These days, it takes a truly unique display to sell a relic card for more than a few bucks. Even Mickey Mantle and other HOF players’ relic cards are not selling for what they used to, and most of it has to do with over-reliance on the relic style program in every single product on the market. After looking up some cards on eBay, I happened to be re-introduced to a set that breaks all the expectations in half when it comes to relic cards.
Back in 1999, Upper Deck released a bat relic set commemorating players that had accomplished a feat that many aspire to. The “A Piece of History” 500 HR club relics included bat chips from Baseball’s titans, and to this day, they still sell for almost 100 times what we could normally expect similar relics to go for.
Here are some of the top names:
1999 Upper Deck Piece of History Babe Ruth Bat Relic
1999 Upper Deck Piece of History Hank Aaron Bat Relic
1999 Upper Deck Piece of History Reggie Jackson Bat Relic
In 1996, the game used jersey card was popularized and within a couple of years, had exploded into many products from all three major companies. 1999 was just 3 years removed from the first mainstream product with relic pieces in cards, but already Upper Deck had a knack for creating some amazing looking cards. Even more than that, they knew that including rarer autographed versions of some cards
would drive collectors crazy.
To this day, I am still in awe of how far ahead of their time these cards were, and I am also extremely shocked by how much they still sell for. Tier One has been celebrated for the Bat Knob cards I have mentioned in a few recent posts, but these cards tend to be on that level with very little unique content to offer. Its not like these are bat barrels or any premium piece of lumber, just a few chips of bat that have evolved into one of the most highly collected baseball sets in the modern era.
The design of the cards is highly reminiscent of the times they are celebrating. Old wood and sepia tones, combined with the ghosted game pictures of the best years of baseball. Its a great look, as it highlights every single part of the card that should be highlighted. Your focus is drawn to the relic piece after taking in the rest of the card, which is very tough to do. I credit the balanced approach with the two pictures and the signature at the bottom of the card.
Sometimes, it takes a perfect storm to make certain non-believers take notice, me being one of them, and this type of card is something that has been missing across all three sports. Card companies have become complacent, relying on the same tricks over and over and over again, and collectors have grown entirely bored with the results. Its why you can get Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb and other big names for next to nothing these days.
I have always given feedback that celebration of the game’s true milestones need to be at the forefront of more products, and with 300 wins and 3000 hits still on the table for a set like this, Topps should take notice. I sincerely hope there is something new and innovative that comes quickly, because in the near future, relic cards wont outsell the base cards from a set. Talk about a scary situation.
The reason memorabilia cards sell for virtually nothing is due to several factors:
1) Oversupply
2) Lack of PROVABLE authenticity
These days, there is so much unethical and fraudulent behavior in the hobby, that people have little faith that the memorabilia inserted in cards in authentic. Not only is it impossible to prove that a given piece of memorabilia came from the player it is attributed to, but it is also impossible to prove that a given piece of memorabilia was actually used in a game.
After all, every jersey from a given year & team look and are alike…meaning that the jersey of a star looks exactly the same as the jersey of the last guy on the bench.
I think jumbo pieces of game used gloves would be hot. Give me glove pieces from multi gold glove winners…
Already mentioned above, I own only a handful of certain jersey cards due to lack of proof of authenticity. Only a fool would believe that all these swatches are legit these days.
Back on topic, yep… the older late 90’s/early 00’s sets are where it’s at. I know I’ve mentioned numerous times how I am building a bunch of the UD legends auto sets, etc. This is why. Design and concept. Beautifully designed cards with a purpose. Now, companies just try to out gimmick each other instead of actually getting content into these releases. I couldn’t give a crap about the newest hot hot hot rookie. I want HOFers and stars autographs, on card.
I was set up at a show back in 2000 and one of the other guys decided to break one of the boxes that contained these bat cards in them. The odds were astronomical, if I recall correctly. About halfway through the show, we hear this huge yell from across the room. Yeah… he pulled the Babe Ruth. It was a truely beautiful card. It’s the kind of thing you pass on to your kid. Most of the crap released today is only worthy to be passed on to the garbage can.