My Kind of Greeting Cards ...

One of my pet peeves is waste. Wasted time, wasted money and wasted materials. So when it comes to greeting cards - well, I'm one of those who will save a tree or save you $3.00 or whatever they cost these days.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the sentiment of Birthday, Father's Day and Christmas wishes. But for me personally, send me a collectable card !

So my holiday greetings - from people who know me - came in the form of a 2009 SPORTKINGS limited autograph / jersey card (below) of ...

the New York Cosmos legend - GIORGIO CHINAGLIA. I can now add this to my collection of World Cup player autographs. Giorgio appeared in the 1974 World Cup held in Germany. He was a star for Lazio in Italy before making the move to the NASL and joining Pele in New York.

Also making it into my stocking is this card (below) from the 1902 Ogden's Cigarette series. It features another international player who starred over 100 years before Chinaglia. JOHN ROBERTSON made 16 appearences for Scotland and played over 100 games for the Rangers F.C. dynasty around the turn of the century.

One of his claims to fame is that he was the very first Manager of the then newly formed club CHELSEA F.C..

Two cards, made over 100 years apart, in different parts of the world - still mean one thing - HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

A Card Recipe For Rip-Offs - Fake Jersey Cards

Like everything that is deemed valuable, someone comes along and tries to ruin the joy for others. Well, I will do my best to put a hammer blow into those plans that attempt to destroy this great hobby.

It is not difficult to take advantage of the naive and uneducated soccer collector. This seems to be more prevalent as the hobby of collecting soccer memorabilia is ramping up. (see my article in the latest issue of SCG Collector Magazine) 

 Here is proof that with a few purchases anyone can bake a rip-off recipe:
- buy one unlicensed retro New York Cosmos jersey (ebay) like this

- copy one of a thousand Pele photos avialable on the internet
- puchase  a few dozen cheap plastic card holders
- cut and paste - print
- advertise liberally (ebay recommended)

What you have is the making of the "evilbay jersey card". You will notice that Pele, who played in the 1970's Cosmos team has the same swatch as Ronaldo who never played for the Cosmos, but was active from the 1990s to the present.

The culprit for this sickly meal is ebay seller kvadteck.

I have also noticed a recent abundance of the 1958 REKORD rookie card of Pele. The Swedish magazine Rekord had a paper insert in a 1958 issue. Considering the high asking price, it seems that either someone is clearing out the old magazine offices or someone's scanner is working overtime. BUYER BEWARE !

There are so many better choices for Pele cards out there with reliable sellers who have collected for a long time. Get to know your sellers and the items you want to acquire. I don't think that chasing a rookie card is neccessarily always a good investment for soccer collectors. If you look at the above card, Pele' real name ( Edison "Edson" Arantes do Nascimento) is not even correct. Secondly, it is on low quality thin paper - making it ripe for counterfitting.

Ironically, some of the modern cards of Pele are as expensive as his earliest ones - namely the FUTERA Legends cards and the WCCF cards from Japan. however, these are quality cards with excellent company backing.

Eat, drink and collect !