Hockey Cards

[Rorschach]

Thanks - what you said makes perfect sense. He does have one more Group Break listed with Upper Deck boxes from the last 2 seasons. This one is $45 per spot ( 30 spots available as he has combined Arizona and Minnesota ) but once again your team will be randomly selected:

Boxes in this break:

• 4x 2018-19 UD Series 2 Hobby
• 4x 2019-20 UD Series 1 Hobby
• 4x 2019-20 UD Series 2 Hobby

Random team selection is more fair than team selection but it will depend on the rookie crop. Having a nice spread of years and boxes is nicer. Personally I’d rather go the blankall route and open my own boxes for Young Guns and just try to get the boxes as cheap as possible, including retail boxes. I like a nice spread of YGs and teams. It would feel weird to have some Flames and Preds YGs when I’m a Kings fan.

Then again, I’ve had some insane luck opening UD base brand Hobby boxes. My best hit, not counting Crosby rookie year was 07-08 UD Hockey Heroes 50s- Howe, Hull, Bathgate art card, triple-hard signed, 9/9 (numbered to all three players’ jersey numbers). It’s too bad all three gentlemen passed away...I would have loved to have met them individually and shown them the card.

 

[joestevens29]

Stamkos was an easy pull for me too...I wound up with five copies. I remember trying to pull the Drew Doughty for my PC and I whiffed on like 8 boxes. Finally when traveling out of state in Oregon of all places, I found a card shop that had some hockey, bought a box, and pulled TWO in one box. I've never pulled two of the same Young Gun in a sealed box in several hundred boxes. Trippy

I pulled two Kailer Yamamoto's in back to back packs. As an Oiler fan it worked for me

 

[kaiser matias]

About as good as it gets. Quit while you're ahead lol.

Sold the cards, and nearly broke even in terms of overall sales. Even after factoring in eBay fees (which went up since I last sold stuff on there), and postage (which I seriously undervalued), didn't end up too bad. Definitely think I'm good for a while now, going to just look at some cheap singles.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

So what I said was "the very first, limited best-of player insert set". All of the above cards, which I have 90% of in my collection, were inserted at the same rate as the regular cards (in other words they weren't inserted at all, they were simply subset cards, like the OPC 66 cards thing). Or they were slightly shortprinted like the CC cards in Pro Set. Or they were one per pack so they were even more common than the base cards. By the way the Parkhurst also had a Santa Claus NNO card and both the Parkhurst, Pinnacle and Pro Set had French versions.

But of all those cards, the only limited one was the 91-92 NHL logo hologram from Pro Set and the autograph cards. The Pinnacle B Team was one card in three boxes. It had a striking design and featured the best of the best players in the NHL. So people remember it because those cards were basically so rare, maybe one of your friends had one.

I have most of the Pinnacle B but supposedly the Parkhurst were most rare that year.

 

[Rorschach]

I have most of the Pinnacle B but supposedly the Parkhurst were most rare that year.

Nah, I have multiple sealed boxes of English and French versions in the garage and I have multiple sets of PHC and Santa Claus cards in both languages. You can probably find yourself a sealed box of either for 10 bucks or less.

For the B Team, I think the only one I can remember that I have is the French version Gretzky.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Nah, I have multiple sealed boxes of English and French versions in the garage and I have multiple sets of PHC and Santa Claus cards in both languages. You can probably find yourself a sealed box of either for 10 bucks or less.

For the B Team, I think the only one I can remember that I have is the French version Gretzky.

That's pretty weird because I have most of them (at least 7 off the top of my head) and wasn't even trying to get them.

The cards from Parkhurst that were rumoured rarest that year (based on print run) is the final update set which contained the final 25 cards of the set, not the first and second releases (series 1 and series 2 boxes you find online) with Santa Claus. They were only available via mail order. For your sets to be complete, you need to have those mail order ones. Basically you could have 5000 boxes of series one and series two yet would never have a complete set.

 

[joestevens29]

Nah, I have multiple sealed boxes of English and French versions in the garage and I have multiple sets of PHC and Santa Claus cards in both languages. You can probably find yourself a sealed box of either for 10 bucks or less.

For the B Team, I think the only one I can remember that I have is the French version Gretzky.

Dumb question, but where does one buy French versions? I never see any French versions at my local shop. Is it just online?

 

[Rorschach]

That's pretty weird because I have most of them (at least 7 off the top of my head) and wasn't even trying to get them.

The cards from Parkhurst that were rumoured rarest that year (based on print run) is the final update set which contained the final 25 cards of the set, not the first and second releases (series 1 and series 2 boxes you find online) with Santa Claus. They were only available via mail order. For your sets to be complete, you need to have those mail order ones. Basically you could have 5000 boxes of series one and series two yet would never have a complete set.

Ok yes the mail order cards, which no one considers as inserts since they didn’t come in packs, are rare. I don’t even consider them part of the conversation so when you say “Parkhurst ones” and we’re talking about insert card rarity, I’m assuming you mean the PHC series.

 

[Rorschach]

Dumb question, but where does one buy French versions? I never see any French versions at my local shop. Is it just online?

These were made in 1991, originally for Canada. In 1990 (90-91) the French version of cards was already hot so by the time 1991 rolled around, many hobby shops in both US and Canada had both the English and French versions of products that were made in both languages.

That fad ended in about 1993 or so. All of today’s products and brands are just one version.

 

[joestevens29]

These were made in 1991, originally for Canada. In 1990 (90-91) the French version of cards was already hot so by the time 1991 rolled around, many hobby shops in both US and Canada had both the English and French versions of products that were made in both languages.

That fad ended in about 1993 or so. All of today’s products and brands are just one version.

I was looking the other day and I saw a bunch of Eberle Young Guns in french. Was curious as I never saw one before

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Ok yes the mail order cards, which no one considers as inserts since they didn’t come in packs, are rare. I don’t even consider them part of the conversation so when you say “Parkhurst ones” and we’re talking about insert card rarity, I’m assuming you mean the PHC series.

Right I wouldn't consider those ones insert cards, rather they are base set cards but among the rarest cards from that year both due to limited print run and having to mail in to get them (which most people are too lazy to do).

In that instance, you can't say you have a complete set UNLESS you mailed in for them and no matter how many series one or two you crack, you'll never have a complete set.

 

[Rorschach]

I was looking the other day and I saw a bunch of Eberle Young Guns in french. Was curious as I never saw one before

I think UD base brand, due to its popularity, may have come out in French versions certain years. That’s something maybe @blankall would know more about. Nowadays I think the French version thing is considered more gimmicky than collectible. In the early 90s, the French thing, along with any other bell or whistle that made a card a rarer parallel, was red hot.

 

[Rorschach]

Right I wouldn't consider those ones insert cards, rather they are base set cards but among the rarest cards from that year both due to limited print run and having to mail in to get them (which most people are too lazy to do).

In that instance, you can't say you have a complete set UNLESS you mailed in for them and no matter how many series one or two you crack, you'll never have a complete set.

True, some would say you didn’t have a complete set. Others would say, a complete set is all the base cards that came in packs. And some would say a master set, including mail ins and inserts is a complete set. And then there are the people who consider a complete set all of the above, plus all longshot hits like the autographs or the Pro Set holograms, etc.

The problem is, during those years, the difficulty in completing a master set in the early 90s, each year was radically different and escalated from the previous year.

 

[Khelandros]

A little help please. Can't find any info on this signed series.

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

A little help please. Can't find any info on this signed series.

That's not a series.

That's a really bad knock off.

I hope you didn't pay alot of money for it. The grade stripe looks like it was made on a printer. The autograph doesn't look good.

It's trying to replicate the UD signature series.

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

Dumb question, but where does one buy French versions? I never see any French versions at my local shop. Is it just online?

You don't want any french hockey cards.

They are landfill material.

If you are paying more then five dollars for a box you are spending too much. There was never a demand for "French" versions outside of the first edition of UD hockey when there were rumors it was limited during the first card boom, and even that series if you are paying more then ten bucks for a box you are ripping yourself off.

Nobody wants it.

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

That's pretty weird because I have most of them (at least 7 off the top of my head) and wasn't even trying to get them.

The cards from Parkhurst that were rumoured rarest that year (based on print run) is the final update set which contained the final 25 cards of the set, not the first and second releases (series 1 and series 2 boxes you find online) with Santa Claus. They were only available via mail order. For your sets to be complete, you need to have those mail order ones. Basically you could have 5000 boxes of series one and series two yet would never have a complete set.

Based on the print run of the OS, sure.

But there's nothing rare about the update set.

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

My advice to anybody looking to invest, are the Prizm sets when Panini had a license.

The silver prizms, to be exact.

 

[Rorschach]

A little help please. Can't find any info on this signed series.

This appears to be a fake autograph on a $1 card.

1) The slab is meaningless, it doesn't come from any of the recognized grading companies like PSA or BGS
2) The autograph is atrocious and so is the numbering...if UD really had this card signed, they take great care in the pens used, especially for a player like Mario Lemieux
3) Whenever UD has a player sign a previously released card as a Buyback, the card will come with an official hologrammed certificate of authenticity that will either be a separate card or it will be stuck as a hologram sticker on the back of the card...with a serial number

 

[blankall]

I think UD base brand, due to its popularity, may have come out in French versions certain years. That’s something maybe @blankall would know more about. Nowadays I think the French version thing is considered more gimmicky than collectible. In the early 90s, the French thing, along with any other bell or whistle that made a card a rarer parallel, was red hot.

Yes, there was a French version of Upper Deck Series 1 in 2009/10. I actually found a few hobby boxes on discount for $30 at a Walmart in Vancouver a few years back. The local distributor was clearing out random stock of hobby boxes.

It's not something that UD does every year, and it's primarily aimed at the Quebec market. The PK Subban French YG card was pretty collectible for a while. I'd say overall the French versions go for slightly less than the regular versions now though, with the exception of the Subban, that still goes for slightly more in French.

 

[Rorschach]

Yes, there was a French version of Upper Deck Series 1 in 2009/10. I actually found a few hobby boxes on discount for $30 at a Walmart in Vancouver a few years back. The local distributor was clearing out random stock of hobby boxes.

It's not something that UD does every year, and it's primarily aimed at the Quebec market. The PK Subban French YG card was pretty collectible for a while. I'd say overall the French versions go for slightly less than the regular versions now though, with the exception of the Subban, that still goes for slightly more in French.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clarifying the details. Maybe they'll to a French Canadian version this year for the Lafreniere Young Guns and the YG Canvas. I bet the former will be S1 and the latter will be S2. Plus there may be a Canvas Programme of Excellence.

 

[Canadian Game]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clarifying the details. Maybe they'll to a French Canadian version this year for the Lafreniere Young Guns and the YG Canvas. I bet the former will be S1 and the latter will be S2. Plus there may be a Canvas Programme of Excellence.

Speaking of Lafreniere’s Young Gun, I spoke with a card shop owner yesterday and apparently Beckett wrote in one of their magazine issues that Lafreniere’s YG would be in series 1, which I’d have expected anyway based on most #1 overalls. Because it seemed like a confirmation, distributors are already playing games and the pre-order for card shops sold out early. Expect S1 boxes to be more expensive this year as distributors slowly “find” more cases and they slowly trickle out after the first week. If anything I’d expect the games to happen more to some shops more than others.

On the plus side, the shop I was at was fully stocked with toploaders!

 

[blankall]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clarifying the details. Maybe they'll to a French Canadian version this year for the Lafreniere Young Guns and the YG Canvas. I bet the former will be S1 and the latter will be S2. Plus there may be a Canvas Programme of Excellence.

I actually doubt they release any French versions again. I think this year we may see less products, with the major delay in the season, like in 2012/13. But year, they will do a lot to try and promote S1/S2, so the various YG and Program of Excellence cards will all be back, with probably a new variant or two.

 

[Rorschach]

I actually doubt they release any French versions again. I think this year we may see less products, with the major delay in the season, like in 2012/13. But year, they will do a lot to try and promote S1/S2, so the various YG and Program of Excellence cards will all be back, with probably a new variant or two.

You’re probably right. Maybe they just make a French version of the YG for Laf and randomly insert it in some non-S1 product.

 

[ted2019]

I asked this earlier, but where in the US is the best place online to buy newer Upper Deck boxes? Looking from 2009-10 to current.