1951 Wheaties Premiums

[Bestdj777]

I don't think Craig has proven anything beyond a reasonable doubt--that is a very high standard and I still have my doubts. Pretty strong evidence that it is not from 1951 though. Owell. Still one of the most attractive cards made of him.

[pawpawdiv9]

Hey Chris, you start erasing some of those 0's of that asking price yet?
This discussion has become very interesting and i have been digging thru and researching myself proving whether or not it is 'Wheaties'.
Great Stuff!!!

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

Hey Chris, you start erasing some of those 0's of that asking price yet?
This discussion has become very interesting and i have been digging thru and researching myself proving whether or not it is 'Wheaties'.
Great Stuff!!!

Hahah, the price is perfectly fair Chris!

[pawpawdiv9]

The 51 wheaties premium photo might be just mis-represented.

I just gave you a heads up on a nice 52 #311 coming up soon. Depsite a nice 2 on ebay, but claims it their grandpas --go figure?? going for now just under 5k with 1 hour left
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-Mickey-...item19e2657900 by angela.momberger
Has a front/back pic, but unable to zoom on the front.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

The 51 wheaties premium photo might be just mis-represented.

I just gave you a heads up on a nice one coming up soon. Depsite a nice 2 on ebay, but claims it their grandpas --go figure?? going for now just under 5k with 1 hour left

Yea, also selling a 52 Wax Pack and a Babe Ruth auto ball... I made one bid on that card then realized it was not worth the risk.

[nolemmings]

I know little about these issues, which of course doesn't stop me from giving my two cents. First, there is always the possibility that these premiums were issued over multiple years- 3 or 4 per year. We as collectors are often so adamant about making sure a particular year fits our needs that we are close-minded to the prospect of multiple-year issues.

Second, it is possible that these were issued in 1952. Maybe the idea was hey, if you like the drawings/illustrations on the '51 mini boxes (scarce until a hoard of unused was found in mid-1990s) and '52 regular boxes, you'll love the photos on which some of these were based. The Legendary auction site showing the 11 cards says that there were contract problems with Rosen and Mantle, which could explain why those were issued later than others. Also, the regular '52 cards apparently issued in series running through at least series "L" (see ads below, pulled from current ebay auctions)--maybe one premium was associated with each series of the cereal box cards and they were released at different times throughout the year. Also note that they advertised 60 cards, and L is the 12th letter of the alphabet. Maybe there were 5 cards per series?--I'll let the Wheaties experts chime in on that.

Just food for thought (pun unintended).

[pawpawdiv9]

i was researching ads and photos and found some info worth passing on to those that collect mantle photos:
http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.com/mantle12

and found this site on Wheaties:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...85/5/index.htm
Wheaties' performance peaked in the early '40s. Then World War II caused a temporary wheat shortage. After the war came television and supermarkets and, as a result, newer and jazzier cereals. The costs of commercials started to increase. Wheaties stopped sponsoring sports broadcasts and began relying on athletes' testimonials, which inexplicably lost their effectiveness when they hit the TV screen. Even Jack Armstrong began to lose his appeal, and his switch to the Scientific Bureau of Investigation didn't help. Jack died in 1951.

Wheaties' early TV commercials featured the likes of Ted Williams, Sam Snead, Bob Feller and basketball star Bob Davies, the model for Clair Bee's Chip Hilton. The theme was "What sparks a champion, sparks you," and there was always the reminder that there's a whole kernel of wheat in every Wheaties flake. In another set of early commercials, Mel Allen would say, "One of the things I like to do is talk about Wheaties. The other is to eat them." In 1954 Wheaties signed up the Yankee rookie Mickey Mantle.

But sales continued to dwindle, and General Mills decided to change direction. It made the monumental blunder of pulling Wheaties out of sports. The cereal went from Mickey Mantle to Mickey Mouse in hopes of capturing the children's market. The traditional silhouette of an athlete was replaced on the box by one of a child. Wheaties signed on The Lone Ranger and Wyatt Earp. The result was that while more kids were eating the stuff, many more adults were abandoning the Breakfast of Mouseketeers. In one year, 1956, sales dropped more than 10%. Even the revelation in that May's issue of Confidential magazine that Frank Sinatra was the "Tarzan of the Boudoir" because "he eats Wheaties" didn't help.

I always thought this A2623 newspaper ad premium 1954 Wheaties premium was something of resemblance:

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I know little about these issues, which of course doesn't stop me from giving my two cents. First, there is always the possibility that these premiums were issued over multiple years- 3 or 4 per year. We as collectors are often so adamant about making sure a particular year fits our needs that we are close-minded to the prospect of multiple-year issues.

Second, it is possible that these were issued in 1952. Maybe the idea was hey, if you like the drawings/illustrations on the '51 mini boxes (scarce until a hoard of unused was found in mid-1990s) and '52 regular boxes, you'll love the photos on which some of these were based. The Legendary auction site showing the 11 cards says that there were contract problems with Rosen and Mantle, which could explain why those were issued later than others. Also, the regular '52 cards apparently issued in series running through at least series "L" (see ads below, pulled from current ebay auctions)--maybe one premium was associated with each series of the cereal box cards and they were released at different times throughout the year. Also note that they advertised 60 cards, and L is the 12th letter of the alphabet. Maybe there were 5 cards per series?--I'll let the Wheaties experts chime in on that.

Just food for thought (pun unintended).

Todd,

I don't mean to be pedantic here but the wording Legendary used suggested that the issuer produced the cards prior to actually signing a contract and then after they could not consummate an appropriate contract, halted production, thus the rarity.

Their wording in the auction also seems to suggest they know more than detailed in the auction description as they suggest the images were used in
'51 & '52 Wheaties boxes from the same Wheaties Premium set. The distinction is subtle but suggests the images were lifted out of archives of the issuing company. Other auctions date the emergence of pristine examples "...to the early '90's."


Z Wheat