ITG Superlative Vault and ITG Ultimate Vault (Source of Cards)

[bearlyjb]

I would be interested in knowing the real story behind the source of the Vault cards.

One view is that Dr. Price had extra cards printed for his personal collection beyond those distribution card runs sold by ITG. In turn these cards were sold recently and put on the market with the V-Stamp.

As a collector of both pack cards, show cards and redemption or other cards I understand there can be additional cards printed of the same card series and that is simply no different than having parallel cards from Upper Deck or Panini.

As a specific player only collector - Beliveau I have been intrigued though to see some of these Vault cards come out in "Red or Gold" versions and cards I have literally never seen anywhere ... again OK because some of these Red/Gold and or parallel Vaults are in some ways even nicer than the original pack distribution.

Thus, any thoughts or facts on these cards and the influence on the original pack card values?

Bearlyjb

[30ranfordfan]

I find it very unlikely that Dr. Price had extra cards printed for himself, but now decided to give them up.


ITG has done "1/1 Show Stamps" for years.... and making them would mean printing extra copies of each card.

So.... you've got something from Superlative that is /9 (Silver) and /1 (Gold). Maybe you run off 5 extra copies of each? You can keep one (each) held back for any hypothetical Customer Service Issues.... and stamp one copy of each, per show, as you do redemptions..... but if you only use a couple of those copies, or the Customer Service copies never get used - those cards are going to sit in "the vault" for ever.

I've picked up 3 Superlative Vault cards so far. One of them was a Gold Version and has 1/1 on the back, like the "real" card would. The other two are Silver versions, whose real card would have been /9..... and there is no numbering..... it just says " of 9". ITG staff would have hand numbered these cards when they went into packs.





Does this influence the values of the original cards? I don't think it should, but what do I know? I never had a problem with 1/1 show stamp cards... and a lot of people don't like them. It does mean that there is now a lot more vintage memorabilia of any given player on the market. It makes it easier to get, so someone who simply wants to own an Eddie Shore GU card now has more chance of doing so. I guess (in theory) that would drive the prices down??

Having said that, this does not affect the original print run, and I would never consider one of these cards for a set I was working on.

[iidaemmi]

Thus, any thoughts or facts on these cards and the influence on the original pack card values?
Bearlyjb

Already strong impact-down. Example ITG Ultimate has fallen sharply, everyone sees it.

Harri

[Gallinator]

Perhaps a little OT, but aesthetically speaking, I really don't like the blue label they are using for Ultimate Vault and find it - along with the Vault stamp - detracts from the eye-appeal of the cards. I was offered a beautiful Sakic card with a nice chunk of Emblem on it from UM1 and found myself thinking "meh" when I would have been drooling over it otherwise. Hopefully the seller will get more for it on eBay than the amount I was willing to pay.

Timing of Ultimate waaaay too close to Superlative release, should have been done well into the summer. I believe these are a few factors leading to decline in prices. Some guys are making $$ off of cracking and reselling, though, so I guess for some it's OK.

[Cunnuc]

I love the Vault cards. Mainly for the reason stated above, I have never seen some of these cards anywhere.

But where and when would I ever get the chance to see 'Superlative The First Six - Raised to the Rafters Plante / Richard / Roy Gold 1/1' ? That card (if pulled) would have likely went straight to someone's PC or never hit the secondary market. The original card would likely sell for $400+. My card sold for $65 USD. That's quite high for a Vault card from what I've seen but it did contain a patch of Maurice Richard.

Are there 4 Vault-Stamped cards of both the original version and it's gold parallel version? I doubt it. Why print 4 extra cards of a true 1/1? Or if 4 extra cards were printed maybe 1 or 2 were Show Stamped and the remaining were Vault Stamped and released in this product.

I'm quite sure Dr. Price didn't produce extra cards for his own collection. It's just for replacement purposes and redemptions for shows. I mean... if you could just create any card you want, whats the point in printing off 10 of the same card for your own collection? lol

If ITG isn't doing redemptions anymore at shows since it is now ITG-Leaf then what else should they do with the replacement cards in the company vault? Either destroy them or package them as their own release.

I've bought a few boxes of each and picked up a few singles on feeBay. I liked Superlative Vault better than Ultimate Vault and I love that I've been able to pick up some hard-signed autos of Red Wings and Maple Leafs for cheaper than usual.

To me the Vault releases have actually increased the value of the regular version. For lack of a better term, it's like there is an original version and then 4 fakes and now the original version is more sought-after.

If I pulled a sweet Vault card that I never knew existed and loved it that much I would be out looking for the original version. These releases kind of double as advertisement for what's actually out there. Lot's of different and unique designs in all the ultimate and superlative relases.

[RGM81]

Some of the older ITG Ultimate Vault cards are gorgeous and they feature something we haven't seen from ITG in a long time: licensed cards! The older Beliveau and Richard cards are beauties because they have that aspect to them. I haven't looked at them a lot but wow they're really nice.

I do have to point out that our Finnish Upper Deck collector is, in at least some very specific cases, incorrect in his statement.

Here's a Beliveau auto jersey from an Original Ultimate release: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2007-8-ITG-Ul...-/281645098786 $36US

There are several Beliveau memorabilia-only cards from the Vault that are going for well more than $50, including a patch card that went for $150.

But it's easy to say things when you have an agenda.

[cygnusx1]

Some of the older ITG Ultimate Vault cards are gorgeous and they feature something we haven't seen from ITG in a long time: licensed cards! The older Beliveau and Richard cards are beauties because they have that aspect to them. I haven't looked at them a lot but wow they're really nice.

I do have to point out that our Finnish Upper Deck collector is, in at least some very specific cases, incorrect in his statement.

Here's a Beliveau auto jersey from an Original Ultimate release: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2007-8-ITG-Ul...-/281645098786 $36US

There are several Beliveau memorabilia-only cards from the Vault that are going for well more than $50, including a patch card that went for $150.

But it's easy to say things when you have an agenda.

Aren't you proving his point? Prior to Vault, a Beliveau Auto/Jersey would have gone for much more than $36.

Also, Beliveau patches aren't exactly plentiful and always sell for good money, whereas his autos can be had fairly easily. Not the greatest comparison IMO.

[RGM81]

Aren't you proving his point? Prior to Vault, a Beliveau Auto/Jersey would have gone for much more than $36.

Also, Beliveau patches aren't exactly plentiful and always sell for good money, whereas his autos can be had fairly easily. Not the greatest comparison IMO.

The Beliveau auto jersey sale was prior to Vault's release.

With such limited numbers of items available it's tough to make an apples for apples comparison; and in the wake of Beliveau's passing, demand for everything around him is up. People are, for the first time in a long while, able to score licensed ITG memorabilia cards (the Ultimate cards made prior to the lockout) and they're willing to pay for them. Harri is a good guy, but his track record on ITG threads rivals that of KingKuba's general commentary when it comes to being negative. Not quite as outlandish though.

[bearlyjb]

Great perspectives all round

On the view of prices and I will only speak to Beliveau for which I consider myself an expert in ... overall the actual selling prices for his cards on eBay are down

That is not to say that since his passing many persons out there have hoisted the typical asking price by x5 and in some cases x10

However cards that you could not buy for $100 five years ago may sell now for half that

No matter as Jeans value and certainly that of his cards will always be measured by far more than market rates rather by memories and respect

Vault cards have though illustrate the successes of his career and I am glad to have true #1/1 and show stamped or vault stamped variations

Bearlyjb

[iidaemmi]

But it's easy to say things when you have an agenda.

Yes, I have an agenda in this particular case. All Gilmour ITG cards were fallen after those to two Vaults came out.
Otherwise, my agenda is no greater than yours Richard. Yes, I say issues directly as they are

Harri