Were French versions of the same set really necessary?

Ahhh, the glory days.   The early 90's gave us a frenzy of new stuff to collect.  Being in college back then, with no family to support, I had a ton of disposable income to spend on the latest and greatest card releases.

While going through a box of cards from that era, I found this card amongst the rubble...

The French version of the 1991-92 Upper Deck set had a lot of people chasing cards.  That was in large part because the 1990-91 Upper Deck French version was going for mad money.   Anyone remember the Pavel Bure rookie going for triple digits?  The multiplier on French cards back then was at least 10x (if my memory serves me correctly), and with the base Bure card valued at around $12, the French version just went crazy.

While I applaud the idea of creating a "parallel" set that was perceived as scarce, and with no offense to our French cousins in La Belle Province, I think that Upper Deck missed on this one.  When a large portion of your target market has no idea what a "rondelle" is, it's a recipe for trouble.   Before too long, the French version of the product fell in line price wise with the English version, and the French parallel experiment ended. 

So if you think that gimmicks are just exclusive to the 21st century, this card is a great example that gimmicks have been around for a while.  Most of them end up dying a slow death, much like the French version of Upper Deck hockey...

thanks for reading, Robert

2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces

I bought a couple of boxes of these back at the November Expo for $25 apiece.  I opened them not too long after that, but never posted a word about them until now. 

These cards are incredible.  Similar to the baseball releases, these artistic cards feature some of the greats of the game in some memorable poses.

How about the Cup presentation ceremony in '94 for the Rangers?

Even though Bettman is in the drawing, it's still a memorable moment.

Don Cherry's greatest player of all time, Bobby Orr, looks great in the '76 Canada Cup.  I can still remember Darryl Sittler's overtime goal to beat the Czech's. 

How about a pair of all time greats in the cage for the blue and white?

One of these days I will own actual vintage cards of both of these guys.  I still love watching interviews with the "China Wall" Johnny Bower. 

This set even includes a couple of cards depicting Lord Stanley and Lady Byng.

A history lesson never hurts when it comes to cards, especially when the people portrayed are responsible for part of the game's history.

The framed cards are also very cool.   I pulled a couple of Oilers from their 80's dynasty teams.

Finally, the jersey card that was in the box features a great red swatch from the "Big Bird", Larry Robinson.

One of these days,  I should be able to get these 2 boxes sorted and see if I have at least one set, if not 2. 

Thanks for reading, Robert