At the moment I believe the most expensive cards would be the ones everybody has given up in looking for, everybody giving up is good for us to snap them up whilst they're cheap.
- 1995 Series 1 Mega Force Five redemption card... only 50 made, 37 redeemed, 13 unredeemed. Gets you all 5 signatures numbered under 50.
- PNG cigarette cards from the around 1990-93 (NSWRL), almost impossible to get a full set as I think there was well over 100+ to the set.
- 1994 Gold Signature cards (series 1)... complete with official COA (dated 1994) from Dynamic Marketing, these were issued to those who complained to Dynamic Marketing & sent their cards back, Dynamic sent the cards back to the owners with the COA confirming the signatures were real.
- 1996 (Signature Gold series) MasterCel (in box) numbered & complete with official COA (these were rare as they went bankrupt within a few months of its release)
- 1995 series 1, Kmart $100 voucher redemption card. Only 100 made, only sold in Kmart stores.
- 1996 series 2, MVP signature plus COA (numbered) mainly the unpopular players as nobody requested them
- 2002 NRL Extreme Treasure Redemption card (only 10 made)
- 1996 Signature Gold series, autographed cel cards with COA (200 made) I would imagine these were hard to redeem so close to bankruptcy too.
The captain signatures should have a steady high value, I brought a handful of them (even got doubles) from 2004 series ranging from $150-$450 each (in 2005 when most collectors gave up on collecting). I believe the 2001 All Star Andrew Johns card should be worth a lot (but unfortunately it isn't so), it was signed during the height of his career, all the other cards Andrew Johns signed after that was when he was injured or retired. Eg. 2004 Andrew Johns captain Signature card is a joke... he was injured most of that season therefore couldn't really call him a captain of 2004. Obviously collectors don't feel the same way as I do, judging by the current values on some cards. If Australia does go nuts over signatures like the Americans (signing periods) we may see a price differ.
In my opinion the Gasnier card of 2000 is overpriced, its hard to get coz in 2000 was the first time in 2yrs RL cards were in production again, people who usually didn't buy cards brought cards, and they probably were lucky enough get one, and now just sitting on it. In saying that, I believe people who usually don't buy cards also went after the 2008 Centenary series too.
Now this is just my opinion on why the 1963/64 cards don't sell as high as the current redemption cards of today. Redemption cards come with COA, or they're number, and they're hard to make fakes. If somebody was to fork out big $$ on a footy card I would imagine they want a guarantee its the real deal. In saying that, in the USA they have a bunch of experts who can valuate a card to be a original eg. Beckett Grading Service. Until there's a reliable source as them to give a thumbs-up on a particular card... that's the time I believe the 63/64 cards will leap-frog over the redemption cards of today.
If I had to make quick money in today's market on footy cards, it'll be the Darren Lockyer captain signature, Andrew Johns Captain Signature, and Wally Lewis Legend signatures. Not just because they're special, or hard to get. Its because right now there's a demand for them, people of today have short memories, Wally/Johns repeatedly being hammered as being the best ever for QLD/NSW. Being an immortal obviously makes the buyer feel safe the card price will stay high, and once the media forgets them, the card prices for them will go down. And media/commentators obviously still speaks highly of Lockyer everytime there's a live Broncos match on a Friday night, and who has the biggest cashed-up fan base??
