In the last issue of the “Collectors Edition” newsletter we wrote an article titled
“What You Would Like To See Included In Series 2″.

We shared the wish list of a few subscribers and asked for your comments and suggestions too… well one common theme of the discussion was the Individual Numbering of cards.

Daniel H made the suggestion first to have a few limited edition parallel sub sets that we’re all individually numbered (to /24, /48 and /100).

Then I added that it would be easy for Select to add the sequential numbering to their existing parallel sub set to the Jersey and Guernsey Die Cuts, Holofoil Parallel Sets, and the Footy Face Die Cuts for instance.

Adam agrees and left his comment in the newsletter archive saying:

… for me the biggest thing is NUMBER cards # of 450. I’m sick of seeing cards only written on the “this card is 1 of 450?. Give it an exact number!

And cards like the Rookie Predictors Redemption cards that aren’t numbered at all! I mean come on, now how do we know what they were limited to!!!???

It is something that can become a bug bear for many collectors. But is it important?

I believe it is, but I will explain my reasoning in just a moment.

Before we get into the reasons why, lets take a look at some recent examples.

We are told by Select that the cards are limited in number, but they don’t always make it absolutely clear to everyone by including sequential individual numbering. Clarity is what we’re seeking.

Please let me be direct — so I can avoid any confusion. I DO believe that Select are honest and limit their cards to the numbers that they say they do… from all my years in dealing with them, I’ve got absolutely NO reason to doubt them. After all their reputation (and therefore their very existence) depends on their integrity!

If you’re not sure what I’m referring to when I say Individual Numbering here are a few examples.

These two cards are from the Limited Edition Premiership Redemption Sets from 2007 Supreme and 2007 Invincible releases.

The card on the left is a Rookie Predictor Redemption card (the kind that Adam mentioned above) which is limited to 450 cards… but nothing is mentioned on the back of the card. Likewise, the card on the right is an Enforcer Premiership Redemption card which is limited to 350… but again nothing to provide this information on the back of the card!

These cards are not numbered at all - despite being limited edition cards.

Another example is where the cards simply have “1 of 240″ printed into the card design. It’s not sequentially numbered but every card says “1 of 240″.

If you look closely at the above card, you can see this card has “1 of 240″ printed in the bottom right hand corner.

And you can see it again in the above Golden Draft Redemption card. At the bottom right of the card you can see “1 of 440″ printed… and yes, that’s what they ALL say!

The following examples show the sequential individual numbering… this is what we would like to see for ALL limited edition cards.

You can see the individual numbering on the two cards above. The Darren Lockyer Case Card is numbered “008 of 225″ which is an extremely LOW number. Because of this low number, it has a perceived higher value than say the same card numbered “215 of 225″.

The Brendan Fevola Coleman Medallist Signature is numbered “047 of 100″ which also affects its value. Almost anything limited to 100 will be even more valuable than something limited to 225 and is certain to be more valuable than something limited to 500.

Here are a few more cards where you can see the individual numbering. The Bryce Gibbs Draft Pick Signature card on the left is numbered “286 of 450″ and the Ben Smith Top Prospect is numbered “362 of 500″.

Both of these cards are valuable but their value does not come from the numbering itself. The Player featured on the card drives a lot of the value.

The Bryce Gibbs card is $110 whereas the Ben Smith card is $47. Bryce Gibbs was the Number 1 Draft Pick in 2006… picked ahead of the other 3000 nominated players.

The prestige of being #1 drives the value of this card and the expectation that he will be a future star is high. His card is more likely to be in high demand which means the card value is more likely to increase over time.

Ben Smith on the other hand, while recognised as a promising talent is not recognised as the best talent in the NRL - demand is lower so the value of his card is more middle range.

Just two things determine the value of footy cards… Scarcity and Demand.

Individual numbering tells us just how Scarce the card is… and the popularity and skill of the player drives Demand. Find a card that has both and you have a sure winner on your hands!

I’m pleased to see that a few of the sub sets in the new 2008 AFL Classic Series and the 2008 NRL Centenary Series are individually numbered… and we hold our hopes high that in future releases ALL limited releases will be.

Let us know what you think… share your thoughts and leave a comment in the comments section below.