Collectors Edition - Issue #014

The articles that make up Issue #014 of the FootyStars “Collectors Edition” newsletter can be found in this newsletter archive by following these links.

Editorial
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/11/the-last-footy-cards-of-2008/

Footy Card Collectors Tips
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/11/what-errors-were-in-the-2008-series-cards/

Footy Card Spotlight
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/11/centenary-of-rugby-league-master-collection/

Protecting Your Investment
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/11/top-loaders-protect-your-cards/

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Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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The Last Footy Cards Of 2008

Hi there,

This year is a typically quiet time of year for footy card collectors, but it will pick up again next week and again in late December with the release of the last footy cards of 2008… but more on that in a moment.

The Grand Finals have been played and won (Congratulations Hawthorn and Manly), the International Rules Series (AFL) has been and gone, and the Rugby League World Cup continues to underwhelm most fans but we’re still hoping for a Kangaroos victory next weekend.

To celebrate the end of the footy season, and to reward our loyal subscribers prior to Christmas, we have decided to offer you FREE POSTAGE on all orders over $10 before the end of November.

We’ve never done this before so we encourage you to take advantage of the offer before the end of the month.  You will need this coupon code, FreePostNov which you have to redeem during the checkout process.

The offer is available on every item on our site… so what are you waiting for… take a look now and get the cards you want.  www.FootyStars.com.au/store

At the beginning of this section I told you that things will pick up again next week.  That’s because Select are releasing the ever popular Premiership Boxed Sets for the 2008 Premiers in both the AFL and NRL.

Details of the Hawthorn Hawks Premiership Set are available by clicking here…

And details of the Manly Sea Eagles Premiership Set are available by clicking here…

You can pre-order yours now AND take advantage of the Free Postage offer.  The perfect Christmas present for any Hawks or Manly fan in your family.

And that’s not all… in late December we can expect to see the Premiership Redemption sets released by Select.  These are the sets that required you to collect either all 16 Premiership Predictors (AFL) or the 4 Foundation Club Prize Cards in the NRL.  If you still need any of these cards we have a limited supply of both redemption card types.

As the year draws to an end, we can look back at the season and reflect.

2008 witnessed the AFL celebrate its 150 year milestone and the NRL celebrate its Centenary year. In my opinion, Select did a fantastic job of commemorating both milestones. The two releases have been recognised by collectors around the Country as the best in many years.

If you want a sneak peak at what the 2009 AFL Series has in store for us be sure to keep an eye on the AFL National Draft which takes place on Saturday, 29 November at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne.  If you can’t get there in person, the AFL will be broadcasting live over the internet.  Click here for details.

Let’s hope we see continued improvement in the 2009 Series releases from Select, like a little more attention to detail (see more about this in the next article) so that we can be proud of the cards we collect again.

Enjoy the rest of this issue.  As always, let me know what you think.  Click on the comments section below and share your thoughts.

All the best,

Ian

Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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What Errors Were In the 2008 Series Cards?

We have written about errors and error cards a few times now… and the subject has come to the surface again in 2008 because collectors have found a number of errors in the Classic and Centenary Series footy cards.

For a quick catch up on the previous error card articles take a look here…

What’s an Error Card? from August 2007

Error Cards in the 2007 Supreme and Invincible, also from August 2007, and

The Mother of ALL Errors from February 2008

Error cards usually don’t change the value of the card unless a reprint is produced by the card manufacturer.  None of the cards highlighted below have been reprinted, nor do we expect them to be reprinted… but nonetheless, it’s interesting to see what errors were released.

Here is a brief list of the error cards we have found in the 2008 Series 2 releases.

2008 AFL Classic Errors

Let’s start with the Big Ones… the Platinum Draft Pick Signatures.

The Rhys Palmer Platinum Draft Pick Signature card (DPP7) has a number of related errors on the back of the card.  The details on the back of the card all refer to Cyril Rioli.  It has Rioli’s Club, Date of Birth, Height, Weight and Junior Club.

Another similar error occurred on the Ben McEvoy Platinum Draft Pick Signature card (DPP9), again involving Rhys Palmer.  This error mentions Rhys Palmer in the Certification section on the back of the card.

Neither of these cards are going to be corrected by Select, so all cards retain their normal value regardless of the errors.

There are two more errors in the AFL Classic Series that we have found so far… and they both involve Matthew Scarlett.  To be fair, these may not even be considered errors… but they are definitely inconsistencies that don’t match other cards in the same series.

Matthew Scarlett Common Darren Glass All Australian

The first error is shown on the common card on the left.  The Cats logo is featured in the Top Right hand corner of the card.  Scarlett’s card is the ONLY All Australian card to feature the players club logo.  See Darren Glass’ card has no Eagles logo.

The other error, or inconsistency that relates to Matthew Scarlett is his All Australian Holofoil card.  EVERY other player in the parallel holofoil sub set features the same picture as their common card.  You can see below that Scarlett’s picture is different to his common card.

Matthew Scarlett Holofoil

What other errors have you found in the 2008 AFL Classic Series?  Add your comments by clicking on the comment section below and share your find with other collectors.

Now… let’s move on to the 2008 Rugby League Centenary Series.

Most of the “errors” we’ve found in the Centenary Series are simple factual errors, typos or a lack of attention to detail… here is what we’ve found so far.

Tonie Carroll from the Brisbane Broncos (card #120) has his debut listed as 1986.  Not bad, he would been the youngest ever debutant in the NRL at 10 years of age if you believe his Date of Birth (1976).  His actual year of debut was 1996.

Hazem El Mazri from the Canterbury Bulldogs (card #125) has an extra unnecessary space in his Date of Birth and an leading zero that no other player has.  His DOB is listed as 01.1.19 76.

Matt Orford from the Manly Sea Eagles (card #147) is similar to El Masri above… his Date of Birth has an extra unnecessary space.

Israel Folau from the Melbourne Storm (card #151) gives us the hat trick of the same error.  His Date of Birth also has an unnecessary space.

Jarryd Hayne from the Parramatta Eels (card #167) is an unusual “inconsistency” that was hard to find.

Typically the Series 2 releases feature player photos taken from the same year.  Hayne’s photo is clearly from 2007, you can tell because his jersey doesn’t have the Centenary Logo, and the sleeve sponsor is different from all the other Eels players.

Krisnan Inu also from the Parramatta Eels (card #168) is a talented footballer, but did you know that (according to Select) he made his debut 82 years BEFORE he was born.  In fact, he started playing Rugby League BEFORE rugby league even existed in 1905.  Now that takes talent!  ;-)

Dale Shearer played for a number of NRL clubs including Manly, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, but he was selected as a Past Hero for the Gold Coast club in the Past Hero sub set (card #PH9).

Dale Shearer

It’s a mystery to us WHY Shearer is shown wearing a Manly jersey from the 1987 Grand Final, the year before the Gold Coast entered the competition?

In the same vein, we couldn’t skip a discussion on error cards without also asking why the two Cronulla Sharks Past Heroes are shown wearing NSW Blues jerseysGavin Miller and Mark McGaw are shown wearing the Sky Blue NSW jerseys rather than the Sky Blue Sharks jersey.  Simple error?  Yes.

Gavin Miller Past Hero Mark McGaw Past Hero

And to finish off… it seems odd to me, that the Past Heroes sub set, which was, according to Select supposed to highlight heroes from the past three decades.

How do Jack Rayner and Ian Moir get to represent South Sydney when they finished their careers in the 1950’s?  Their photos are in black and white which was probably the biggest give away.

Jack Rayner Past Hero Ian Moir Past Hero

And Bill Mullins for the Roosters… he just makes it because he finished his career in 1978, despite his photo also being in black and white.

Bill Mullins Past Hero

There are probably dozens of other mistakes, errors and typos in the 2008 Centenary Series.  Have you found any others?  Add your comments by clicking on the comment section below and share your find with other collectors.

LATE ADDITION:

Following on from Paul’s comment below… here is a photograph of the card he is referring to.  If you have the 2008 Champions cards take a look at yours to see if you have the same error.

Hornby Covell Error

Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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Centenary of Rugby League Master Collection

Once in a while you find something that is better than you could ever imagine…

The limited edition Centenary of Rugby League Master Collection and Album released by Select as part of the 2008 Centenary Series is it… It is one of the nicest collections I’ve ever seen in all my years as a collector.

Limited to just 250 editions these will be highly prized by any Rugby League footy card collector for many years to come.

The specially designed, high quality Album is features a metal Centenary of Rugby League logo and includes the following sets and sub sets:

  • 199 Base Set with a Platinum style finish (to distinguish it from the common base set)
  • Team of the Century over size photo card (numbered to 250)
  • 18 x Team of the Century over size cards (8.5cm x 12.5cm)
  • 18 x Team of the Century Platinum Foil Signature over size cards (8.5cm x 12.5cm)
  • Seven x Immortals Platinum over size cards (8.5cm x 12.5cm)
  • Seven x Immortals Sketch over size cards (8.5cm x 12.5cm)
  • Mal Meninga Authentic Signature extra oversized card (12.5cm x 17.5cm)
  • Norm Provan and Arthur Summons Duo Signature Card extra oversized card (12.5cm x 17.5cm)

Here are a few examples of the Over Sized Cards… shown along with the regular sized card from the common series.

Andrew Johns Over Sized
Wally Lewis Over Size

And here is your first look at the Over Sized Signature Cards from the Master Collection.

Mal Meninga Signature Over Sized
Provan Summons Duo Signature Over Sized

If you want to see the entire collection, including the album and presentation box, I’ve been experimenting with a video presentation.

If you’re a serious collector and you’re interested in securing one of these Master Collections we currently have One available to purchase.  This set is number 99 of 250.

As an extra bonus to the lucky person who purchases set #99 you will receive these 3 FREE bonuses normally only available to dealers and valued at $29.95:

  • The official promotional Poster (A2 sized)
  • The official promotional Flyer (A4 sized), plus
  • The 4 card set of Promotional Cards.

And if you order before the end of November you can take advantage of the Free Postage offer.

Let us know what you think… share your thoughts and leave a comment in the comments section below. Would you like to see any other cards featured in a video presentation?  Let us know below.

Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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Top Loaders Protect Your Cards

To preserve the quality of your cards, especially your more valuable cards you need to consider Top Loaders as your first option.

There are a few manufacturers of Top Loaders, but in my opinion Ultra Pro make the best quality product at a fantastic price. We use Ultra Pro top loaders every day at Footy Stars and it’s the brand we send our cards in when you purchase from the Footy Stars online store.

Top Loaders Regular Thick Top Loaders for Thick Cards

We have two kinds of top loaders available.  Regular and Thick.

Regular Top Loaders are suitable for virtually all cards manufactured by Select Australia.  They fit all standard thickness cards and are one of our most popular accessories.

Thick Top Loaders are made for cards up to 55pts in thickness.  These are best for cards like the Jersey Insert cards that Select produced in 2003 which are slightly thicker than standard cards (because they have a piece of jersey inserted in the card).

All Ultra Pro Top Loaders are specially made for trading cards in a clear semi-rigid plastic.

By semi-rigid I mean they bend — but only a little. Being clear they still allow you to view both sides of your card so you never need to remove your card from its protection again. 

The Top Loader keeps your card safe and it also makes it less likely your card will be creased or folded. It protects all sides and corners from damage.

Only one card fits in a Top Loader.  You should never put more than one card in a top loader because you run the risk of damaging your cards — it’s just not worth it.

—————

Ultra Pro Accessories are the best way to protect your collection and they are available at great prices on our website at: Ultra Pro Accessories

Each month we highlight a different Ultra Pro item, taking a look at who uses it and why, and discussing if it will suit your requirements.

Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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