ONE SHEET, ONE SET - 2009/10 SPGU Authentic Materials

Well, I finally am getting around to showing off some of my $1 jersey cards from last month's card show. The thought of $1 jersey cards is still a mind boggler for me. Just a few years ago, you'd never see a memorabilia card go for less than $5 bucks. Before that, one would hardly dip below $10. The saturation of the market has made these cards virtually undesirable for most collectors. Sad, because I see a lot of value in them.

This selection was easily my favorite in the lot I picked up and I was really happy to snag a full eight cards to complete the most recent 'One Sheet, One Set' contribution.

2009/10 SPGU Authentic Materials

Right off the bat, these jersey cards are an eye catcher. To me, they are a solid step up from the jerseys in Upper Deck's signature release. There are 84 cards in the set which makes for a fun adventure to snag all of them.

What makes a solid jersey card to me is a good sized jersey swatch (with a non-white jersey piece), bold colors and a solid design concept. I'll let the cat out of the bag....this one has all three.


A closer look at the front of the card reveals a very detailed design. The various patterns and lines really give the card a unique (and as mentioned earlier - eye catching) look. The team colors are really bold and give the card a solid punch.

The framing around the jersey piece highlights the fabric nicely. The simple inclusion of the player name, card title and product logo on the left are very well balanced. The player photo cutout is solid although I would have preferred a little better photo selection. I never understood why some sets have superior photos to others. If it's the same company, wouldn't they have the same access to the photos? Do the more exciting photos cost more? Just curious.

The other fine details to the card like the gradient shading, the complex borders and the team name (which is nicely blended into the right side of the card) all add up to a very appealing card front.

Did I mention that it's very eye catching?


The back of the card showcases themes from the front of the card and utilizes a lot of the same elements. While it works very nicely, it is almost too simple in its delivery.

The textured jersey look is something that I'm a sucker for. I've always liked it and this card utilizes it just right. The font style used for the name, team, card number etc. is something that should be a no brainer...so not too many bonus points there. It should be expected.

The headshot isn't the most fantastic but I can forgive the color overlay on it, and using a different photo from the front shows an attention to detail. And I'll even say that the logos and such at the bottom of the card aren't too bad. That's because I think there's other junk on the card back that should go first.

The big beef I have with jersey cards (and have had for a while) is the 'disclaimer' on the back. While it may say congratulations, what it really says is "Look, we're not trying to rip you off, so we are putting in detail the type of card you have in your hands." Thank you Captain Obvious.

Yes, it's a piece of jersey used in an nhl game. Yes, it's not bogus. Yes, it's not a photoshoot. Yes, it's not from a legends game. Yes, it's not from whatever. I really don't think that there needs to be a huge explanation on the back of the card for this. I'd much rather be given some different information. Anything!

Is the 'Congratulations' supposed to make me feel special? I guess it must not be working if the card can be had for a paltry $1. Not a fan of this at all.

Last beef on the card back is the hideous 'AF' abbreviation behind the team logo at the top of the card. Where did that come from? Why? A great design concept on the front and this is how it is detailed on to the back. It seems like this element was a last minute decision and it just does not work.

A couple hiccups in what overall is a very.........eye catching card.

At the end of the day this jersey set is a great looking build, and with the game used/auto ratio being 1 per pack, it would be a very feasible project to go after. not too many long odds there.

As mentioned, it's an 84 card set and while some of the names aren't the big guns, there are still the strong list of solids. The most expensive cards are Crosby, Ovechkin, Partick Roy and Gordie Howe all sitting at $12low/$40hi for bv (which I am not a believer in at all) and Gretzky sitting at the top ($20/$50).

I think for the most part though, a lot of singles could be had for less than $5 a piece (and a lot less if you can find a good lot of them all at once). A patient person would easily be able to snag cards for a buck a piece on ebay.

A really nice looking set with some well thought out design elements.

4 out of 5