1982 Donruss diamong kings puzzle ltd edition - any info?

[dbrown]

I was emptying out some things from my childhood home recently and found this item, which I had completely forgotten about. A promo "apology" gift from Donruss for their difficulty delivering cards or cases in 1982. It's the diamond kings puzzle of babe ruth, not cut up, mounted on wood, in an edition of 800. (I am old, I was buying cases in 1982 as a teenager.)

I haven't paid attention to the 1980s market in a long time — has anyone seen or handled one of these? Any auction results? My googling has produced nothing.

thanks
David

[jason.1969]

Never seen it, but it’s super cool!


Jason
Twitter: @heavyj28

[insidethewrapper]

I have one on my wall. Issued to dealers in 1982. Don't know value .

[ParisianJohn]

Very cool! The unnumbered ones that were given to dealers back in 1982 are for sale eBay at $10 for one, but at a reduced price if you get multiples. Not sure how much the letter and numbering might add to the value, but it's not worth a whole lot.

In 1981 when I was 5 my father bought a Topps cello box and said, "We're not opening it." My brother, who is 9 years older than me, had a shoebox full of cards he'd opened in the mid to late 1970s so I was jealous I didn't get my own.

The next year my father bought a wax pack box of Donruss and let me at it. I remember pulling a ton of doubles (sometimes it's not bad when you later realize you have 5 Ripken rookies) and I didn't like the lack of complete career stats for guys who'd been around more than like 5 years, but I do recall putting together that Ruth puzzle and thinking it was really cool. It was also pretty awesome to rip open packs for the first time. Some good memories.

And I have that unopened 1981 Topps cello now!

[dbrown]

Thanks all — I had not seen the un-numbered sheets on ebay. My dreams of riches are dashed. But I may see what it'll get on an ebay auction soon. I would keep a 1981 topps cello, but no need for this thing.

Excavating the old stuff at my old house... there's something so charming about 1981 donruss, that was such a crappy issue, such thin paper stock...

[ParisianJohn]

If you collected baseball cards in the 1980s then you should always be ready to have your hopes of riches dashed!

I'm glad I still have the 1981 cello. After letting me open the 1982 Donruss (and yeah, those early Donruss cards were so thin!) my father bought Topps wax boxes in 1983 and 1984 and again wouldn't let me open them. I started collecting myself a few years later and in 1987 my father saw how hot the market was and he told me to open the 1983 and 1984 boxes. I think he was hoping we'd find rookies for Boggs, Gwynn and Mattingly. Complete bust! We didn't get a single rookie card for any of those 3 guys. I wish I'd not opened those. I could have sold the pair now for about $1000 based on recent eBay sales. Instead I have a bunch of raw crap - but it's my raw crap and I've kept them all these years.

Here's the link to the sale on eBay for the Donruss Ruth promo sheets. This seller has sold 11 already and has 6 more on the market:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/27486456873...mis&media=COPY

[D. Bergin]

If the OP's item is on thicker Puzzle stock, I would assume it's much different then the 8x11 promo posters on Ebay, that are advertised as being on regular paper stock.

Doesn't mean it's worth a lot, but definitely a distinction between the two premiums.

[dbrown]

Side view attached -- it is probably the exact same promo sheet, just mounted onto thicker board and then onto a wood support. And then transformed into a limited edition.

[dbrown]

on ebay now -- let's see what it's worth. At least 99 cents now. Maybe only 99 cents.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225568438415

[jh691626]

I just think that's a super cool relic of collecting history, as a company-issued apology and only a certain # produced, with the letter and everything.

[Mark17]

Thanks for listing that on ebay. If it sells for something worthwhile, I'll list mine after your auction concludes.

[Mark17]

I've got mine listed now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145107542939

Hard to believe it's 40 years ago.