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"What the !@#$ is that?"<laughing>
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Let
me say this: The best purchases you can make as a serious collector are one
of these two volumes:
1) The Standard Catalog Of Baseball Cards, produced by Sports Collectors
Digest, a division of Krause Publications. Edited by hobby super guru, Mr.
Bob Lemke. (click on "Books") Collector's
Note: Bob Lemke has since moved to another publication house. His successor
is Mr. Don Fluckinger. :-)
- and/or -
2) The Beckett Almanac Of Baseball Cards And Collectibles. NOT the handicapped
Beckett Annual. Just why do they produce that piece of crap anyway? And don't
tell me it's the 'affordable' version. It costs $29.99, not including shipping
& handling costs. That's hardly a pittance considering what isn't
included and how much is left out. (Beckett
Conspiracy Theory?)
I admit, these
are damn expensive reference books to have on hand, especially since they have
to be purchased year after year. But let me tell you something important: When
you need to know - you need to know. The difference between a missed
opportunity and a closed deal is often measured in minutes, sometimes seconds.
And these two gigantic tomes often gives you the advantage over other collectors.
If you have to choose one over the other, I highly recommend The Standard
Catalog. It's better suited for Frank Thomas collectors, covering a wider range
of rare Frank collectibles. You can order one from here. Updated 3.29.08:
Due to changes made after Bob Lemke left as editor of the Standard Catalog -
I can no longer recommend it over the Beckett Almanac. Right now it's a "push"
- as both volumes fall short of giving advanced collectors information on rare
and/or unusual collectibles. This is a case of "choose your poison".
If I had no other choice I'd say buy the last version of the Standard Catalog
(2007) that Bob Lemke edited and ask a lot of questions from other advanced
collectors.
Anyway, back to
this issue...I never even heard of this Topps test issue until I saw
it in an eBay auction a while back. As usual I'm very cautious and hesitant
whenever I spot an ad for something I've never heard of, because I've been collecting
The Big Hurt for many years and have a pretty good handle on what's out there.
But I'm willing to look at pretty much any auction on the chance opportunity
for that special collectible. And every rare blue moon - it happens. This
was one of those moments.
I actually made a super generous offer to the seller to close his auction early
so that I could guarantee my obtaining both the marble and the checklist card.
A decision based entirely on the information in the reference books.
As far as I can determine - this product was only tested in and around one of the Canadian provinces, and possibly New York State. According to the big guide books each pack contained two marbles. However, I don't know if each pack contained a checklist card - but I seriously doubt it. The seller had about a two dozen marbles to sell, but only 4 checklist cards. Suggesting that the checklist cards themselves were either inserted once every few packs with a blank filler in the other packs - or - that the checklist cards were inserted as box toppers. In either case - they're mucho tough to get.
In a bizarre turn of events the Beckett Almanac (No.8, 2003 Edition) no longer mentions the existence of this extremely rare issue despite continually listing them for several years in previous editions. Why? It's times like this that I wonder about the 'Beckett Conspiracy Theory'. UPDATE (6/11/06): I just picked up the Beckett Almanac No. 10, 2005 Edition, and while they have "brought back" the marbles, the listings for the Checklist Cards continue to be "lost".
You, however, should consider this one of the toughest of the tough.
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