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Use the menu below if you'd like to search for posts that relate to your interests. Note - this was just created on 12-30-20 so I will need to link the posts in the coming weeks. Until then, you can scroll down to the labels on the right to find the same information.


Sunday, February 19, 2023

Does Anyone Collect Cards Cut From the Cereal Boxes?

and are there cards like the Tom Seavers that don't exist other than on the boxes?  I know that in the junk wax days there were four cards on the box bottoms that were unique

I have a few of the cereal boxes that advertise the Kellogg's cards found inside.  I don't see myself cutting the cards from them because I like the look of the complete box or back panel.  Here is one of the newer ones that I probably never bought.  Why?  I was in an apartment so Corn Flakes were never going to be purchased when there were so many good sugary choices.  Plus, Michael Jordan Wheaties boxes were everywhere.  I even won two MJ basketballs that I still have.    



The Tom Seaver cards are prominently featured on the back of the cereal box as shown above.  What I like about these cards, is that they really don't exist at all in the form shown on the box.  The 3-D card has a combination of both of these cards.


I also like that these Seaver cards are close to actual baseball card size.  Whoever cut these did quite a good job cutting them.  That's a skill I never have and if you don't believe me I can show you how poorly I cut Hostess cards in the 1970s.






The Schmidt card is not as large.  It is probably the size of the 1975 Topps Minis.  I'm too lazy to find the box to confirm, but the Schmidt must be on the top or bottom of the box.


The Palmer cards, like the others shown on the box, are small.  They are about the size of two postage stamps.  Someone really took their time to cut all of these cards out.  Luckily, they kept them since 1992 so I could have something to spend time on tonight.  

Are there variations of this box?  I doubt it.  The Canadian version looks to have the same layout.

Is every card available on the box?  Yes, but only Seaver and Palmer show two different poses.  Sorry, I didn't post both Palmers, which can be seen on the side panel.

There are no small versions of Seaver, but his cards are by far the best ones here.  

Friday, February 3, 2023

Valuable to My Collection - Probably Junk to Many Collectors

I love to add random stuff to my Kellogg's collection, even if is probably isn't considered valuable.  Do any of you do that? 


I picked up this group of unopened 1992 Kellogg's cards this week.  The cards don't sell for much, but these lot is different - the cards are all still connected to each other.  I didn't count how many are connected, but I was told that there are over 60 of them.  

Now I have a new project - figuring out how to display something like this.  Has anyone displayed cards connected like this?  Since these 3-D cards are heavier than the older ones, I want to keep them from damaging the packaging.  


Saturday, January 14, 2023

Kellogg's Cards - Grading and Cracking

 I purchased these two cards recently.  I don't usually seek out graded cards, but these came in a lot of 30+ cards.  


When graded as 10 by PSA, can I assume that they were not cracked?  What do the grading companies do with cracked Kellogg's cards?

I have no problem with damaged Kellogg's cards, but I don't see them as gradable if they are cracked.   A well-loved, played with card is fine for my collection, but if the entire card is cracked there isn't much to see.

Nothing against the seller here because these cards were shown as cracked in the listing.  The cracks take a lot more of the shine off of the card than I'd expect.  

Does anyone have graded cards that were fine, but now are cracked?  That has not happened to any of mine.

Friday, January 13, 2023

Best Offer Accepted ----- But I Lost Anyway

 This is a new one for me.  I made an offer on a card recently and a counter offer was made.  Before I could accept it the fair offer, someone else bought the card.  Has it happened to you?

It would not be a big deal, except for the fact that it was a one-of-a-kind card.  

After a look at this sheet I feel a bit better.  I have no idea how to bid on stuff like these sheets or other unique items.  Most go beyond my budget.  







The last one is one of those that got away.  I should have bid a lot higher on it, but I don't know what any of this stuff is worth.  I hope that a Clemente collector is enjoying it - 72 Clementes together.




Thursday, January 5, 2023

#6 on My List of Favorite Kellogg's Baseball Card Sets

 I keep going back and forth on #6 and #7.  I went with 1978 for #6.  I was busy with sports and I lost touch with my trading group so I didn't see extra cards often that year. 

I did find time to go to the most amazing card shop on Archer Avenue in Chicago - the Sports Collector's Store.  It was run by a few of the biggest names in card collecting.  For those of you who are older, you probably know who they are.  I still see at least one of them around at the big shows.

What I didn't see there, or at least notice, was Kellogg's cards.  Of course I never looked for new cards there.  I probably only purchased cards from 1969 and earlier when I went there.

Back to the 1978s.  I remember getting three Steve Carlton cards in one box of Frosted Flakes that year.  That would be great if I weren't a fan of the Cubs.  



I don't see as many 1978s cracked as I do other years, but there are still a lot of them.  I have a nice collection of cracked Mike Schmidt cards from 1978.  I could use some better ones.  Even one of my unopened Schmidt cards has problems - it is cut short on the right as compared to the card shown below it.  


I do like the card backs - lots of text and stats.  


My first unopened splurge was on 1978 Kellogg's cards.  I bought the entire set in the wrappers and I think that the Schmidt was normal.  With my luck, it is probably cracked too.

I bought another small lot of unopened cards and the card below was one of the first ones I opened since my childhood.  I certainly knew him from card collecting, but when the Cubs and White Sox had night games I always watched the Cubs.  "For all you youngsters out there" (thanks Steve Stone), the Cubs only played National League teams from 1946 - 1996 and before 1946 they only played AL teams in the World Series. 



I like the player selection in 1978 as compared to 1977.  It was a nice step back up to their normal solid checklist.


The Sutter card is one of my favorites.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

#7 on My List of Favorite Kellogg's Baseball Card Sets

The top seven sets on my list are difficult to order because I like them all.  The1972 set shows up as #7 but it could easily be in the top three for me.  As a Cub fan, I remember having the Glenn Beckert card since childhood.


I like the unopened packs fro 1972.  They are well constructed and it is easy to see who the player is on the inside.  


I don't see as much curling in the 1972s compared to the other 1970 - 1980 offerings, skipping 1973 where there was no plastic coating and therefore no curling.  





I always liked the layout of the back of these cards.  There are a few variations in this set, but none seem too impossible to find.



As a kid, I had four categories of Kellogg's cards, especially after I started attending cards shows in 1976.

1.  1970 and 1971.  None of my friends had many of these and if they did, they were never offering them in trades.  At shows, I don't remember seeing Kellogg's cards much, but we were too busy looking at cards from the 1960s or older.
2. 1972 and 1973.  Some of the neighborhood kids had them, but there weren't many duplicates floating around.  I had a decent number of 1973s from cereal boxes and a few 1972s.  There seemed possible to get in trades if you were willing to give up Cubs or White Sox cards from your collection.
3.  1974 to 1978.  The core days of me getting them from cereal boxes.  Lots of siblings meant lots of cereal at home.  These also seemed easy to get since a few of the kids had convinced their parents to get them the entire sets through mail-in offers.  
4.  1979 to 1983.  I was still collecting cards during all of these days, but in high school and college I wasn't home enough to snag them from cereal boxes.  I also spent a lot of my money at shows on all of the 1981 - 1983 wax that exploded with the introduction of Fleer and Donruss cards.  

The player select was good, but with only 54 cards, there were a lot more limitations than in the first two years when 75 cards comprised a set.  

This set also has the last Kellogg's regular issue cards of Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays.  I have few memories of watching them play since I was nine during this season. 


Tuesday, January 3, 2023

#8 on My List of Favorite Kellogg's Baseball Card Sets

1981 saw a big change in the production and distribution of Kellogg's cards.  The cards were issued in the standard baseball card format for the only time in the 1970-1983 timeframe and they didn't issue them in cereal boxes.


I like the player selection.  The bigger, yellow cards really showcase the uniforms of the different teams.  Since Chicago didn't have cable yet, those were still ancient times compared to the exposure of sports today.  




Factory sets from this year were quite easy to come by, and quite affordable, before COVID.  





The card stock is thin and it is quite susceptible to curving.  They seem to curve more often than they crack.  Maybe that is because the coating also seems thinner on these cards.

Kellogg's figured out something with the 2.5 x 3.5-inch cards.  It worked well with the thicker offerings in 1991 and 1992.  Imagine how nice all of the Kellogg's issues would have held up if they used the 1990s technology from 1970 - 1983.



The backs have extensive write-ups.  The backs will be ranked separate someday.