1997-98 Panini Foot Cards - Checklist

Product Breakdown:

Product: 1998 Panini Foot Cards
Theme: Ligue 1 and France National Team
Season/Year: 1997-98
Manufacturer: Panini

Total Cards: 200 - 162 Ligue 1 player cards, 18 Ligue 1 club badge cards, 18 France national team player cards and 2 checklists.

Special Inserts:

Autograph Cards: No
Memorabilia Cards: No
Parallels: No

Configuration:

Official Binder: ¿Unknown?
Pack: 8 cards
Box: 30 packs
Case: Unknown boxes

Additional Info:

The first Thierry Henry card appears in this set. Card #104, he is pictured with AS Monaco.

Images:

The checklist doubles as a tradelist/wantlist of my cards from this product.

Checklist:

The checklist doubles as a tradelist/wantlist of my cards from this product.
-Black is what I have in my PC set.
-Blue is what I have available to trade.
-Red is what I need for my set.

Another Great Mailday Batch - With 1 Exception

Originally posted on 27 March 2012.

I got these purchases from eBay in the mail recently and was absolutely stoked with the first two, both of them will be going straight into my PC. First up this Thierry Henry 2011 Upper Deck SP Game-Used jersey card. IMO the card has a solid design and I got it for a bargain price so I'm definitely thrilled about that.

Next up I got a Rafa Márquez certified auto from the 2012 UD World of Sports product. I'm especially happy about picking this one up since it's my first certified Márquez auto.

Lastly I picked up this 2009 UD MLS Cuauhtémoc Blanco jersey. Sadly the card was mailed in a plain non padded envelope without a toploader and arrived damaged, significantly creased. It also had quite a bit of chipping on the side edges. It was "reinforced" with a piece of cardboard but obviously that wasn't enough protection, check out the 3 creases around the jersey window cutout to see what I mean. Not happy at all with this shit so I will no doubt be looking to be reimbursed by the seller for this dud.

First Ever SCB Box Break

Originally posted on 28 April 2012.

To be honest there's just not that many contemporary unopened soccer products out there worth opening so I mainly stick to buying only the singles I want. However I do sometimes pick up a box from an older collection I'm interested in, especially if the price is right as was the case with my recently busted 36 pack box of 1994 Upper Deck Wold Cup.

I had yet to pick up this preview edition World Cup set so this was a great chance to add it to my WC sets collection. Here's the breakdown of the "hits" from my box break as pictured in the scan below. I got 4 different "Bora Selects" inserts which the back of the pack states that the odds of finding these is 1:12 packs. Next I got 2 SP "Honorary Captain" inserts (1:24 odds) including Michael Jordan. Lastly I got 6 (3 not pictured) "World Cup Super Star Holograms" inserts. I have heard that these hologram cards were originally meant to be stickers and it makes sense because they are much thinner than the rest of the cards and very flimsy, still nice looking cards though plus I absolutely smashed the odds on these as they're stated odds are only 1:18 but I got 6 in 36 packs.

As a result of this fun and dirt cheap break I now have the complete base set for my PC and a spare one to trade, as well as the entire Hologram insert set. I still need plenty of inserts especially the Bora and SSP Honorary Captains so if anyone out there has 'em I'd be interested in trading for them.

Key Soccer Rookie Cards Are On A Roll

And if they're graded by BGA or PSA they are beyond being on a roll, they're absolutely on fire! Check out what I mean by clicking on the eBay prices listed below for these Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane rookie cards.

Cristiano Ronaldo
2002-03 Panini Mega Craques
- $293.88 (BGS 9) -
- $247.50 (BGS 8.5) -
- $150.00 -
- $107.50 -
- $102.50 -
- $81.00 -

Lionel Messi
2004-05 Panini Mega Cracks
- 1,300.00 (PSA 10) -
- $704.99 (PSA 9) -
- $600.00 -
- $499.98 -
- $355.00 -
- $349.00 -
- $299.00 -
- $274.00 -
- $255.00 -
- $250.00 -
- $250.00 -
- $239.16 -
- $206.94 -
- $122.00 -
2004-05 MundiCromo Las Fichas de La Liga
- $175.00 (BGS 9) -
- $45.00 (BGS 9) -
2004-05 Panini Mega Cracks Barça Campeón/Campió
These 3 cards are XRC's (extended rookie cards) IMO but they still sell very well.
#35
- $167.50 (BGS 9.5) -
- $150.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $149.99 (BGS 9.5) -
- $125.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $78.77 (BGS 9.5) -
#62
- $91.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $76.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $71.00 (PSA 10) -
#89
- $149.99 (BGS 9.5) -
- $130.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $100.00 (PSA 10) -
- $100.00 (BGS 9.5) -
- $70.99 (BGS 9.5) -
- $61.01 (PSA 10) -

Zinedine Zidane
1992-93 Panini Football Cards
- £68.67 -
- $66.00 -
- £35.55 -

The Messi RC's are the best performing of the bunch which is to be expected considering he is currently provoking discussions about whether he will one day be considered the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.) but Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane are also rising. I picked up a Ronaldo BGS 8.5 RC for peanuts a few years ago. I also recall being outbid at the last moment for a Zidane RC which ended for $20 something bucks, I now regret not going higher on that one.

All of this suggests to me that interest in soccer rookies in general is growing. I wonder if this growing interest will last and if prices will continue to rise? I suppose only time will tell...

This Is Why I Don't Collect Futera Autos...

 Originally posted on 31 January 2012.

Aside from the typical crap Futera design this card has a serious problem, the signature on the back is clearly a horrible fake. Shockingly, someone bought this turd for $620.00 on eBay. At these kind of prices it looks like Futera has a nice little racket going.

Pictured below is an authentic sample of a pre-printed Ribéry auto on an officially licensed Bayern card from Panini. Notice how the signature is nothing like the Futera autograph.

Checking on the web there's no shortage of discussion questioning the authenticity of Futera's products. Futera themselves do little to dispel collector's concerns as there's no explanation to be found on their site about how they obtain the signatures or any guarantees as to their authenticity. In fact this is all I could find on Futera's official website regarding their 'signed' cards.

"AUTOGRAPHED CARDS: Some card publishers get players to sign pieces of clear tape and stick them on to a card to create their ‘Autographed’ cards, but whilst there is a nice uniformity in that method, we prefer for the players to sign direct on the card surface. This means that the players will sign where and as they want to sign - sometimes over the design or their own image - but from a collector’s viewpoint we feel that’s a good thing, as it adds character and gives each card a unique touch from the next."

These people are unbelievable...