They are a 50 card set and Dave had wondered in his post if they might have been issued in two series since he only had cards numbered in the first 25. On flipping through mine I discovered I had about an even mix of cards from the first and second half of the set. On looking at the backs though I noticed something that might lend credence to the two series theory.
The cards on the left in the above photo are from 1 to 25. The cards on the right are all from 26 to 50. Not sure if this is significant, but the reversed color scheme is noticeable.
I've got about half the set now, though a few have dinged corners. I'll add this to my list of kind of fun, random sets I'm working on, the colorful borders have drawn me in.
Between the different backs and the way the cards are numbered, I feel pretty good in thinking that these were issued in two series.
ReplyDeleteIt's such an odd little set. So weird that it has cards for all the Central League teams except the Swallows. Did you get any of the stickers that were in the packs with the cards?
Yeah, I think you are right about it being issued in 2 series.
DeleteIt is so odd that its only 5 out of 6 teams from the Central League, I am really curious about the back story on that. Must have been a bit frustrating for kids in 1989 who were Swallows (or PL) fans - the wrapper on your blog gives no indication that its limited to those teams only and they probably would have bought them expecting to get cards of any team.
I didn't get any of the stickers unfortunately, they do look pretty cool.
I wonder if the Swallows wanted more licensing money because they had Shigeo Nagashima's son Kazushige on their roster then.
DeleteMan, talk about overplaying your hand in negotiations.....
DeleteKazushige is still a pretty big star in Japan though actually, I see him on TV shows all the time.
I like the colorful borders and the simple/clean design. Best of luck tracking down the remaining cards for your set build.
ReplyDeleteMe too, and thanks!
Delete