2004 SP Legendary Cuts Baseball – This product is for the more astute collector in your family or household. Legendary Cuts is jam-packed with game-used memorabilia inserts and autographs of the greats of baseball’s past – names like Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Hank Greenberg, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, Nolan Ryan and Duke Snider, among others. The big draw of this product is the randomly inserted cut signature card, which are inserted a rate of approximately two per sealed hobby case. The suggested retail price (SRP) per pack of Legendary Cuts is $9.99. A 12-pack sealed hobby box should set you back approximately $120.
2004-05 Upper Deck Hockey – OK. I know that NHL players have been locked-out by the owners. Apparently, that doesn’t seem to matter with respect to this severely short-printed product. Sealed hobby boxes have been retailing at close to $100, which is almost unheard of when it comes to a base level product. As always, the Young Guns sub-set has been smoking hot along with the Big Playmakers game-used memorabilia cards, which feature a large jersey swatch and are serial-numbered to just 50 copies.
2004-05 Hardcourt Basketball – This year, Upper Deck added a bit of a twist to the products memorabilia program – game-used jersey cards “framed” in a basketball shaped wood swatch. With jersey cards from Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Yao Ming and Carmelo Anthony, just to name a few, this product’s checklist boasts more than its fair share of superstars. There are also serial-numbered rookie cards of rookie sensations Omeka Okafor and Dwight Howard, as well as certified autographs from LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Jason Kidd. The price-point for this product is just right at approximately $4.99 per pack.
2004 Sweet Spot Baseball – Ever since the debut of this product line back in 2001, the hobby has always looked forward to any subsequent release. This year is no different. Sweet Spot baseball offers something that it never has before – a guaranteed Sweet Spot autograph per pack. As a matter of fact, some boxes even boast two or three autographs per pack. There are several variations of autographs including red and blue stitching, barrels and gloves. Oh, and lets not forget the dual Sweet Spot signatures and game-used bat barrels and patches. Some of the biggest names in baseball are represented in this products autograph program including Ichiro, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Cal Ripken Jr. There’s even randomly inserted autographs from past greats like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams. SRP is $9.99 per pack.
2004 SPx FootballYear after year, SPx Football has been one of the three or four rookie products to break. This year is no different. Fueled by the autograph jersey insert set, SPx Football has been smoking hot since its release late last month. Look for autograph jersey rookie cards from Ben Roethlisberger , Eli Manning , Julius Jones and Roy Williams. There are dual rookie autographs and a plethora of parallels. SPx football retails at $6.99 per pack.
2004 Upper Deck USA Baseball Factory Set – For the patriot of the household, this set highlights the vast majority of USA Baseball stars and highlights of the past 25 years. Look for three certified autographs and one memorabilia card per sealed set. Some of the signers for this set include Mark McGwire, Will Clark and B.J. Upton. The McGwire autograph card has been exceedingly popular and has commanded big bucks on eBay in recent weeks. The SRP for this set is approximately $49.99.
