2014 Leaf Memories Gold #/5

Card Review: 2.5  This is the 3rd year Leaf has done a self congratulatory set celebrating their own contribution to the junk wax era and driving children away from baseball card collecting.  I didn't like the 2012 set "honoring" the 1990 Leaf set, but I sort of understood it.  While I never liked the 1990 Leaf design, there is no denying that it caused a brief frenzy among collectors.  I actually kind of liked the 1991 Leaf design, but the 2013 tribute to it was even more of shameless marketing gimmick than the previous year.  With this 2014 incarnation, I don't know what they were thinking.  1992 Leaf was an ugly set, an inferior rip off of the 1991 design, and completely forgettable.  Nobody whines about the good old days of 1992 Leaf.  I'm really at a bit of a loss for words.  Why?  And who are you people that are buying this stuff?  I doubt that they are, but if the 1/1 variations are of the black gold variety, that could be this sets lone saving grace.

Number of this card in my collection: 1

2012 Leaf Memories #80 Gold Variation

Card Review: 7.8 (but really, just a middle finger to Leaf)  Let's be straight about this, this is a 1990 Leaf.  Literally.  It's not a new card, not a reprint, it's twenty four years old.  Leaf just put some new foil stamping on an old card.  In the card collecting world that I grew up in, that makes a card less valuable, not more.  For more on this money-grab of a set, read what I wrote about the "base" card by clicking this link.  Once again, my OCD forced me to pay $2 for this card on ebay, plus $3 in shipping (I'd be looking to rip people off too if I paid $135 for a 12-card "box" of these).  I didn't even like this set in 1990, and feel it has only gotten uglier over the decades.

This gold variation is only numbered to five.  Very fancy.  Now I have one.  And if I'm being honest, I won't hesitate to buy the other four.  Unless they go for the kind of insane prices the "Super Special" one of one went for.  Then I will hesitate, and let the other Wallach collector in Texas pick it up.

Number of this card in my collection": 1*

*I also have 4 that have been stamped with numbers out of 20, and another 30 copies that are still in Mint Condition and haven't been defiled by Leaf stamping machines.

2013 Leaf Memories Buyback Red 1/1

Card Review: 9.5  I gave 1991 Leaf a score of 9.7, I dinged this one .2 pts for the red stamping at the bottom.  After all, this is nothing more than a '91 Leaf that the company bought back and threw some post production art on to.  If I did this with a sharpie, no one would care, but Leaf does it with foil and suddenly they get to charge $109.75 for one pack of 13 cards.   Leaf can justify this anyway they want to, but this is absolutely the worst kind of gimmick, and the kind shameless money grab that ruined the hobby.  But given that Leaf debuted in 1990, perhaps they consider the destruction of baseball card collecting the "good old days."  They give a very vomit inducing, self-lauding description of this pathetic set on their website if your curious.

My hypocrisy is not lost on me.  I can trash this set above, but yet here I am showcasing yet another Leaf Memories card after bashing the set last year as well, with links to where to buy the stupid thing (spend away suckers). I guess my OCD trumps my ethics.  At least to a degree.  I picked this card up on ebay.  But not the first time it listed.  Here's a screen shot of the original listing:

 A $49.99 buy it now price for a '91 Leaf?  No thank you.  I'll "Collect Them All except 2013 Leaf Memories" and change the banner above to reflect that.  It really didn't even hurt at all to watch this listing come an go.  I actually passed the 1/1 2012 Leaf Memories for a much lower price than that and I survived.  As I suspected though, the seller immediately relisted it with an opening bid price of $0.99, and I was all set to have it for that price until some suspicious bidding popped up in the final minute.  I still took card for under $6, with is to say, I spent way too much for '91 Leaf that are readily available for pennies (I'm a sucker).

I guess technically this marks the first card I have now "collected them all" of.  Though technically the original print run for 1991 Leaf was probably in the 250,000 copies range.  But if they're going to charge over $100 a pack and people (suckers) are going to pay it, I'll count it.

Number of this card in my collection: 1 (I have collected them all)

2012 Leaf Memories #80

Card Review: 7.9  Let's be straight, this is a 1990 Leaf.  Literally.  Leaf at some point confused a relative low production run with popularity and has taken to calling this bland/boring design iconic and groundbreaking.  I think they're confusing it with 1989 Upper Deck.  In any event, they bought a bunch of them back, stamped them with foil, and are reselling them at obscene prices.  Talk about balls. The following is lifted straight from the Leaf website (click for the full write-up):

"In the 20th Century, there are a number of sets which clearly stand out as both noteworthy and universally loved, 1990 Leaf was definitely one such set...Leaf’s last 2012 release is a salute to one of baseball’s greatest sets. With that, we introduce 2012 LEAF MEMORIES BASEBALL.

This exciting set is a wonderful combination of both original 1990 Leaf buybacks (specially foil stamped and numbered) and cards that never were in 1990 Leaf."

I don't know anyone that loves this set.  As kids, we all hated it, thought it heinous, it still is, it was just briefly desirable because of the price tag that went with it, and being from Cooperstown we got ton if it for free (Hall of Fame tie in with Donruss/Leaf, a friends dad was a bigwig w/the museum).

If you want to buy any of this crap, it's on sale for $134.95 a box.  Each box has 10 cards and 2 autographs.  If you do, let me know, and I'll send you a free red "Sucker" stamp to put on your forehead.  I'm still from the school of thought that says post-production additions to cards detract from them, be it a black sharpie drawn beard, or a silver stamp that reads "Leaf Memories."

Number of this card in my collection: 1 

2013 update: 4
2015 update: 5