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Brag Photo: Hockey Heroes Insert Re-Imagined in 2011-12 NHL Upper Deck Series One
Posted by: | CommentsThe Hockey Heroes insert set has been an integral part of the Upper Deck NHL release each year, but it had grown a little tired and become redundant for collectors. So the hockey team worked to come up with a new way to deliver the set to collectors. We felt it was time to eliminate the single-player structure in favor of a more compelling theme in order to deliver a collection of hockey’s greatest legends spanning four decades over the next two years. The players who are not deceased will also have hard-signed autograph variations of their cards.
In 2011-12 NHL Upper Deck Series One that arrives in stores next week, puck fans can begin finding a collection of 12 NHL legends from the 1950’s. The complete 1950’s Hockey Heroes set features the 12 standard player cards plus a scarce painted “art” card featuring Gordie Howe, Andy Bathgate and Bobby Hull as well as a rare header card. Furthermore, 10 of the 12 players have rare on-card autograph variations (each card is hand numbered to 15). The piece de resistance is the triple-signed painted “art” card (10 hand numbered copies were produced).
For 2011-12 NHL Upper Deck Series Two, the focus of Hockey Heroes will cover the decade of the 1960’s with another 12 cards featured alongside on-card signed variations and another multi-player, on-card signature painted “art” card. Collectors should note that the checklist for these 1960’s Hockey Heroes cards will run from HH13-HH25 for continuity to the set building experience.
Look for the 1970’s and 1980’s decades to be covered in 2012-13 NHL Upper Deck Series One and Two respectively. In the meantime, enjoy a gallery of all the autograph cards in this season’s Series One set.
Popularity: 2% [?]
2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection Update
Posted by: | CommentsFans have been pretty fired up about the release of 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection and many Certified Diamond Dealers are moving completely through their allocations on the product. As many who have been busting through the product know, there are three “A” autograph cards inserted in each case on average. We wanted to provide some additional insight on who and what comprise an “A” hit.
“A” hits are made up of autograph cards of any of these veteran players:
Alexander Ovechkin
Bobby Orr
Carey Price
Gordie Howe
Joe Sakic
John Tavares
Jonathan Toews
Mario Lemieux
Mark Messier
Martin Brodeur
Patrick Kane
Patrick Roy
Sidney Crosby
Steven Stamkos
Wayne Gretzky
They are also made up of autograph cards of any of these rookie players:
Brayden Schenn
Jacob Markstrom
Jeff Skinner
Jordan Eberle
P.K. Subban
Taylor Hall
Tyler Seguin
Lastly, they are made up of autograph cards from any of the following subsets or inserts:
Autographed Ultimate Rookie SP’s (#’d of 99)
Autographed Ultimate Rookie Patch Variations (#’d of 25 or 35)
Autographed Ultimate Rookie Shield Variations (#’d of 1)
Signed Ultimate Debut Threads Patches (#’d of 25)
Ultimate Nicknames (#’d of 25)
Ultimate Autographed Patches (#’d of 10)
Ultimate Autographed Dual Jerseys (#’d of 10)
Ultimate Autographed Dual Patches (#’d of 5)
Ultimate Signature Logos (#’d of 1)
Additionally, fans who have been looking at the checklist for the 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Signatures insert set have likely noticed references to “Group A”, “Group B” etc. We wanted to clear up what those letters correspond to as well. Unlike the other signed cards within 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection, the Ultimate Signatures are NOT serial numbered. Those cards have specifically been designed without serial-numbering to allow some flexibility during the process of putting the product together.
In years past, we’ve provided limited information on occasion regarding which cards from the Ultimate Signatures insert set were scarce short-prints. In an effort to provide consumers with better information on these cards, we’ve incorporated a system whereby the checklist is broken into specific tiers of scarcity by grouping the toughest cards together and labeling them as “Group A” and repeating the process with subsequent groups that carry more prevalent print runs.
The official breakdown for the 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Signatures checklist is as follows:
Group A (1:125 packs)
USAO Alexander Ovechkin
USGH Gordie Howe
USJS Joe Sakic
USML Mario Lemieux
USMM Mark Messier
USPR Patrick Roy
USWG Wayne Gretzky
Group B (1:44 packs)
USBC Bobby Clarke
USBH Bobby Hull
USGL Guy Lafleur
USJI Jarome Iginla
USMB Martin Brodeur
USMI Mike Bossy
USPD Pavel Datsyuk
USPE Phil Esposito
USPEI Brad Richards
Group C (1:15 packs)
USDD Drew Doughty
USEK Evander Kane
ESEM Evgeni Malkin
USJE Jordan Eberle
USJF Jeff Skinner
USMH Milan Hejduk
USPK Patrick Kane
USPS P.K. Subban
USRM Ryan Miller
USSC Sidney Crosby
USSS Steven Stamkos
USTA John Tavares
USTH Taylor Hall
USTO Jonathan Toews
Group D (1:8 packs)
USBO Bobby Orr
USBR Bobby Ryan
USDS Derek Stepan
USEG Evgeni Grachev
USMD Matt Duchene
USMJ Marcus Johansson
USMT Mattias Tedenby
USNL Nicklas Lidstrom
USNN Nino Niederreiter
USSB Sergei Bobrovsky
Group E (1:4 packs)
USBD Brandon Dubinsky
USBS Brayden Schenn
USBY Brandon Yip
USCS Chris Stewart
USET Eric Tangradi
USGU Guillaume Latendresse
USJC Jared Cowen
USJM Jamie McBain
USNF Nick Foligno
USZH Zach Hamill
Of note, we’ve seen a few references on collector message boards mistakenly referencing the Ultimate Signatures Group A cards as one and the same as the “A” hit signatures that fall three or more per case. Though there are “A” hit signatures within the Ultimate Signatures Group A (all of them, in fact, fall within the guidelines of an “A” hit), by no means, do the Ultimate Signatures Group A cards represent the complete sum of “A” hit cards within the entire 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection product.
Additionally, the odds stated for each of the groups within the Ultimate Signatures checklist reference the number of packs it takes to find any one card from that group. Thus, if you were to open 125 packs, you would find any ONE of the seven different cards within Group A on average. Thus, if you see a reference to Wayne Gretzky’s Ultimate Signatures insert falling at a rate of 1 in every 125 packs, that is not an accurate interpretation. Gretzky’s Ultimate Signatures insert actually falls at about 1 in every 875 packs (7 x 125).
Finally, collectors should note that though the print runs for individual cards within each group are not exactly equal, the quantities are generally within a few cards of one another and often exactly equal to one another.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Brag Photo: Cryptic Dead Leaf Mantid
Posted by: | CommentsTwo weeks ago we posted our first Brag Photo featuring the debut of our Entomology cards. Cool for sure, but many wondered why we created these, and the reason is actually pretty interesting. Here’s Product Manager Grant Sandground to explain – Toby
We’re excited to show the recently arrived Goodwin Champions Entomology cards. They’re one of the key pieces that define the Goodwin Champions brand in that they dramatically display the concept of taking a tobacco-era card, and rebuilding it with today’s technology to stretch the boundaries of what can be done with trading cards.
Understandably, one of the questions we consistently receive about Goodwin Champions is why on earth did we make “bug” cards for a baseball product?
It’s an obvious question and it deserves a proper response.
As most collectors know, baseball cards were just one small fraction of the subject matter featured on tobacco-era trading cards. Dating as far back as the 1880’s, tobacco cards featured an array of topics including horses, flags, actors and actresses, political figures, famous landmarks and even butterflies.
When we constructed Goodwin Champions, we really wanted to draw upon as many of these treasured vintage themes as possible. The primary goals of Goodwin Champions were to make a beautiful base set featuring artwork reminiscent of the classic 1888 Goodwin Champions set, make some killer hard-signed cards, deliver value and an enjoyable collecting experience in every box. We also, however, wanted to push the envelope in regards to what we could deliver in the form of a trading card and create some “I can’t believe they made that!” type-of-cards – whether it was getting our hands on some coal from the Titanic, a hunk of cable from the Golden Gate Bridge, strands of hair from Smarty Jones or a treasure trove of the world’s most fascinating creepy crawlies.
The Entomology set was originally conceived as a collection of cards exclusively featuring butterflies – staying true to the history of the tobacco cards. In the process of researching the butterflies that would be best suited for our project, we discovered an array of insects that were just too good to pass up on. When you see a four inch long insect that look exactly like green leaf with legs and a head, how do you say “no” to making a card for it?
After twenty years of making trading cards, we know it takes a lot to make collectors stop in their tracks and look twice. With its turn-of-the-century content, the Goodwin Champions product provided the ideal setting to make some truly unique relic cards, and that is why “bug” cards appear in a baseball product.
Want to see more Entomology cards? Click here to visit our Facebook page, where we’re posting exclusive images!
Popularity: 1% [?]
