1962-63 El Producto Coasters Set of 6

The 1962-63 El Producto set of 6 full-color coasters feature Gordie Howe, Glen Hall, Frank Mahovlich, Dave Keon, Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard.

The coasters came folded accordion-style as an insert with the 25-pack Christmas box of El Producto cigars. My set is still intact:

 Each 3-inch diameter coaster has a brief player bio on the back (birthplace, height and weight).

The coasters are not exactly rare, and a complete set or two can often be found on eBay at any given time. The set generally commands a ~25% premium when offered as a still-intact strip of 6.

Much more rare are the accompanying cigar box bottoms of the same star players. Among the most rare post-1950 hockey cards, the full-color panels can list for $500 or more each.

1973-74 Topps Team Emblems Sticker Set

Included one sticker per wax pack, the 1973-74 Topps Team Emblem Sticker set of 22 includes 17 different logos, plus 5 variations. All 16 teams of the NHL at the time are represented, plus the NHL shield. Five teams—Rangers, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Bruins—have variants consisting of a different team name depicted in the lower pennant sticker.

On eBay I have noticed stickers offered where someone has taken the liberty to “correct” the card by taking a bottom pennant sticker from one card and putting it with the matching logo/emblem sticker from another card. For example, you might see a Maple Leafs logo with a Maple Leafs pennant. Obviously, this is not how the stickers were originally paired.

1973-74 Mac's Milk Stickers Set of 30

The 1973-74 Mac's Milk Sticker set contains 30 unnumbered discs measuring approximately 3 inches in diameter. These round discs are actually cloth-like stickers with 2-piece peel-off backs.

Issued through the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) exclusively at Mac's Milk convenience stores in Canada, they feature caricature drawings of star players in the National Hockey League. However, there are no identifying marks anywhere on the discs identifying the sponsor as Mac's Milk.

A sticker came individually sealed in cello-like packages so you could not see through the wrapper and cherry pick your favorite player. Bobby Orr is the most valuable in the set and coveted by collectors. These stickers are condition sensitive since the packaging process had the potential to fuse some edges of the sticker with the cello.

1969-70 OPC/Topps Stamps

The 1969-70 OPC Stamps Set consists of 26 black and white stamps measuring approximately 1 1/2" x 1 1/4". They were distributed as a two-stamp panel in the first series of OPC wax packs, as well as with the Topps issue from the same year. There are actually 22 different pairs, resulting in some individual stamps being double-printed. Unlike the Topps vs. OPC booklets from 1971-72, there is no discernible difference between a Topps and an OPC stamp.

The image below is actually from an eBay listing for some homemade reprints, but they show what true mint condition pairs would look like.

Unnumbered, they were intended to be stuck on the back of the corresponding regular issue hockey card. Kind of a neat idea. However, a card with a stamp affixed is technically considered "damaged." But it is not uncommon to find stars cards like Howe, Beliveau or Orr commanding premiums when they are accompanied by their stamp.

The stamps alone are more valuable when not detached, and when they have never been stuck to a card (or anything else). Many stamps you find will have been "unstuck" and show some wear and/or residue on the back. They are notoriously off-center, and even when in good shape can be found with perforation cuts running into the stamp. Add in that they are printed on thin paper stock, and you can spend a lot of time and dollars piecing together a complete set.

I got this PSA 6 Howe for a bit less than $25 including the shipping. I usually prefer raw cards, but this graded one was priced lower than most of the raw Howes I've seen online.

1962-63 Parkhurst/ZIP Bubble Gum N.H.L. Hockey Contest

Being the completist that I am, it was only a matter of time before adding the 1962-63 Parkhurst #NNO Tally Card and to my set, and the #NNO ZIP Bubble Gum N.H.L. Hockey Contest Entry Card:

Everything you read about these two cards refers to them as rare, but they seem to be quite common, even in pretty good shape. I just waited until I found them at a price I was willing to pay, given what they are. I believe you'd find far less of the 1984-85 OPC contest cards if you did a "tally" of what you can find on eBay.

1910-11 C56 Imperial Tobacco Set of 36-ish

What's there to say about this 100+ year old set that hasn't already been said? My set isn't in particularly great shape; probably Fair to Good at best. But it sure is beautiful.

There is, however, an incredibly rare #37 Newsy Lalonde card from this set (one is currently up on eBay for the asking price of $180,000):

From the seller (BMW Sportscards): "For over 90 years, the 1910-11 C56 Imperial Tobacco Series of Hockey—the first known hockey set—was thought to be complete at 36 cards. However, after the recent discovery of another, previously unknown card (a second Newsy Lalonde), it is now known to comprise 37 different specimens. This discovery has been discussed on numerous websites and forums and various theories have been given for its existence. The 2007 unearthing of the original lithographic stone used to print the C56 series has provided additional confirmation that 37 cards were originally produced by Imperial Tobacco. This final card is numbered with '37' in the top left corner instead of '36,' but has the same pose of Édouard 'Newsy' Lalonde. The mystery surrounding card #37 remains, however, since speculation is that the card is similar to the T206 Honus Wagner in that it may have been pulled from production early with very few examples ever making it into cigarette packs."

There are only three #37s known to exist. To cloud the picture further, there are two variations of the card. Two cards, including the one pictured above, have commas after the team names on back, while the other does not. For more information about the 1910-11 C56 #37 Newsy Lalonde visit www.c55proofs.com.

1972-73 OPC Logo SPs: Atlanta Flames & NY Islanders

I have been eyeing these final two short-printed cards to complete my 1972-72 OPC Team Logo Set. They were expensive for what they are at $200 apiece. But since they are short-printed inserts from the third OPC series, I just haven't seen them come up too often on eBay or other vintage card sites.

Below is an uncut sheet of 1972-73 logos that has been on eBay for some time now (might be the asking price). These images illustrate why and which cards were SPs:

This sheets contains 6 rows of 11 cards for a total of 66 cards per sheet. Per the seller, this is the way these insert logo sheets were printed for this year. So this is not just half of a whole sheet.

Hypothesis: The sheets were half sheets because of die-cutting sensitivity.