Emmitt Smith Burger King Florida Gators Card on eBay

Talk about a card that you rarely ever see, let alone graded gem mint. This is a 1988 Burger King Florida Gators Emmitt Smith card. This card predates his first NFL release by a two years. The card was distributed by Burger King as a regional promotion.

There is no doubt this card is rarer than his 1990 Score Traded, his most valuable rookie card. Does that mean that it's highly sought after by collectors? Not really. There's never been a huge secondary market for regional (police, school-issued, etc.) sets in the hobby. I personally like them. I don't think they're much different from the minor league sets of the 70's and 80's but those are far more popular in the hobby.

No matter where you stand, this is a great card. This is a highly counterfeited card so having an authentic one is great, gem mint even better. One lucky Emmitt Smith collector will add this to his or her collection tonight for a bargain. Maybe one day collectors will appreciate these releases more than they do now.

You can view the eBay auction here.

2009 Score Football Preview

I was spending a little time on Beckett Blog earlier and saw something that got me so excited that I had to write a post.

Panini America released images of 2009 Score Football. Included in the set is a 20th Anniversary 10-card insert set that uses the famous 1989 Score Football design. There will be 20 or less autographed copies of each card available as well as unsigned copies. No word on the frequency of the unsigned copies. A list of players was not released but Matthew Stafford is obviously one of them.

Seeing that design really takes me back to the early years of my collecting life. I can still remember opening a box of '89 Score and thinking I was on top of the collecting mountain when I pulled a Barry Sanders rookie.

Click here to see the full review on Beckett Blog.