Any Opinions on the Helmar cards on Ebay ?

[sirraffles]

Thank you. We make original paintings, usually with opaque watercolors. Then the paintings are scanned and, in this case, the text and logos were added in photoshop. Normally the backs are done in photoshop or photopaint.

The original paintings for this series are 8.5" x 4.25", the same size as the eventual printed card. In this size we can make only 1 new painting a week. So, to do the 42 paintings that we have planned for this series, it will take nearly all year to do. 12 of the 42 are already done.

One collector commissioned all 42 paintings this time.

[forgerelli]

I really like the cards but I just can't bring myself to pay the prices they go for. Have you considered issuing a lower cost "reprint" set?

Scott F

[jcmtiger]

These are really nice looking cards. Not sure if I would buy, but good product.

I like 19th century.

Joe

[joeadcock]

Interesting cards.

Back to original question, some in future will buy them as vintage. If they retain their value, then probably be a good buy anyway.

[J.McMurry]

I'm confused(as usual). These are not the cards that have been given out with the beer pretzels,peanuts, chips for the past 10 years?

[T206DK]

Originally Posted by J.McMurry

I'm confused(as usual). These are not the cards that have been given out with the beer pretzels,peanuts, chips for the past 10 years?

no, they are the same pictures as those cards, but the ones on Ebay are "aged" by the seller or by whoever prints them for him. Someone told me they were made in India or China, so I figure it's only a matter of time before they are being sold more frequently and on a larger scale. I'm pretty sure flea marketers are already copying his Honus Wagner cabinet card also as I have seen it fpr sale multiple times at the huge flea market that is north of Cincinnati.

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by forgerelli

I really like the cards but I just can't bring myself to pay the prices they go for. Have you considered issuing a lower cost "reprint" set?

Scott F

+1

[DixieBaseball]

Love them ! I don't actively collect them, but do have a few pieces in my collection. They make a nice filler for a tough HOFer in your collection if you ever want to pay less. (For example : Turkey Stearnes)

[DixieBaseball]

I also like them because of the limited examples made. They will not overproduce anything, including this example :

[sirraffles]

@forgerelli: I'm glad that you like them but we definitely won't be making any reprints. For one, it would undermine the cards that we are already doing. Secondly, if you think about it the cards are not expensive at all. For example, consider our card #52 in the R319-Helmar series, Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson. A collector could have cornered the market and purchased all six that have been available for only $125.

@joeadcock: Well, in the future they will be vintage, too. And I can't imagine that they won't hold value. Consider that no Helmar hand-made card will ever have a population of more than half that of the famous T206 Wagner.

@J.McMurray: Helmar did make cards that were included within bags of potato chips and caramel corn. Now we hand-make cards in very, very small numbers.

@T206dk: If you'd like real information instead of "someone said", then just ask. No, the cards are not made in sweatshops in some third world country. They are made here, on the same 12 color press that the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art uses to produce their high-end lithographs. One of our artists, Sanjay Verma, does live in India. He is the National Award Winner there and often represents the country for foreign traveling Exhibitions. He is one of the best in the world at what he does and I am honored to work with him. He is also a really good guy. As for your fantasy that you are "pretty sure" that arch fiends are copying our Wagner card and selling them by the dozen at "flea markets"... you are better than that! We do, by the way, keep hi-res scans of every single card that has been made.

@everyone else: Thanks for your interest, your comments and your compliments. I'll post another of our Boston Garter style cards in a couple weeks since you seem to enjoy them. thanks, Charles

[dabigyankeeman]

Some of the Helmar cards i have seen on Ebay are really very nice looking, and not being reprints i actually could be tempted to buy some Yankees, but not at the prices they are going for, no way. I cant believe how much money some people are willing to pay for these things.

[cardhog]

@T206dk: "...They are made here, on the same 12 color press that the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art uses to produce their high-end lithographs... thanks, Charles" (aka Sir Raffles)

Except that the MMA does not use a "press" - they use an Epson inkjet printer. And Helmar Brewing does not use a press, you use an inkjet printer too!
The portasite.com priceguide says:
"...they are worthless as collectibles. No matter how attractive they look, they can have no collectible value. The first reason is that there is an unlimited print run, and anyone can reproduce them cheaply. The second (and more important) reason is that digital inks are water-soluble, and the air is filled with tiny molecules of water, which eventually dissolves the ink. Light also breaks down these inks, as does ozone – two things which are omnipresent, even in the most controlled environment. These factors will incrementally destroy the ink, starting with fading and blurring, loss of detail, and a “washed out” look. Eventually, the image will vanish. All of this will occur within somewhere between 10 and 100 years in a museum setting, much sooner at home. So these type of cards will not survive long enough to acquire any age-related value. In fact, it is the exact opposite: Unlike “real” cards, which appreciate in value with age, any value assigned to these type of cards will go down with age as their condition slowly degrades. They are most “valuable” when they are brand new, and it goes down from there. Which is contrary to the whole idea of “collecting” cards, and is also why they are not considered collectible."
Nothing produced on an inkjet is a collectible, period. It's like collecting fruit - it eventually goes bad and starts to stink! And Sir Raffles knows the difference between an ink jet printer and a 12 head press, which starts at over $1 million.... Gadzooks!

Bob All.en