Conference school::sports_memorabilia

    
    I've sent in close to 200 winning tickets for the 10 gold cards. 
    Should be interesting to see if they send me all of them.
    
    Matt

    
    	Well, after opening a lot of rack packs, I finally got to
    	find some recognizable gold cards, I found Tom Glavine, Howard
    	Johnson, Jeff Bagwell, and the best one for last...
    
    	Roger Clemens, 
    
    			even though he is not my favorite player, because
    	I think he's a cry baby, he still won the Cy Young award last
    	year, so that card must be worth more than any other regular
    	player. 
    

	I want to clarify my note where I said that Roger Clemens was
	a cry baby.  He is one of many, in my opinion, who make tons
	of money, and whine and complain when things don't go his
	way, or shoot off their mouth saying the wrong thing, and
	get in trouble with the media and the public.  

	I don't thin they are worth the ridiculously high price the
	clubs pay for them, but they bring in the people into the
	stadiums, and that's why the owners think it's worth it.

	My favorite player is Nolan Ryan, he's sure to go into the
	Hall of Fame, sure he makes a lot of money, but you never
	saw him get into an argument with an umpire, or complain
	when things don't go his way.  I'm not defending the umpires,
	I hate them when they blow a call, but you don't see Ryan
	complain, he takes it like a man, not like a cry baby, and
	there are many high priced cry babies out there that should
	be grateful to be paid that much money for playing baseball,
	and should keep their big mouths shut and take it like a man.

	That's what I meant by that remark I made...

	Just my opinion...   KILL THAT UMPIRE !!!

				Juan

    
    This has not been confirmed by anyone else, but...
    
    One dealer told me he sent in 25 winning tickets and got 20 returned
    with a note saying "5 max per household".
    
    jeff
    

    
    The latest Topps Magazine had a blurb on this, and it said that you
    can send all your winning tickets in one "mailing".
    
    -rjk

    I don't believe it...the game cards say nothing about a 'max per
    family', or household, or anything else. The only restriction is that
    "Prize claims valued at $20 or more must be mailed Certified Mail,
    Return Receipt Requested...". 
     
    Since Topps has assessed an "Approximate Retail Value" of $4 per Gold
    pack, that would mean you could send no more than 4 winning cards per
    envelope. ( or...400 runs and a check for $8 )
    
    i'mhavingfunwiththisone,
    dennis
    

    This topic came up at a show last night.  One dealer had thousands
    (yes I said Thousands) of gold cards.  This guy buys 50 vendor cases
    every year and farms them out for set making and makes a nice living.
    This year Topps put 5 gold cards in every vendor box 5x24X50=6000
    Gold Cards.  He made as many sets as he could (6) and sold them
    for 450 each and sold the remainder at .25 per card.  The money from
    the gold cards covered 30% of his upfront cost for the 50 cases;
    consequently increasing his profit by 3000.00.
    
    only in America.
    
    He also indicated that a friend of his in Florida returned 48,000
    claims for Gold Cards to Topps.
    
    Seems to me that there will be lots of these around.
    
    MJK  

    
    But isn't there a difference between the claimed vs. the golds you
    might get in a pack?  (the former has "winner" stamp on them in gold
    while the later does not)  Seems to me the golds without "winner" are
    the only ones "worth" anything and there will be much less of those
    around than the "winner" golds.  And didn't I see "winner" sets
    advertised in SCD for something like $90-$100?  Whereas a real gold
    set costs a dealer $350 from Topps, retails as Mike reported for $450.
    
    I just hope people don't get suckered into paying non-"winner" gold
    prices for the "winner" cards from some joker who mailed in 48K of
    them.
    
    jeff
    

    Boy, am I confused. 
    
    Gold Cards with "Winner's stamps" and Gold Cards w/o "Winner stamps."  
    
    These companies keep this up and they will end up turning off a olot of
    people, but it's getting too confusing to keep track of...
    
    And just think, most people don't have notes files to share this kind
    of information!!
    
    Regards,
    Denny

	I just stay away from junk like this....8^)

Article 7736 of clari.sports.top:
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.sports.misc,clari.sports.top
Message-id: <brillU2FK1210pe@clarinet.com>
Subject: Sports Collectors Guide
Keywords: misc sports
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 92 9:09:22 PST
ACategory: sports
Slugword: brill
Priority: major
Format: regular
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Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com
Codes: ysz.rxx.

                        Brill-iant Ideas:
	
                           By BOB BRILL
                    United Press International
	After a poor showing with its 1991 40th Anniversy Baseball Card set,
Topps moved back to the forefront with its Stadium Club Series. Stadium
Club was a tremendous success and forced others to follow Topps' lead.
Even though it unveiled a top notch regular issue in 1992, Topps has
again hit a snag. 
	For the first time, Topps stopped putting gum in its packs. Quite a
move considering in the 1950s Topps put cards in packs to sell its gum.
The insert this year is a scratch-off game. Match three winners and get
a pack of Special Edition Gold Cards or a larger prize.
	However, dealers discovered by backlighting the game card they could
read the winning combinations. The problem was due to poor silk
screening and has since been corrected. Topps has received thousands of
winning entrys.
	Spitball Sportscards bought a full page ad in Sports Collectors
Digest, selling Gold Card packs for $3, wax boxes for $99 and sets at
$325. The cards are stamped ``Winner.'' The ``Winner'' cards are given
in return for the game cards and differ slightly from Gold Cards
randomly inserted into packs.
	``To keep the integrity of the game and to honor our consumers who
did it the honest way, we we will redeem all winners,'' said Topps
spokesman Bob Ibach. ``It was only the first week's worth of printing so
it wasn't a substantial number.''
	Topps never releases numbers, and hundreds of thousands of cases
could have been shipped. You should know if you send in a substantial
number of ``Winner'' cards your winnings will be reported to the IRS as
income. 
	ULTRA: Fleer introduced Tony Gwynn as its addition into the autograph
field. Gwynn signed 2,000 cards inserted into packs of Fleer Ultra. The
1992 Ultra cards are much improved over the premier edition. The broad
borders are gone and an attractive marble-like lower border has been
added. The card backs are much nicer and more colorful.
	UPDATES: For the first time, Fleer will have a basketball update in
wax packs. Denver's Dikembe Mutombo and Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins
autographed cards for the series. ``Update sets have a purpose and Fleer
is very committed to growing in this business,'' said Paul Mullan, Fleer
CEO.
	SIGNERS: Score has added AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch to its
cast of signers. In an unusal move he signed 3,000 1990 Score Draft Pick
cards placed in 1992 Series 2 packs. Knoblauch joins Stan Musial, Mickey
Mantle and Carl Yastrzemski in Score's signing stable.
	RACING: Jerry Bailey receives the George Woolf Memorial Award this
weekend at Santa Anita. The award honors the jockey who was killed in a
spill five decades ago. Horse Star Cards will be on hand to unveil its
Woolf Awards set.
	PRO SET CUTBACK: Insiders at Pro Set say they will limit future
product. With the success of the revived Parkhurst Hockey line, Pro Set
is considering limiting its regular product, too.
	WHAT'S WRONG HERE: The latest in sports comedy cards are The Baseball
Enquirer from Confex. These cards are in poor taste. Not licensed by any
professional league, they are caricatures of players. On the back is a
mock interview. No names are used. The Cecil Fielder card features him
stuffing his face and an interview on obesity. The Ozzie Smith card has
the St. Louis shortstop wearing a neck brace and talking about his
famous flip. Pro Set had a parody card set planned as well. The Flopps
Series however was cut short when Pro Set received negative feedback
from players.
	GO WEST: Upper Deck will announce its new Jerry West basketball
subset this week in Los Angeles.
	HOLOGRAM BRIEFS: Pro Set inserted 10,000 holograms in NHL Series 2
packs. The inserts depict the league's 75th anniversary logo. SilverStar
has received a license. ``We are especially pleased the Players
Association has recognized the significance of hologram trading cards as
the wave of the future,'' said SilverStar President Hal Dubois. They are
outstanding and come with a numbered ticket of authenticity. Highlighted
are Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Dave Justice.
	TRUTH IN PHRASING: Steve Howe's 1992 Score card No. 275 doesn't tell
the whole truth. It reads he missed three years in the major leagues
because of a ``personal problem.'' Howe has been a frequent violator of
the game's drug policies. There are cards telling kids to stay off drugs
and it seemed understated to say Howe had a ``personal problem.'' Score
blames the licensing agencies. ``We were asked to phrase Howe's card in
that manner at the request of the Players Association,'' said Dean
Golembeski, Score's public relations director. Anne Goldman of NBA
Properties echos the sentiment of the Players Association, adding they
too want to present players in a positive way.
	Q & A: HOT KINGS
	``Donruss 1992 Diamond Kings are hot, but I have purchased several
packs from dealers and not gotten one DK. Do dealers know something we
don't?''
	D. Luisi, Sylmar, California.
 
	Donruss 1 boxes contain four stacks of nine. Series 1 DK's are
generally on the same level. If the pack with the DK is the fourth from
the top in row one, it will likely be fourth from the top in every stack
in that box. Jon Starke of Leaf/Donruss says the DK's were machine
collated. That situation has been corrected for Series 2. ``If there is
a scheme out there somebody's going to figure it out,'' Starke said.
 
	Readers can address their questions to Bob Brill, Brill-iant Ideas,
P.O. Box 807, San Fernando, Calif. 91340.
 
	Go to a show today, and have fun with your hobby.

    
    
    Well I finally received some of my free gold cards in the mail.  They
    came individually wrapped 10 in a pack.  Each pack in a small card
    board little box.  Total so far they sent me is 110 gold cards.  I'm
    pretty sure I sent them even more so will see what happens.  These
    cards look a little different then the ones I found in the regular wax
    boxes.  These are in gold but have the word WINNER in gold in the lower
    right corner ?  
    
    MF-

    I also got my first pack of 10 last night in the mail.  Notables
    in the pack included Strawberry, the Salkeld rookie card (the one with
    four players on one card) and best of all, card #1....Ryan!
    
    PM

    Yep, I got my first pack yesterday as well. I'll wait for a couple more
    to come in before the kids open them. It won't be long before we'll be
    trading these cards to complete sets.
    I'm still curious to see if the people who sent dozens of winning game
    cards, in one mailing, will get one large shipment of packs.
    
    dennis
    

    That was my question.  I have about 12 of these.  If I send these in
    3 envelopes of 4, will I get them all?
    
    -Walt

    
    
    When I got home last night I received another 10 boxes.  I sent all of
    mine in with 4 winning scratch tickets in individual envelopes.  What
    I'm receiving from topps is only 10 gold cards per box.  So far 20
    boxes in the past two days.  I forgot how many I sent them about 8
    weeks ago.  Still looking for the Nolan's card.
    
    Matt
    

    Those boxed they send the gold cards in are great for sending out
    cards traded or sold with fellow noters.  Recycle these!  Save card-
    board so they can make even more cards.

    I sent in "100 runs" and the 10 cards that I got do not have the
    "winner" stamp on them.  They look just like the ones that come
    in the regular boxes.
    
    Celinda

    
    	RE: -1
    
    	The reason your cards don't have the word "winner"
    	on the cards is that you didn't win them, you paid for them.

    Re .21
    
    What does "100 runs" mean?  
    
    Regards,
    Denny

     
    At the bottom of the scratch ticket that you receive in the new topps
    packages.  It has a home plate with a number on it. You cut this
    portion off and collect enough of these to total 100 runs.  Mail them
    to topps the address is on the back off the scratch tickets and you
    also have to include a check for I  forget the amount I think it was
    1.75 or 2.00 it's also on the card.  You will then receive 10 gold
    cards from Topps.
    
    So far I have received about 300 cards.  I just mailed out another
    15 winning scratch tickets.
    
    MF

    re .-1
    'received about 300 cards'... And are they all "winner" cards?
    

	Are any publications publishing values of both the winner and
	regular gold cards? My son got a Frank Thomas gold among 30 
	regular gold cards from the home runs he sent in. 


	Gary

    
    Re .26:  There have been ads in SCD for the regular gold cards, from
    dealers breaking down the factory sets.  This is the only price info
    I have seen anywhere.  wrt the "winner" cards, well, you could draw
    some reference from the fact that ads in SCD I saw a few weeks ago
    were offering entire gold "winner" sets for $90-$100, compare that
    with regular gold factories for $400+.  You might draw the conclusion 
    that "winner" gold are worth around 25% of regular, although with the
    regular factory you also get an extra signed Brein taylor gold.  Couple
    that with the fact that there are going to be a ton of the "winner"
    golds around given all the "winners" out there and I would say the
    "winner" golds *maybe* worth around 10% of the regular golds.  Of
    course this is just my opinion, the marketplace will sort it out in
    the next few weeks/months.  The Frank Thomas regular might fetch $20
    or more retail, but if you want cash I would sell it quick before
    many more regular golds hit  the shows and shops.  The prices of both
    are going to drop continously over time, as neither have really much
    to them, imho.  Tell your son to keep the Thomas Gold for his
    collection, makes a neat addition to a kid's collection.
    
    jeff
    

    
    Went to a card shop after work today and the dealer had broken
    down two ToppsGold factory sets to sell off as singles.  Thomas
    he sold two quickly for $15 each.  Of course he was bemoaning making
    money, told me he probably was too low as people had told him since
    that they have seen Thomas Gold anywhere up as high as $50.  His rule
    of thumb was 25 * Beckett price for the regular.
    
    jeff
    

    I just rec'd. 2 packs of gold cards,I got a Van Popple and a 
    John Olerud.Are the Non-Winner cards more valuable than the Winner
    cards ?
    
    John M.
    

    
    I would think so John.
    
    John

    
    	To date, I have received well over 500 Topps Gold cards,
    	and I just wanted to point out a few observations,
    	for the most part, they only send you commons, and lots
    	of duplicates.  Of course, among them they send you some
    	stars like Roger Clemens, Rickey Henderson, Nolan Ryan,
    	and quite a few of the Rookie Prospects, but these are in
    	the minority as opposed to the number of commons.  I haven't
    	found all of the Red Sox players yet.
    
    	My point is that they send you a lot of commons, and a lot 
    	of common duplicates, I remember seeing at least 2 or 3 of 
    	Heathcliff Slocumb, The Saint's favorite player, John, if you 
    	want one of him let me know, and I'll send it to you.
    
    	My opinion is that Topps is doing this on purpose because
    	they know that it is easy to find the winner cards by using
    	the light behind it.  I should also mention that I have found
    	some deffective gold cards which have the Winner logo clearly
    	stamped on the card, and at the same time, the gold coating
    	which is supposed to be over the player's name is missing,
    	I have found 3 or 4 cards like that.
    
	I'm not really complaining about this, since they are all free,
    	and I'm happy that I got them, I just wanted to share with you
    	what I have been able to find.  Has anyone else had a similar
    	experience, or is it just me ?.
    

    re -1
    
    I haven't really noticed that you get alot of commons with ToppsGold
    winners. I have gotten back around 700 or so and there seems to be a
    good mix of commons, stars and rookies. Although I have yet to get a
    Brien Taylor. To me it just seems like normal Topps distribution, i.e.
    I'm starting to get alot of doubles. I can better judge when I firgure
    how short of a set I am.
    
    John                     

    Anyone know why Boston McDonald's don't offer cards like others
    in the Northeast?   I know they're out in NYC....
    
    
    Went to Albany and they're selling a McDonald's/Topps Gold Set.
    44 cards, $.99 with an extra value meal, $1.49 with any purchase.
    Nice cards, I got half a set's worth I think... Abbott, Sandberg,
    Thomas, Avery, Fielder, plus some rookies like Klesko, Chito Martinez,
    Karros, Derek Bell....
    
    -Walt

    Anyone have any info on the McDonald's baseball best cards?  Are they
    anywhere in New England?

    This weekend I got another pack of Toppsgold cards (non-winner) and one
    of the cards I got was #532, Mike Huff of the White Sox.  The only
    thing is......the gold card had Red Sox instead of White Sox.  I
    compared it to the regular card, and the regular card does have White
    Sox on it.  
    
    Anybody else notice anything like this on other cards, or maybe someone
    can check their Huff Gold cards to see if they got the same thing?
    
    Pat

    I haven't gotten any of my winner cards yet (sent in about 20)
    I have gotten 3 boxes of gold(From 100 runs) and have only received
    3 dups.

    I finally got some winners back. Out of 2 boxes of 40 I have only 4
    dup's. I also got a Frank Thomas and a Chuck Knoblauch.

    
    I'm interested in obtaining a "winner" and "non-winner" gold card of
    Jeff Bagwell.  Anyone who has dups please E-mail me at
    
    SDOCS1::MONDARES
    
    I've seen the "winner" card for sale at $6, but have no idea how much
    the "non-winner" card is going for.  If it's reasonable, no more than
    $10, I would be very interested.  Thanks
    
    Jeff