I love talking racing cards.
IMO, the top racing cards in the hobby are:
1. 1986 SportStar Photo-Graphic Dale Earnhardt
2. 1972 STP Fred Lorenzen with car (my avatar)
3. 1972 STP Bobby Allison
4. 1972 STP Richard Petty
5. Any of the Marhoefer Meats A.J. Foyt cards that were produced over a five-year period from 1961-1965
6. 1911 T36 Barney Oldfield
7. 1988 and 1989 MAXX Dale Earnhardt
Some of those cards (like the Lorenzen with car card and Bobby Allison card from the STP set are extreme rarities). The MAXX Dale Earnhardt cards are a bit like '52 Topps Mickey Mantle in that they are very easy to find, but those two cards are the cards most commonly thought of when someone says "auto racing card." I am still trying to pick up an Earnhardt SportStar Photo-Graphics card; I have lost out at auction a couple times over the past 2-3 years.
The '88 version of the Earnhardt MAXX card has a bit of a back story in that the card was not officially released in 1988 because MAXX could not come to an agreement with him. Some '88 Earnhardt cards were released without company consent and MAXX did then officially release 999 of the 1988 cards with a serial number several years later. Low grade and ungraded examples of the MAXX Earnhardt cards can be found fairly cheap on eBay.
Lorenzen with car from the 1972 STP set is a legendary rarity to the point that racing collector Jon Hardgrove wrote on the net54 non-sports board that he saw just one example of the card in 26 years of collecting. I bought some STP cards from a lady in her 70s in Connecticut a couple years ago, and she invited me to call her up on the phone to talk about the set. The STP cards were originally a free handout at the 1972 Daytona 500 (and possibly at Talladega that year as well).
For some reason, however, the Lorenzen with car card was not among those handed out at Daytona. The lady I talked with in Connecticut said it took her over 20 years of searching to find an example of the Lorenzen with car card, and that one had a pinhole in it.
The STP cards are an 11-card set; some cards in the set are very easy to find, and some cards in the set are near impossible. Within the past year, two Lorenzen with car cards actually showed up on eBay and about half a dozen Richard Petty 1972 STP cards have appeared on eBay. I like collecting racing because there are only a small handful of cards that sell for over $500 individually. The Lorenzen with car card may be the only racing card that sells for over $1,000 at auction.
The Petty card ftom the '72 STP set does show up several times a year, and can be had in the $150-200 range, unless the card is extremely high-grade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by samosa4u
Good job, Peter!
Great post. Yes, there is still plenty of room for these cards to grow. By the way, what are the top 3 racing cards out there? I wouldn't mind picking them up!
It's all very confusing. According to my research, majority of hockey collectors prefer the base card (#'ed /99). The Gold version is considered an insert and is supposed to be worth less. And yes, it would be nice if someone on this forum could tell us about the prices on this card. Has it really dropped by $6,000+ even though he keeps winning? If so, that would be very shocking.
I was too small when Lindros playing for Oshawa. I have always wanted to see his Oshawa games and I even contacted the Generals to see if they had any in their archives, but nope, nothing.  |