Zeenuts question from one who is uninformed

[Archive]

Posted By: Todd (nolemmings) 

Are the Zeenuts sets all unnumbered?
I bought a Beckett "big book", and noticed last night that it apparently lists the Zeenuts sets as numbered. The numbers mostly coincide with the alphabet, but then after reaching Z it starts over again, so that card 106, for example, may be some guy whose name starts with A.
I've not seen other sources that have the sets numbered, and the few cards I've seen don't have numbers that I've noticed. Would anyone confirm that they are unnumbered?
regards............Todd

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

The guides frequently assign a number for convenience. These numbers are typically in parentheses to denote their not being assigned by the manufacturer.

[Archive]

Posted By: jay behrens

none of the sets of numbered. Why books insist on numbering unnumbered sets is beyond me. It just confuses the situation. And with Zeenuts, like Old Judges, new players and poses turn up from time to time. So trying to assign a number to an unnumbered set is pointless and will only confuse things when new cards are discovered.

Jay

[Archive]

Posted By: jeff s

I agree that the numbering of unnumbered sets is annoying. on the up side, beckett now lists current unnumbered sets without any kind of guide numbering. maybe what is good enough for 2003 Flair Game Swatches Platinum will soon be good enough for Zeenuts.

[Archive]

Posted By: Todd (nolemmings)

Figured the sets were unnumbered, but am baffled by what Beckett did. This is not convenience numbering, or if it is, I find it highly inconvenient, for as I said, he'll list cards 1-105 in a-z order, then 106-148 or whatever will be another a-z list for the same set.

On the plus side, Beckett lists the first names for the Zeenut players, which comes in handy for the data base I'm working on.
todd

[Archive]

Posted By: brian parker

Hi Todd--the strange numbering of the Zeenut listings in the Beckett book is the result of the cards being alphabetically grouped by team, and then the players are alphabetalized within their teams. For example, all the Los Angeles players would be listed first, in alphabetical order, then Oakland in the same fashion, Sacramento, etc. This proves to be very helpful to the the team collector, which is a very popular way to collect Zeenuts.

Having said that, Beckett fails miserably by not providing helpful information at the beginning of each year's listing, such as "cards 1-16 Los Angeles, 17-30 Oakland...", like I believe they do for the Obak issues. I guess that would have taken too much room away from the 2001 Upper Deck Platinum Blaster Game Used Jockstrap Insert cards.

Brian

[Archive]

Posted By: Nick Martinez

I've noticed that you don't see alot of Zee-Nuts cards on the block. Either they are really rare or Zee-Nut collectors are hording for the big pay off.
I've looked for any of the Black Sox players and/or Jimmy Claxton(the real first black big league player) for years; to no avail.
As far as the Beckett big book goes, not only is the information poor but the pricing for vintage cards is off quite a bit. Especially on pre-war stuff. For modern cards it is a must.

Just one man's opinion...

Nick

[Archive]

Posted By: Andy Baran

The Zeenuts Claxton card has long been considered the first traditional baseball card picturing a black player, but Claxton never made the major leagues, to the best of my knowledge.

There are many Cuban baseball cards picturing black players that were issued earlier than the Claxton, though this is not common knowledge, and the cards are extremely rare.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Obermeyer

Zeenuts are one of the best kept secrets in baseball cards. They're really tough, even out here on the West Coast. I really don't think that the value is in pace with their scarcity.

There are a number of factors that keep people away from Zeenuts. They're minor league, usually found in off condition, and no one has any idea what constitutes a "complete" set.

If you've got the patience for a 4,500+ card set, welcome aboard!

Jeff
http://www.seattlehockey.net