30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, February 18, 2019

A Little Cardboard Controversy

Politics and controversy tend to go together like two peas in a pod.  So when I discovered there was controversy surrounding the 2015 Pastime Presidential Portraits set I purchased last year, I wasn't too surprised.

In a nutshell, the card company that produced this set took presell orders at $45 (free shipping) leading up to the March 10, 2015 scheduled release date.  Unfortunately they went out of business a few months before that.  Although I did find one member on Non Sport Update Card Talk who stated he/she received their set approximately one month after the release date, it's assumed that most people didn't receive their orders.

Then in July of 2016, sets started popping up on eBay.  Each factory sealed set contains a complete 44 card base set, two inserts, and one one-of-a-kind hand drawn sketch card.

The controversy has to do with the fact that none of the sketch artists were paid for their artwork.  Plus there are randomly inserted redemption cards for the original artwork used to create the base set that will never be redeemed.  In fact, you've gotta wonder what ever happened to the original artwork.  This definitely left a sour taste in the mouths of anyone who never received their sets or never received compensation for their work.



As for my interest in the set, I can't remember exactly how I learned about them.  But I'm pretty sure I
purchased my two sets primarily for the sketch cards.  By the way, if you're wondering if I paid $45 for each set, I didn't.  I paid $26 (+ $8 shipping) for the two sets back in August of 2018.

Today I figured I'd crack them open in honor of President's Day as well as kickoff my first contest of 2019.  But more about that at the end of the post.

Let's show off the set:



I'm a pretty big fan of portraits and some of these aren't too bad.  However there were a bunch of the base cards that seemed a little off.

Here's a closer look at Ronald Reagan:


I admit that there's no way I could do a better job, but this isn't how I remembered our 40th President.

Here's how I remember him:


This is one of the inserts I received in my first set.  It's called a Presidential Posters Collection card.

Here's the one from my 2nd box:


As you can see these inserts are unnumbered and do not contain any serial numbering.

The second insert in each set were the Presidential Stamp Relic Cards:


The card on the left features a 1938 3¢ Jefferson stamp, which seems to be fairly common.  The other one contains a 1923 8¢ Grant stamp which is a little rarerUnused copies sell for $20 to $30.

On the back of each stamp card there's a certificate of authenticity:


And finally the two cards I was looking forward to the most:



I was very impressed by both of these sketch cards.  The detail on the Theodore Roosevelt is fantastic, but on the other hand, I enjoy the simplicity of the Obama sketch as well.  I'll be hanging onto both of these sketch cards, the four inserts, and one of the base sets.


Contest Information:

However if you would like to own the other forty-four card base set, please respond to at least one of these questions of the day:


Who is your favorite United States President?


Who is your least favorite United States President?


What is your favorite trading card controversy?

I'll leave the contest open until Saturday afternoon at 3pm PST.  After that I'll put everyone's names into the randomizer, hit randomize five times, and whoever is in the 16th slot will win the set.  If there are less than 16 entries, then I'll enter everyone's name two times.

Happy President's Day!

25 comments:

Rod (Padrographs) said...

President Eisenhower is my favorite, the current occupant of the White House is my least favorite. Controversy the Billy Ripken card. I am currently working on the 1952 Presidential set.

Jon said...

I'm going to skip the contest (no interest in any more sets), but it was interesting to learn about this set. One has to wonder if all of that original artwork will end up on eBay some day, or if it's going to be found in some abandoned warehouse thirty years from now.

AdamE said...

Theodore Roosevelt is my favorite. Rough Rider, hunter, fisherman, and explorer he did it all. He's like a real life Allan Quatermain. I'm even trying to collect the Teddy's Trophy set. (which I'll blog about one day in the near future.

Andrew Johnson was easily the worst though most people only know of him as the guy who replaced Lincoln.

1998 Pinnacle Certified
For those who don't know what I'm talking about:
https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/previously-unknown-1998-pinnacle-certified-cards-emerge/

16?? Does that mean Lincoln is your favorite?

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Favorite card controversy: Going with the all of the 1989 Fleer Randy Johnson variations.

Billy Kingsley said...

I'll take a shot: Favorite is Teddy Roosevelt. Least favorite is Andrew Jackson. Don't have a favorite controversy.

The Lost Collector said...

Interesting! Will forego from entering the contest, but I’d have to say my favorite is when an autograph (sticker) ends is on the wrong card.

RunForeKelloggs said...

I like Roosevelt's work with the National Parks but Wilson signed Rocky Mountain National Park into existence so I will go with Wilson.

What would our card world be like if Fleer didn't win a ruling to produce their 1981 set?

The Snorting Bull said...

I do not want to be part of the contest, but I will answer your questions:

Favorite- Harry S. Truman. Got to love people from Missouri.

Least Favorite- Pass, not going to create an argument. Three possible candidates with their reasons:

Nixon went to Duke.

James Polk went to UNC.

Franklin Pierce is not often mentioned as one of the worst Presidents, but he was drunk. depressed, and barely did any work. Sad story behind it all though.

Biggest Card Controversy- Relic cards in general. Shady as hell.

Sean said...

I can't pass up the opportunity to state that the current president is my least favorite of all.

Other than that though, that's an interesting story about that set. Sounds like there was some shady stuff going on in the lead up to its release!

Twitch said...

Man, a lot of the art on that base set is *rough*. The sketch cards are much nicer, though the Obama one looks a lot more like Jordan Peele to me.

GCA said...

I'm with Snorting Bull, I like Truman. Have a few of his biographies. Also have a lot of reading for my later years about Nixon and JFK.

If I had to pick a "favorite" controversy, I guess it would be the Gold Winners of 1992. (They made the contest cards too easy to win, so they had to make a billion winner sets) Worked out great for collectors. I'm building a set now.
Most controversies are negative, though, like exclusive contracts, messing up insert numbering, baiting and switching black parallels (2009), etc.

Chris said...

Favorite sports card controversy - Bill Mastro using an exacto-knife to trim a Honus Wagner T206.

Favorite presidents: FDR, Obama, JFK.. probably Reagan and Truman rounding out the top 5.

Least favorite: Agent Orange.

SumoMenkoMan said...

President Eisenhower by far. His military career and then presidential career are really fascinating!

gcrl said...

I have Ike and James Madison as favorites due to writing reports about them in grade school. However, Obama is my favorite president in my lifetime and his successor is my least favorite.

So many card controversies, but I'll go with the Gretzky Honus Wagner. Read "The Card" to understand the shenanigans that surround that piece of cardboard.

Baltmoss68 said...

I am actually very fond of our current Commander in Chief. His immediate predecessor is my least favorite. You didn’t ask but I own and enjoy the Little Debbie Presidents set from the late 80 s.

As for a card controversy, how about these exclusive deals keeping companies out and/or creating logo less cards?

Commishbob said...

My favorite president is hard to pin down but LBJ rises above the crowd of 44 for sure. A flawed man for sure but a fascinating one as well.

Card controversy? The bogus (tho never proven) Ben McDonald Upper Deck 'no logo' rookie ran me out of the hobby as I refursed to pay for it and thus ended my Orioles run of team sets. I remained gone for a long time.

Fuji said...

rod (padrographs) - that 1952 topps presidential set is awesome. i think i have one or two singles from that set.

jon - i won't lose any sleep over it, but i am also curious to what happened to the original art (even if the majority freak me out).

adame - wow. never heard this story. it was very interesting. damn, i wish i was working for pinnacle when the last few days. as for 16... yeah i picked it to honor lincoln. i'd say reagan or obama are my favorite presidents (at least during my lifetime)

john miller - how many different variations do you own?

billy kingsley - you and adame think alike

the lost collector - those are pretty cool. i have a tony gwynn autographed sticker that was placed on a tony gwynn jr. card.

runfore kelloggs - very true. and look at where we're at in 2019. smh. hope one day mlb will give out multiple card licenses again.

snorting bull - love your reasons for listing out least favorite presidents. kinda interested in learning more about pierce

sean - yeah... not sure if i want to laugh or cry when i watch the news anymore.

twitch - i agree 100%

gca - lol. i totally took my flashlight to those scratch off cards back in the day.

chris - oh yeah... the trimmed wagner. that's a great one. nice call.

sumomenkoman - my dad is an eisenhower guy. i'll have to ask him more about it when i call him this week

gcrl - i have the book... but haven't read it yet. one day.

baltmoss68 - the little debbie president set is a beauty. and i'm all four getting rid of exclusive deals

commishbob - yeah... i remember you mentioning that before. have you written a post about it?

Commishbob said...

I rant about that card regularly and have mentioned it in several posts but I never have had a post directly about it. Probably because I never got one. I bet it's a fifty cent card now. Oh the humanity!

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

Favorite presidents... FDR, JFK, Obama, Lincoln. All pulled the country out of major, actual threats to our country and democracy. Card controversies... I can think of one but the details elude me. Must sleep now...

Fuji said...

commishbob - looks like they still sell in the $5 to $10 range. not bad for an error card that most people have forgotten about.

Fuji said...

Great list of presidents. Hope you got enough rest.

hockey kazi said...

As a Canadian, don't really have a favourite and least favourite president--card controversy Ripken FF card

Fuji said...

Definitely an iconic card that's celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Fuji said...

Contest is closed. Winner will be announced soon.

Princey Pie said...

I have 2 Roosevelt sketch cards from this set. Each a one of one and one is in color and the other b/w.