby - some cards carry an aura with them (i.e., Red Crusade /25), thus creating a following and have a premium attached, while other cards with the same print run (i.e., Finest Team Gold Refractor /25) apparently do not.

 

[Jack Straw]

Just picked up the "full ball" version of this card. Seems like I have been looking for it for 10 years?
Obviously I have not looked at every one but this is tough! Would love the base and promo too..

 

[Juan Gris]

Just picked up the "full ball" version of this card. Seems like I have been looking for it for 10 years?
Obviously I have not looked at every one but this is tough! Would love the base and promo too..
View attachment 35873

What is the story behind this card? I remember owning one of these when they came out.

 

[Jack Straw]

What is the story behind this card? I remember owning one of these when they came out.

No story that I know of just a different cut. I always look for it but never have seen one with the whole ball
showing. Probably no extra value just a cool variation I guess.

 

[num1jrfan]

doesnt some one here have all the reast of there tribute plates? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360946177542&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

[goobmcnasty]

No story that I know of just a different cut. I always look for it but never have seen one with the whole ball
showing. Probably no extra value just a cool variation I guess.

So wouldn't this just be a really off-center version of the card?

 

[Joey_peapod]

Just like current cards, a /25 bowman chrome carries a different value than a /25 topps finest or topps chrome. It's no different throughout the 90s. EX was more expensive than Ultra, and thus the marqee of the cut above would bring more value than the Gold Medallions. It's more like 5-6 sellers that are paying these higher than normal prices. I got paid on my cut above, I know Thomas got paid on the crazy prices he got on some auctions. I'm not justifying $555, but since I started back collections in 2011, over half the cards I sold originally doubled in value.

Same me thing with the gold starquest. There are /100, but across how much product? They are still
printing collectors choice! I agree unnumbered supposed short print cards def get hurt in value. Just read the article on baseballcardpedia about 97 certified. It went through 5 printings!

 

[Jack Straw]

So wouldn't this just be a really off-center version of the card?

<laughing> Yes but it doesn't have a top or bottom border..

 

[KLARNOLD]

If you get all ball, you lose your grass

<laughing> Yes but it doesn't have a top or bottom border..

 

[Jack Straw]

If you get all ball, you lose your grass

I didn't look at it that way<laughing> ..