The following are the original cards issued by Post, Wheaties, Nabisco Team Flakes and one by Jello. I will follow this with cards by Kellogg's.
These are the 1961 Post cards, the bottom card was cut out of a box and the top card is the perforated version punched out of an advertising page. Both are vintage and in great condition. The box versions rarely ever have all of the border visible. PSA will only grade cards that have the entire border, otherwise the card will only garner an "authentic" grade. I'm not sure about how PSA decides how to grade the perforated version, but either way, you rarely see high grades on these kinds of cards. I personally do not care about an actual grade but I do try to get the highest quality I can at an affordable cost. These are a very nice design, packing a nice portrait with some stats and even a good story and biographical information all on one side of the card. Note that they used his shortened nickname "Bob" on these cards.
This is the 1962 Post Canadian. Very similar design as the 1961 Post. The same image is used, obviously a cost-savings measure. The unique thing about the Canadian issue is that it has a version of his biographical information in French. His name has also changed back to "Roberto". Not sure if the fact that he was the National League batting leader for 1961 allowed him to gain the proper respect or if there is some other reason. I like foreign languages on his cards. Not only is it unique, but it would be something I think Roberto would very much appreciate. He also played in Montreal for the Dodgers minor league team prior to being traded to the Pirates. This card is actually graded, but SGC has a reputation for being more lenient than PSA on it's standards. I would say they grade similarly though. This card does have all the border showing.
I wanted to show a picture of the back of this card. I have a feeling this is the reason it was only graded Very Good. I do not have a problem with something that was caused by the original manufacturing process. This glue is all part of the original box. I have a duplicate of this card, ungraded, that was glued by a previous owner into the album. It is no doubt the reason why I got it on the cheap. The Canadian version is fairly rare though, so I can overlook issues with the back. There isn't any information on the backs of these cards anyway. As long as any deformation doesn't translate to the front of these cards, I do not have a problem with it.
This is the 1962 Post (red line version). Similar to the Canadian version but different coloring and only in English. These cards are very common actually and can be had for less than $20 if you don't mind if the entire border is visible. One item of note is the story on the card. He hit safely in all seven games of the 1960 World Series. He would do the same in the 1971 W.S. (14 games total). I do not think that feat has ever been matched. He was a very competitive player and shined when it mattered the most.
This is the 1962 Post (blue line version). Everything is the same except the lines surrounding the stats are blue in color. The portrait also tends to become more of a sepia tone. These are very rare and almost impossible to find in good shape and reasonably priced. I have one other that I will be trading or selling that is in worse condition than this one. I actually found this card online through a larger card store and I think they didn't notice the blue lines as there is a label on the back of the sleeve that says it should be red lines. The price was also only $20. Needless to say I took advantage of their error as soon as I saw it. Always be vigilant of the good deal ;-) I still need the 1962 Jello card version to add to my collection. I am thinking it is at least as rare as this blue line version.
The top card is the 1963 Jello card. The bottom card is the 1963 Post card. The portrait was upgraded from the previous two years and it is a nice change. The only difference between the two 1963 versions is that the length of the Jello card is a significant amount shorter than the Post. I assume that was done to ensure the card fit on the back of a Jello box. I occasionally see an auction listing with the entire Jello box intact, but never with Roberto on it. I imagine one exists in some super collector's collection or possibly in the back of some grandparents' pantry to be lost forever. Either way, if one ever came up for auction, I doubt I could afford it. Note the last sentence of the biographical story. It is slightly deceptive in that he had played in 6 All-Star games prior to 1963. It was not for 6 straight years, at least not by 1963. There were two All-Star games each year in 1960, 61 and 62. It is actually surprising that he was picked to play in both of the 1960 games, since he was just emerging onto the superstar scene and was still somewhat undervalued and unknown.
This is the 1964 Wheaties Stamp. The image is the same as the 1961 Topps. Undoubtedly, Topps benefited from this photo selection. It is a great portrait as I described in a previous blog. This stamp also features a very realistic facsimile autograph. The back is clean and it was not adhered to the album that you could get by mailing the order form on the box and 50 cents to Wheaties. I see a decent amount of these for sale in good condition, but they aren't as common as the Post standard issues as I'm sure most of these were stuck in the albums or other locations and then tossed out with the trash eventually.
This is the 1968 Nabisco Team Flakes card. It is cut out from the cereal box. The image is the same that was used on the Sports Illustrated posters that were available around the same time. It is a great image. The logo of the Pirates is taken off his helmet, which leads me to believe that Nabisco circumvented the MLB as a cost-savings measure. The condition of this card is not great, but the image is completely intact, I paid less than $10, and this issue is extremely rare. You have to lessen standards somewhat when all of those factors are taken into account. The back is clean. Also, I have noticed there are wide and narrow border versions. I'm not sure what caused the variation, but I assume it has to do with the source of where the actual card was cut from. This is the narrow border version. I will always be on the lookout for an upgrade on condition as well as the wide border version, if the price is right.
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