Dear Babe: I have a question about the 1981 Fleer baseball wax wrappers. I seem to recall reading in a 1981 SCD that the images on the back of the wrappers indicated whether the cards inside were first run "error cards," or second run corrected cards. Can you verify this and does it make any difference in the value of the unopened packs? -- Jane Liljedahl, Redding, Calif.
Of course, 1981 was the year Fleer and Donruss broke Topps' stranglehold on the baseball card. While Fleer had sued Topps in 1975, first winning and then losing on appeal before the 1981 season, but that ruling was overturned on appeal in August 1981. By that time, a loophole in Topps exclusive deal had been uncovered. Fleer and Donruss could produce cards, assuming they could work out deals with Major League Baseball, but the packs couldn't contain gum or candy. Eventually, Fleer opted for stickers and Donruss inserted puzzle pieces.
In the rush to market in 1981, both companies issued card sets riddled with errors. I haven't found anyone with a definitive take on different Fleer wrappers, although Rich Klein, a long-time hobby expert and www.cardinformant.com columnist, leans toward the wrappers with Reggie Jackson on them and the smaller MLB logo as coming from the second printing, which should have contained corrected versions of the cards.
"I suspect the wrappers with the promotion for the buttons and the crude drawing of Reggie Jackson is a later wrapper print as Fleer was scrambling (as was Donruss) just to get the 1st issues out the door," Klein said.
"I remember there was a visible difference in the wax boxes between the 1st and 2nd printings of 1981 Fleer, but I don't recall if this extended to the wrappers, and I no longer recall what the difference entailed," said Bob Lemke, editor of The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest.
There was a time when the error cards were sought after with several carrying very high book values. Those days are long past.
"They were much more collectible when they first came out in 1981," said Mike Heffner, president of Lelands.com auction house in New York. "Now, the cards and wrappers are desired by only a very few in the hobby. The wrappers from these issues are worth no more than pennies."
Dear Babe: I have a very rare 1940 Millwheel magazine with Joe DiMaggio on the cover advertising Wheaties. I can't find any info on Millwheel magazines from any year. -- Perry Kazulak, Youngstown, N.Y.
"The Modern Millwheel was a General Mills magazine published from March 1937 to April 1979. It was a monthly publication for employees and retirees," said Heidi Geller, who works in corporate communications for General Mills.
"It is going to be rare or tough (to find) but the demand for his material is flat," said Phil Regli, owner of P&R Publications in Irvine and a long-time magazine dealer. "I suspect that it is valued around $75-$200 based upon condition and presentation.
Dear Babe: I have a Post Cereal card of Ken Griffey Jr. It is No. 11 of 30. -- Vickie Mathews, Hapeville, Ga.
Post produced several sets in the early 1990s at the height of the card boom. Your card is from the 1991 set. The cards were packed inside boxes of cereal. The set was not licensed by MLB, so team logos are airbrushed out. The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest lists the 1991 set at $4 with Griffey at 75 cents. Becketts's Almanac of Baseball Cards has it at $8 with Griffey booking at $1.50.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak@charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
Comments