Just thought I'd start this thread, as I saw a particularly interesting ebay auction

THE MAXX (Sam Keith comic book by Image Comics) had 2 card sets, the 1993 one by Topps and the 1996 one by Wildstorm

The Topps set had 6 foils and a redemption for a Sam Keith auto card. Foils # 1 to 4 and 6 are ultra easy to find, and worth nothing. # 1 to 4 came in the packs, 2 per box, and # 6 came in Wizard magazine

Foil # 5 was a 1 per case (1 per 20 boxes ?) case incentive that few people saw in 1993. This was pre-ebay. Took me several years to find. Not a particularly spectacular card. It just depicts the villain. Rarely comes up for sale. However, I see one up for auction now, asking price $ 100...

I have the Sam Keith auto redemption card somewhere. I'll have see if I can find the set.

Can you think of any other cards released in the 1990s or thereabouts, which are very hard to find now, but have mostly been forgotten ?

I remember collecting all of the cards and stickers produced by Wildstorm, for their Image Comics related sets, from 1994 to the late 90s. I have everything, except for GROO, which is very hard to find now.

I recall that by 1997 or so, few stores carried the Wildstorm cards anymore, so sets like Savage Dragon, Wildstorm Swimsuit, and maybe 1 or 2 others were impossible to find back then, especially the items which came 1 per box as boxtoppers, as no one stocked boxes of those cards... Like I said, they also did a second MAXX set, as well, circa 1996 or 97

I've been thinking about this thread. The Pro Cheerleaders (Lime Rock, 1992) set had pack-inserted autographs, and other than my mention in another thread last month, I haven't seen anything said about them in years. I don't think the series was a big seller and I also don't remember the odds for pulling an auto ever being officially stated nor even speculated on later but they were rare. They are distinct from the base cards (which had text on the backs) that were later signed locally at cheerleader signing events because they have blank backs.

Other than the obvious pin-up appeal, some collectors look for these because they're rare and no one seems to know how many different signers there were. Also, they weren't among the very first pack-pulled autographs but they were one of the early sets to have them and to have ones distinct from the base cards. Allender lists some but he suspects others and he's right. Even with the interest, they tend to sell in just the $10-20 range.

Here's one that Allender doesn't list, Gina Wagschal:

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
Can you think of any other cards released in the 1990s or thereabouts, which are very hard to find now, but have mostly been forgotten ?

I remember collecting all of the cards and stickers produced by Wildstorm, for their Image Comics related sets, from 1994 to the late 90s. I have everything, except for GROO, which is very hard to find now.

I recall that by 1997 or so, few stores carried the Wildstorm cards anymore, so sets like Savage Dragon, Wildstorm Swimsuit, and maybe 1 or 2 others were impossible to find back then, especially the items which came 1 per box as boxtoppers, as no one stocked boxes of those cards... Like I said, they also did a second MAXX set, as well, circa 1996 or 97

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

Very cool! I didn't realize there was a way to tell the pack pulled autos from in person autos so I never paid attention to these.

Thanks for sharing!

I had heard about the autographs but assumed they were just signed base cards, finding out later they were different. I bid on that card then got outbid but at least saved the scan. If nothing else, it's another one for the Allender listing.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Very cool! I didn't realize there was a way to tell the pack pulled autos from in person autos so I never paid attention to these.

Thanks for sharing!

Hard to find forgotten cards....sounds like my collection.

Man! So many NS titles back then! Although I am sure there were but it seemed like nothing wasn't super over produced. With card stores popping up all over the place it was easy to think that 50 to 90 thousand boxes really wasn't that much.

After the bubble busted I often wonder how much of that product was tossed out by disenfranchised collectors?

Then there were the rule changes about manufacturers being required to take back unsold product. I remember UD getting hammered when that went into effect. Wonder if card manufactures destroyed product as well?

I don't know how much of a demand there is for these anymore, and I haven't looked on ebay to see if you can still find these, but some more cards come to mind...

Valiant Era II (1994) Had 8 different postcard sized boxtoppers, 1 per box. I remember having a tough time putting together a set of these in 1994, as there was no ebay back then. You'd have to find comic/card stores with open boxes and hope to not get duplicates.

Savage Dragon (Wildstorm, 1997) Hard to find when this first came out, as few stores carried it. There were 6 different boxtoppers (1 per box) which when put together formed a mobile, from what I recall. Again, pre-ebay.

In fact, all of the chase cards from the various Wildstorm sets of 1996-1997 were tough to find back then, as so few stores carried the cards.

Just looked on ebay now and saw 2 of the Valiant OS cards that recently sold for $ 10 each, and one for sale now with an asking price of $ 115 !

I was thinking again about this thread...

How about the Ralph Snart cards from the NOW Comics in the early 90s ? The first 28 cards are not that hard to find. You can track them down one by one on ebay, by finding the comics that they were inserted in.

However, there also exist the elusive cards # 29 to 36. To date, no one knows for sure how and where they were distributed, if they were released at all. But they are out there. These 8 cards were not inserted in the comics, like 1-28, as NOW abruptly cancelled the comic, circa 1993.

Never noticed this thread before, but isn't it a contradiction in terms? If a card is hard to find, but forgotten, then it stands to reason that no one is looking for it. And if no one is looking for it, what difference does being hard to find make?

Demand is always the key component to value. I scrapped up a bunch of 90's certified autograph cards from Lime Rock and other small card makers. Scream Queens and unknown cheerleaders come to mind. Most were bargain box items at the time, which is why I took them. Some may indeed be rare and hard to find, but I wouldn't know. No one wanted them back then. I don't expect anyone cares now. With unsigned promos or base cards I would think that the interest is really going to be limited to the experts in the weeds.

It's just another way of saying elusive limited-interest card. Maybe only a few people are looking for it and yet it's still hard to find. I think an issue of "Cards Illustrated" or "Collect!" had a blurb on that #5 etched foil card back then. It was rare at the start not just because it was one per case. It was available only by redemption. The Maxx didn't have a huge following so some people, including me, did forget about it but it remained on some want lists over the years. It was considered a $30-40 card about 20 years ago. I don't know of any more recent sales of the redemption card nor the foil.

Yeah, you could just call it an oddball card but that #5 etched foil seems to fit in a subcategory almost all its own. I could probably make a list of elusive limited-interest 90's promos but I'd really be going into the weeds for that.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Never noticed this thread before, but isn't it a contradiction in terms? If a card is hard to find, but forgotten, then it stands to reason that no one is looking for it. And if no one is looking for it, what difference does being hard to find make?

Demand is always the key component to value. I scrapped up a bunch of 90's certified autograph cards from Lime Rock and other small card makers. Scream Queens and unknown cheerleaders come to mind. Most were bargain box items at the time, which is why I took them. Some may indeed be rare and hard to find, but I wouldn't know. No one wanted them back then. I don't expect anyone cares now. With unsigned promos or base cards I would think that the interest is really going to be limited to the experts in the weeds.

And the thing about the Maxx foil # 5 is that it is in no way more spectacular than foils 1 to 4 and 6. It is just a different picture. If you put all 6 on the table you would have no idea which was the rare one. I can't recall how I obtained mine 20 years ago. But the the first time I saw it was at a Philly show in the mid 90s where a dealer wanted $ 100 for it.

Yeah, I would be interesting to watch an auction for one now. I think one could go for $100 or more though I get the feeling just about everyone who wanted back then probably has one now. It would surprise me if an auction ended at less than $50.

The redemption period didn't have an expiration date. It ran while supplies lasted so you might have been able to redeem it even into the late 90's. I remember sending in the coupon on the back of the Bend-Ems toy packaging on the chance of getting the Star Wars Galaxy promo and I did get one even around 2000. That redemption started in 1993 as well.

Here's the #5 card and the redemption:

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
And the thing about the Maxx foil # 5 is that it is in no way more spectacular than foils 1 to 4 and 6. It is just a different picture. If you put all 6 on the table you would have no idea which was the rare one. I can't recall how I obtained mine 20 years ago. But the the first time I saw it was at a Philly show in the mid 90s where a dealer wanted $ 100 for it.

There was an autograph card from that set, too, as Raj mentioned, that was likewise highly underwhelming. It featured a very wispy paint pen autograph from Maxx creator Sam Kieth on a regular card that otherwise had nothing to distinguish it from the unsigned versions of the same card. This lack of any kind of certification has also limited the collectability of the similarly issued artist autograph cards from Star Wars Galaxy 1 & 2 to the point where an unused redemption card is today more valuable than pretty much any uncertified autograph you would've received had you sent it in.

There is a MAXX foil card # 5 on ebay now, asking price $ 369.00

And a redemption card for $ 179.00

90's case cards were uncommon when they were new but you could find a dealer at a show or online who had at least a small selection especially of the Comic Images titles (various 6-card sheets). Some became harder to find over time. Here's the Bloom County 6-card sheet (Krome Productions, 1995) that was given to dealers with every case of Bloom County boxes. I don't think Krome Productions had the output of Comic Images in its heyday. The sheet has a chromium-coated front like the cards in the set but differs from them by having a blank back. I haven't seen one sell for at least a couple of years and don't see one for sale now.

I'm a fan of the comic so I tracked this one down not long after the set was released.

Interesting topic, I'll see what I have and get back to you...

I remember the Bloom County 6 card sheet, thanks for the image Cats.

I have the case card and some of the base cards in my collection since there are Trek references