[skil55voy]

The sets themselves are relatively small at 200 cards each.

For 1961 that number jumps to 300+ because of the sheets issued by the company. If you wanted a "complete set" you would need to add the perforated company cards. This is where "some" of the tougher cards come into play: IE Chuck Stobbs company only, Ed Mathews company etc..

1962 is 200 cards. No company send ins. A couple of the cards are tougher because of the cereal boxes they were on. (Bill White comes to mind, McCovey also) The set is actually quite doable without outrageous cost including the Mantle/Maris from life magazine. The 1962 Jell-o cards are a separate issue and is deemed a test issue. Very little information exists on distribution, what boxes the players were on etc. Nearly impossible to complete.

1963 is again 200 cards. This is where it gets sticky. The cereal promotion ended sometime in mid summer and THEN you were supposed to be able to complete your set with Jello cards. A pure marketing ploy resulting in short prints for the cereal cards and different short prints for Jello. Mantle is the prime example. Difficult in Post Cereal, plentiful in Jello. The Jello cards are smaller than the cereal cards as the red line in the stats box does not go to the end of the card. A second scarcity exists because of the box sizes. Jello was available in 2 different sizes 3oz and 6oz. Price was a factor AND a 3oz box could make enough Jello for a medium size family.

I have a theory on the 63 Jello set. The cards on the 6oz boxes may be harder to find than the 3oz: Jello had a craze for make crazy fruit salads using their product. Many banquets served these things. (I certainly remember them from my Cub Scout soirees) My guess is most boxes of 6oz were basically discarded. It's only a crazy thought.

Sorry for the droning, but I thought I could shed a little light on the subject. Dan Mabey's Post Cereal books are the ultimate guides to collecting the Post Cereal sets. (I didn't even mention the 1962 Post Cereal Canadian set) For the 1962 US Football set, Ken Marks has a very informative book covering that set. A couple have collected the info on the 63 Jello boxes. (Who is on what flavor and size) As for the 62 Jello set we have a compiled list.(Sizeand flavor) It is not complete.