For years I've been interested in something different for my collection. For Baseball collectors that means Topps. Sure, Panini is out there, but without team logos cards often look odd and amateurish. There's still vintage, and goodness knows I've got a healthy wantlist there, but I firmly believe you just can't chase the old stuff alone. I wanted something new and different to add, and I think I may have finally found something that fills that need.
Not to long ago I added my very first Helmar Brewing Company Card.
Helmar Brewing fills an niche that current products do not. Starting in 2005 they produced retro-style Baseball cards to go along with their product line of beer, and almost immediately created a following among the collector set. Their cards were attractive, modern day drawings of olde-tyme ballplayers that used designs borrowed from many different classic card sets. They are not reprints. Instead, they are unique collectible cards, often limited in number, that have the look and feel of something old. Heck, their modern offerings are purposefully given a distressed look; including scuffed edges and rounded corners, in order to make each individual card look as unique as possible.
For years these cards were put into their beer, chips and caramel corn products, but based upon the high collector demand they now sell them directly online through eBay. And this is where I recently got my newest card. Check out photos of it above and below.
The card is of former Brooklyn ballplayer Joe Dunn, and it is a part of the "Our Guy" Helmar set. The card is the same size as a vintage tobacco card, is made with thicker card stock than a vintage card and uses a design reminiscent of the T205 & T206 sets. In fact, the drawing used for Dunn is the exact same image used in the T206 set.
For several months I had placed numerous bids on many different Dodger Helmar cards, but always got outbid. This time, I was able to walk away with this beaut for $13 delivered. A steal when you consider that their cards often sell for far more; especially when they use a readily known design of a well-regarded player. For instance, a Burleigh Grimes Boston Garter Helmar card recently sold for $88.
BTW, Joe Dunn was a backup catcher for Brooklyn from 1908-1909 -- when they were known as the Superbas. He got into only 30 games over that span; including 27 as a catcher.
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