What are these Millhouse Legends Cards?

[ajw]

Anyone? Are they legit? I see an auction of my player, but I've never heard of them.

 

[gracecollector]

Custom made cards, not issued by a major manufacturer. Some people call them art cards, or fantasy cards. Won't be recognized by Beckett.

 

[clarkfan]

Andrew: I've bought a few from him. Definitely custom, but I think he does a pretty good job with them. For the low cost, I think they are alright. He did a little overkill with them, making "new" ones every few days it seemed like. I would have liked to see him do sets here and there and not so regularly and not flood the market.

 

[cgilmo]

links?

 

[ajw]

Thanks, guys. I've always been really interested in the late 80s and early 90s Broder-style cards. They're just fascinating and I remember when they started to pop up at card shows. The modern version hold no interest to me, though. I'm not really sure I can explain my differing reaction.

Here's a link and the auction image:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WILL-CLARK-Millhouse-Legends-Tobacco-Cards-3x-Lot-D-3-San-Francisco-Giants-/151236303206?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item233662d966

 

[ronfromfresno]

To me these are nice looking cards but they differ wildly from the late 80's Broder cards in a very significant way, they lack original photography. By re-purposing old Topps, Upper Deck, Donruss and Fleer images the cards become rips offs of the originals, not original in their own right.

 

[gracecollector]

To me these are nice looking cards but they differ wildly from the late 80's Broder cards in a very significant way, they lack original photography. By re-purposing old Topps, Upper Deck, Donruss and Fleer images the cards become rips offs of the originals, not original in their own right.

To me the major difference is that the Broder cards were sold as sets in card stores. They weren't made individually to sell online with serial numbering under 10.

 

[ajw]

To me the major difference is that the Broder cards were sold as sets in card stores. They weren't made individually to sell online with serial numbering under 10.

I recall seeing them as singles on dealer tables at card shows. I have a very distinct memory of stacks of cards, arranged by player, for like fifty cents a piece. I actually think both types of cards are representative of their eras. The Broder cards came as the card show industry was booming and there were relatively few cards for any single player issued each year. So, Broder (and others) created supply where there was demand. On the other hand, the Millhouse (and other similar cards) are sold on eBay to a collecting public that may be uneducated about the current issues and unfamiliar with what is authorized or not. On some level, these cards are similar to the brands that don't have and MLB license and thus can't use MLB logos. (of course, I assume Millhouse has no license and is thus violating both MLB and MLBPA licensing rights.)

For some reason, the current type seems a little dirtier. It's as though they are trying to prey on collectors that are used to seeing cards that look unfamiliar and are limited in number. I doubt Broder cards were deceiving anyone - they were cool cards with cool photos (as Ron noted) and sold on the cheap.

 

[VizquelCollector.com]

There have been a bunch of variations of these. To me they look like junk since it's usually the same picture recycled onto a new card, using different colors and fonts.

Also, there are a handful of sellers that sell these. Seems like it could be the same guy using different accounts.

Don't get me wrong, I would buy a nicely done custom but to me these are not good.

 

[Brewer Andy]

Agree that he (if it's one seller) has WAY over done it. I think he'd do better (or anyone with skills, Hell Id buy a 200lb "fantasy" card right now) by limiting the production, and selling far fewer per player