Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
This was the last 1963-64 Parkhurst hockey card I bought at The National, and by far the most expensive to date. I have never heard of Alex Faulkner, and had no idea why this card–his rookie card–was selling for upwards of $100. That didn’t make sense to me. He’s not the most famous Red Wing, … Continue reading “1963-64 Parkhurst #42 – Alex Faulkner”
1991-92 Upper Deck cards #647 – Bloodlines: Valery and Pavel Bure When the hockey card market suddenly got crowded in 1990, companies had to find a way to stand out from their competition. Parallels and inserts were not yet commonplace, so card makers resorted to an age-old tactic to make as many cards of the … Continue reading “Bures and the Beach”
Two weeks ago, I asked readers of this blog if they collected graded cards. I also expressed my overall disdain of the whole card grading thing. But earlier this year I sent in two cards to get graded. I figured that I couldn’t really have an opinion in the matter unless I experienced it. Plus, … Continue reading “Making the Grade”
Click to view larger My sister clipped this comic from the newspaper and gave it to me. I think we all can relate to Charlie Brown here. I know I can. Ironically, it was my sister who always got the one card I wanted-needed-had-to-have when we were kids. Whoever was my personal “Joe Shlabotnik” at … Continue reading “Question: Your own personal Joe Shlabotnik”
1974-75 Topps Hockey Scratch-Off Game card If a lottery ticket and a hockey card had a lovechild together, this would be the result: the 1974-75 Topps Hockey Scratch-Off Game card.
Bagged with the new issue of Beckett Hockey Magazine (Issue #221) is a 2010-11 Panini Hockey sticker album. The album has 72 full-color pages and comes with 6 stickers: Jonathan Toews, Henrik Sedin, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby… …P.K Subban and Ryan Miller. Not a bad group of guys to be featured on promotional stickers. While … Continue reading “Free Panini Hockey Sticker Book”
Last month, I went to a card show and learned a lesson–a $20 lesson, to be specific. One of the first tables I perused at the show had some 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee cards for sale. There is something alluring–almost seductive—about the ’72-73 OPC set. It features cards of players from the World Hockey Association. It uses … Continue reading “The $20 Lesson”
Do you consider stickers “Rookie Cards?” Sure, stickers lack the rigidity of their cardboard cousins, though some stickers have stiff backings. Maybe they are not “cards” per say, but why don’t stickers carry the coveted RC designation? Both stickers and cards are printed on paper. Stickers usually don’t have stats, but many old hockey cards … Continue reading “RC, or Not RC…? That is the Question”
I received this eBay purchase in the mail today. Finally, I’ve added a “big card” to my 1957-58 Topps set build. This is Hall of Fame defenseman Pierre Pilote’s rookie card. As you can see, the centering is way off. However, there is no creasing and the corners are good. Plus, I did not pay … Continue reading “1957-58 Topps #22 – Pierre Pilote”
Remember that old commercial where the boy asks Mr. Owl “how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” Well, getting my new issue of Beckett Hockey Magazine, I wondered how many minutes it would take me to read this magazine. In the past, I’ve complained that Beckett … Continue reading “How Many Licks Does It Take?”