This 24-pack box of cardboard beauty was about as fun to open as any box I’ve had the pleasure of ripping so far this year. As a matter of fact, almost every pack contained at least one serial-numbered insert and my box yielded two game-used memorabilia cards and one serial-numbered autographed rookie card.
The best card I was fortunate enough to pull was a Legendary Players game-used jacket card of Nolan Ryan serial-numbered to 25. In addition to the Ryan, I also pulled a Stars of Summer game-used bat card of Will Clark serial-numbered to 250 and an autographed rookie card of Chicago White Sox prospect Sean Tracey.
For you team collectors, Classics offers the first card of Carlos Beltran in a New York Mets uniform, as well as one of the first cards of Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Pedro Martinez sporting their new garb.
If you are a collector of serial-numbered parallels and inserts, Classics boasts eight different non-game-used/autographed versions, including a host of “1 of 1”’s.
The highlight of this product, however, is the inclusion of game-used and certified autographed cards of Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax. A recent check of eBay sales reveals that some of these Koufax game-used memorabilia cards have been selling for some serious cash. For example, the first “1 of 1” Koufax, which just happened to be a gorgeous game-used patch card sold on eBay this past weekend for $3,333.
HOLY COW!
I bet the seller who placed a “Buy It Now” of $1,200 on his “1 of 1” Classic Combos dual-autograph patch of Koufax and Nolan Ryan is kicking himself today based on the above sale.
What’s refreshing about 2005 Donruss Classics is the mere fact that it’s the first non-rookie based product released this year that has caught the eyes of just about every single collector in the hobby.
Donruss loaded up the truck and stashed a ton of great autographs and low-numbered game-used inserts in these boxes, which have been steadily moving at $85-100 per.
If you’ve got some money burning a hole in your pocket, I would recommend picking up a box of 2005 Donruss Classics.
Here’s a quick peek at what you might find in your box of 2005 Donruss Classics:
Base Set
250 base cards
25 Autographed Rookies (#/1,500 or less)
25 Legends (#/1,000)
Parallels
Timeless Tributes as follows:
Silver #/100
Gold #/50
Platinum #/1
Significant Signatures as follows:
Silver #/200 or less
Gold #/100 or less
Platinum #/1
Inserts
25 Stars of Summer, including these parallels (#/1-1000):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
30 Dress Code, including these parallels (#/5-300):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
50 Legendary Players, including these parallels (#/1-800):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
50 Legendary Lumberjacks, including these parallels (#/1-500):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
32 Classic Singles, including these parallels (#/1-400):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
18 Classic Combos, including these parallels (#/1-400):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
30 Membership, including these parallels (#/1-1000):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
50 Home run Heroes, including these parallels (#/1-1000):
Autographs
Game-Worn
Combinations
