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I thought it would be fun to start a thread…and periodically add to it…sharing cards from my collection that are meaningful to me. Each card is special for its own reason; it might be valuable, it may have taken a long time to find, perhaps it just has a special meaning. But, I thought I would share those types of cards.
My thought was to add another card approximately weekly. Anyway, here is the first:
1991 Upper Deck Football Heroes Joe Montana Autograph /2500
I grew up on the west coast and being born in the mid-1980s, the football center of the world was in San Francisco. As a result, I grew up hearing about the legend of Joe Montana and I think because of that he became my favorite player. As crazy as it sounds, I’m a little too young to have strong memories of him with the 49ers…my memories are more of him with the Chiefs. But, that doesn’t matter. He became my favorite player and to this day still is.
When I was in middle school I would visit this local card shop and spend my allowance there. Typically, it was a small purchase or a pack of cards…something insignificant as I didn’t have enough money for anything nice. I did from time to time set aside a little of my allowance for nicer things…but for one reason or another that never seemed to pan out.
Anyway, the owner of the shop knew I was a huge Montana fan and every once in a while would have something interesting to show me. One day, he had one of my dream cards in his case. It was the 1991 UD Football Heroes Montana auto. Unfortunately, the price tag was $200…which was way out of my reach.
First, I’ll give little background information on the card itself. In 1991 Upper Deck introduced its “Heroes” Insert sets. 1991 football had a 9 card career set of both Joe Montana and Joe Namath (10 cards if you include the “Header”) and in addition to that a “very rare” autographed version of the checklist (limited to 2500).
Although not rare by today’s standards, this was a difficult hit. The 1991 Upper Deck product was right in the middle of that “junk” era where cards were being produced at an enormous rate. I’ve seen some estimates that suggest that one of these autos was a hit that was 1 per several cases. As it was one of the very first pack issued autographs, there isn’t a traditional “authenticity statement” on the back either. Instead, this card features a very subtle one. The normal issue “Heroes” cards have the UD hologram on the back in the shape of a football…as do all the cards in the cards in the 1991 Upper Deck set. The only exceptions to this are the Autographed Heroes cards. Both the Namath and the Montana have a diamond shaped UD hologram on the back (like the baseball issues). That is the way to distinguish an authentic auto from a fake.
When I saw the card in the case that day, I was in love. But, sadly there was simply no way for me to afford it…or so I thought. After chatting with the owner for a while we made a deal…basically he would put the card on layaway for me and I would pay him a small amount per week until the card was paid off. Having never done such a thing before (and excited at the opportunity), I accepted. That summer, the majority of my allowance went to paying off that card…but eventually I was able to do so and I still have the card to this day.
With the change in the hobby over the last few years, prices of these cards are lower. I could probably easily find an example of this card for well less than $200 today…and that’s in today’s dollars (not 20 years ago). But, I don’t care. It’s special to me and I have enjoyed owning it for over 20 years. My card is 727/2500…and that one is special to me.
My thought was to add another card approximately weekly. Anyway, here is the first:
1991 Upper Deck Football Heroes Joe Montana Autograph /2500
I grew up on the west coast and being born in the mid-1980s, the football center of the world was in San Francisco. As a result, I grew up hearing about the legend of Joe Montana and I think because of that he became my favorite player. As crazy as it sounds, I’m a little too young to have strong memories of him with the 49ers…my memories are more of him with the Chiefs. But, that doesn’t matter. He became my favorite player and to this day still is.
When I was in middle school I would visit this local card shop and spend my allowance there. Typically, it was a small purchase or a pack of cards…something insignificant as I didn’t have enough money for anything nice. I did from time to time set aside a little of my allowance for nicer things…but for one reason or another that never seemed to pan out.
Anyway, the owner of the shop knew I was a huge Montana fan and every once in a while would have something interesting to show me. One day, he had one of my dream cards in his case. It was the 1991 UD Football Heroes Montana auto. Unfortunately, the price tag was $200…which was way out of my reach.
First, I’ll give little background information on the card itself. In 1991 Upper Deck introduced its “Heroes” Insert sets. 1991 football had a 9 card career set of both Joe Montana and Joe Namath (10 cards if you include the “Header”) and in addition to that a “very rare” autographed version of the checklist (limited to 2500).
Although not rare by today’s standards, this was a difficult hit. The 1991 Upper Deck product was right in the middle of that “junk” era where cards were being produced at an enormous rate. I’ve seen some estimates that suggest that one of these autos was a hit that was 1 per several cases. As it was one of the very first pack issued autographs, there isn’t a traditional “authenticity statement” on the back either. Instead, this card features a very subtle one. The normal issue “Heroes” cards have the UD hologram on the back in the shape of a football…as do all the cards in the cards in the 1991 Upper Deck set. The only exceptions to this are the Autographed Heroes cards. Both the Namath and the Montana have a diamond shaped UD hologram on the back (like the baseball issues). That is the way to distinguish an authentic auto from a fake.
When I saw the card in the case that day, I was in love. But, sadly there was simply no way for me to afford it…or so I thought. After chatting with the owner for a while we made a deal…basically he would put the card on layaway for me and I would pay him a small amount per week until the card was paid off. Having never done such a thing before (and excited at the opportunity), I accepted. That summer, the majority of my allowance went to paying off that card…but eventually I was able to do so and I still have the card to this day.
With the change in the hobby over the last few years, prices of these cards are lower. I could probably easily find an example of this card for well less than $200 today…and that’s in today’s dollars (not 20 years ago). But, I don’t care. It’s special to me and I have enjoyed owning it for over 20 years. My card is 727/2500…and that one is special to me.
