Why so many different Rookie Cards....

[RGM81]

CL = Checklist.

First of all, welcome back to the hobby - there's nothing at all wrong with asking questions and indeed we encourage it, as there's a lot of highly knowledgeable members here that have a wealth of information to share.

With Upper Deck's license during this time period, they produce up to 25 sets per year, and for each set that includes rookies, each will have one classified as a rookie card. For a highly popular player like Malkin, that's a lot of RCs each year. Be careful also of all the parallels out there that people will claim to be RCs - not all of them are considered "true RCs" of that particular player. For example, a set like Ultimate Collection will feature an Ultimate Signatures of a rookie, but it is not a rookie card.

Best of luck getting back into the hobby!

[kdawq]

thanks rgm

[24redsfan]

personally, i think the main Rc's to get are the Young Gun or the The Cup RC

[afholmes87]

personally, i think the main Rc's to get are the Young Gun or the The Cup RC

The SP Authentic Future Watch Auto is another highly sought after rookie, as is the SPx Rookie Jersey/Auto, but in Malkin's case, the 06/07 SPx product was very poor.

[mr ozzie]

and how do you know what is the best rookie card to pick up .... for example Im intrested in purchasing a Malkin RC but I have no idea which one is the actual RC. Sorry if this has been asked before but im just getting back into collecting.

The best way - in my opinion - to know which are the "TRUE" RCs of a player is just do a look up in Beckett Online. Type in the player's name (in this case Malkin) and add "RC" in the search query. Beckett will list the official Malkin rookies - and if you subscribed will include book values. As RGM81 said, be careful of cards in the player's rookie year that people will sell as a rookie card. If the card doesn't have the "RC" designation in beckett, then it's not a rookie card despite the rookie year. Also, be weary of rookie card parallels. Products such as The Cup, SP Game Used, Beehive, OPC Premier, and some others are known for this. These are NOT rookie cards even though they look exactly like the rookie card of that set or have the word "rookie" on them.

To answer your question as to which one is the best. Well, everything nowadays is dependent on the person's budget. Upper Deck The Cup rookie cards are the most valuable for any player from 2005-06 to present. Upper Deck Collector's Choice or O-Pee-Chee regular are the cheapest - if I'm not mistaken. So "the best" is based on what YOU can afford. If we're talking Malkin - he has 21 RC designated rookie cards. The Cup #171 - as stated before - is the most valuable. There is a 3-way tie for the cheapest Malkin rookie and that is: Be a Player Portraits #103, OPC #564, and Victory #304. Good luck with your endeavours. You picked a very affordable player to collect in my opinion.

[kdawq]

thanks mr ozzie very helpfull!