Helmar Brewing Co.

[bwbc917]

The cards etc. are very nice and do make it possible to own on a budget. Another artist to check out would be Monty Sheldon. He was doing cards for Helmar when I met him at a Chicago National. I commissioned 4 cards from him and they turned out to be BEAUTIFUL. Sadly my scanner sucks and I can't post. Find him at montysheldon.com

[ullmandds]

I dig them...and I like them much better than modern shiny crap. But I have not and I likely will not buy any of them.

[Fred]

They're nice looking however I wonder how many people don't realize that they are recently produced. I've never paid attention to the back of the cards. Does the back indicate they are recently produced?

Never purchased one, probably never will, they're just fun to look at. One last comment - I'd rather not see them in the pre-war section of ebay.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Fred

They're nice looking however I wonder how many people don't realize that they are recently produced. I've never paid attention to the back of the cards. Does the back indicate they are recently produced?

Never purchased one, probably never will, they're just fun to look at. One last comment - I'd rather not see them in the pre-war section of ebay.

Is there even a pre war section on ebay anymore????

[Runscott]

Ii especially like the '33 Goudey-style ones, but I wish they weren't so aged - if he ever produced a set of 'new' condition ones, with a finish similar to the real Goudeys, I would probably buy them. But that would not maximize his profit, which I completely understand.

[Fred]

Pete,

There's a filter on ebay that allows you to select the "Era" as part of the search function. I select the "Pre-WWII (Pre-1942)" section to limit the amount of new crap that shows up in the searches.

[insccollectibles]

The artwork is amazing on some of the cards. I won't buy because I don't see them retaining any value.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Is there even a pre war section on ebay anymore????

Good point Pete. I sometimes have to double check the search settings when I scroll. The other day I had to wade through a couple hundred slabbed '65 Topps to see the listings that didn't work for me anyway.

[GKreindler]

I've gotta agree with Chris regarding Monty Sheldon, he's an absolute force to be reckoned with. His website REALLY doesn't do his work justice, and as I've nagged him about many times, needs some serious updating (like I'm one to talk).

But he does keep his Facebook page updated:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Very-...20955254596509

Seriously though, he's a phenomenal artist and makes amazing keepsakes. I can't extoll his virtues enough.

Graig

[autograf]

The Helmar stuff is all very neat stuff. I have a few that I bought early on when he first started doing them. I have 8-10 leathers that are fashioned after the L1 leathers and they are TOP NOTCH work. I'll try to scan and post a couple here. Some are players contemporary to the L1's and some are newer players--Ruth, etc but on an L1 format. The 1933 Goudey-type cards are absolutely fantastic with the Japanese, Negro League and House of David cards along with Mantle, Clemente and others in that same format. The prices they bring on ebay are just enormous. $200-$300 for some stars in the 1933 Goudey format. Robert Edward Auctions sold a few lots in the recent auction:

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/..._fall/975.html

The lot above, for instance, brought $840 for 41 cards or about $20 per card. Some of those same cards on ebay brought much, much more. So you do have to wonder about holding value. If you're buying them because you love them $20 per card is MUCH more affordable than $200-$300 per card on ebay......

Ebay completed auctions for the R319 Goudey-esque cards are below:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn=...w=r319&_sop=16
Ranging from high at $230+ for Fleetwood Walker (cool idea) to lowest price of $9.99 for Vern Stephens. 26 of them sold over $100. 104 of them sold at $20 and below.

As for artwork, as I understand it, he commissions the artwork for the cards, so he's not stealing anything. They are done from vintage photos I'd assume and then the cards are made from that artwork--which he's sold as well. If you look at the completed auctions, sum up sales for a month, and you'll see it's a pretty lucrative business.....at least on the revenue end....not sure about costs........

Great great stuff though........there are also a couple of copycat(ish) type sellers on ebay doing something similar albeit not on the same size or quality as sirraffles........