1971 Mattel #.9 Willie McCovey Instant Replay MINI-RECORD

Book = $ *BOOK*
Price = $ 11.95
NEAR MINT to EX/MINT

Price = $ 11.95

Below are short bits & pieces on sportscard & baseball trading card collecting.
Please wander around the website for more info, prices, values & images
on vintage baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sport and non-sports cards.

Autographed Gateway Cachets

Gateway Stamp Company has provided collectors over 1 MILLION authenticated certified autographs over the last 30+ years. Though a "stamp company", Gateway went down a new creative road combining art, color photographs, historical events & autographs with their full-color silk cachet envelopes.
WHAT IS A SILK CACHET ?
A "cachet" is a design on an envelope marking an event. "Silk" refers to the delicate material the art and photography are printed on after which it's signed by the player and then post-marked by the Post Office IN THE EVENT'S CITY !!!
WHY POSTMARKS?
A postmark is a great way to mark historical events and the rules governing postmarks GUARANTEES that NO Gateway issue can EVER be re-issued protecting their value !!!
Click for complete Autographed Gateway Cachets info, values & prices.
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Vintage Baseball Card Auction terminology

Register:With name, address & email so we can contact you after auctions with your winning bids.
2 Types of Bidding:
[YES] / [NO] auction bids - Click on YES button to make only the next bid.
[MAXBID] auction bids - Enter MAXIMUM you would bid on this item. If outbid, auction software makes the next bid if is not more than your auction [MAXBID].
Minimum or Start Bid:
More expensive auction items may have minimum or starting bids. Saves time rather than auction bids going up .25 at a time, taking many dozens of bids to reach even fractions of value.
Reserve Bid: "Reserve" auction bids come into play after an auction ends. If "Hammer" price is less than "Reserve" bid no sale. Not very auction bidder friendly.

Click for more info on my Weekly Vintage BASEBALL CARD AUCTIONS

1969 CITGO Coins
In 1969, to commemorate Baseball's 100th Anniversary, CITGO released their "Famous Baseball Player Coin Collection" of 20 brass coated metal coins. On the front, the coins featured the player's name and a raised image of his head. The back displayed a banner honoring baseball's s 100th Anniversary. The coins are approx. 1" in diameter and are very susceptible to tarnishing due to oxidation.
Customers received a single coin in it's sealed pack free with a fill-up and could pay 25 cents for additional coins. The 20 coin set could be inserted into a cardboard backing for display. On the back of the display was a short bio with stats of each player. Click to view an image of the cardboard backing and some more sample coins:
Pictured is an unopened pack containing one coin.

Click for complete 1969 CITGO Coins Checklist and Prices
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How long have sports cards been around ? (part 1)

The first baseball trading cards date back to 1869. For many years, baseball cards were packaged in packs of tobacco as a way to increase sales the same way that today prizes are packaged in boxes of cereal. In the 1920's and 1930's, candy and gum companies started packaging baseball cards in their products as well.

Baseball card production was virtually halted in the early 1940's due to paper shortages created by World War II. The "Modern Era" of baseball cards began in 1948 when Bowman Gum Inc. offered one card and one piece of gum in a pack for a penny.

The first important football set was the Mayo set featuring college players in 1984. Other than the 1935 National Chicle set no other key football set was issued until 1948 when noth Bowman and Leaf produced sets.