Quote:
Originally Posted by Rictor
With sports, you would go with the household names, the cards even non-collectors know are highly sought after. Mickey Mantle rookie, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron.
For non-sports, I don't think there's that mainstream consensus on what a noncollector would recognize as being iconic and collectible.
Personally, I wouldn't put any PMG on the list because I don't think nonsports collectors care about them much, let alone the general public. I think they shot up in value during the pandemic and it wasn't us nonsports collectors driving those crazy prices. I also think those prices are temporary. What's the historical significance of a PMG? Nada.
Also, pop culture (films, comic books, etc.) don't always have the longevity of sports. Will anyone care about Robert Downey Jr. in 50 years? 100 years? Probably not. Will Babe Ruth still be a household name? Probably. If you don't believe me, look at a set of Hollywood tobacco cards of stars that were huge international celebrities of their day and see how many names you recognize.
I'd say even Harry Potter is pretty niche and specific to Millenials. As a GenXer, I think the books and films are horrible and don't collect any of them (I'd argue they're a pale imitation of the Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman). My generation would probably put Star Wars cards on the throne. We also like Marvel Masterpieces.
I'd argue that the most iconic nonsports cards to the general public are probably also some of the most common. Beatles trading cards from the 60s, Marvel and DC holograms from the 90s, Garbage Pail Kids from the 80s, Wacky Packages from the 70s, Star Wars cards from the 70s, 3 Stooges from the 50s, Desert Storm from the 90s, Mars Attacks from the 60s, Batman from the 60s.
I think most people could identify the Adam Bomb card from GPK Series 1. Maybe the Norman Schwarzkopf from Topps Desert Storm. Topps 75th reprinted some iconic cards.
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Some excellent points here. Many I agree with, some I dont, and some I have to take MAJOR exception with, such as HP being a horrible film and book series
(I think both are outstanding, then again Im a millennial, so you might be on to something there).
Even if the Spiderman was part of that PMG pump phase, which is absolutely true, here is why I include it: Sort of like the Griffey UD RC in baseball, it kind of signifies a transition to a new era in the nonsport hobby (for better or worse), to PMGs/numbered inserts, and for that it has importance. I think it is even more notable as a marvel card than say the 2015 Marvel Retro Spidey PMG gold 1/1, or other Spidey 1/1s like red spectrums....and the green is a /10. The actual card? I dont like it: it has rehashed art, it's a sports insert, and it's not even a great rehashed image. But I do not see the value going back down to what it was before the PMG hype phase. This is the most expensive Nonsports card period at the moment I believe, and while it probably came down some the last two years, it is here to stay in terms of value.
As for iconic cards. Yes very true there are arguments for things like the 1966 Topps Batman, GPK, or maybe even something like the Marvel Universe series 4 Spidey vs Venom 3D hologram. However I still think almost
no nonsports card is truly iconic with the wider public....probably not even those. Comics? Yes, like Action Comics 1. Cards? No. If I show the 1966 Topps batman #1 or 1940 Gum Superman #1 to a random person on the street, I think it's unlikely they will know what it is. Same with the Spidey holo, and probably even the 1977 Luke. Probably most cards tbh. Adam Bomb card might actually have the highest chance to be recognizable.
While it's true that some actors may not have fame that outlives baseball stars like Ruth and Mantle, I do think there is something to say about at least comic book superheroes, which are more or less timeless. If baseball's fan base steadily grows older, and eventually the sport becomes less popular, the popularity of some of the greats could fade.
Spiderman and company seem to be pretty firmly cemented into the pop culture lore, to the point its hard to walk into a walmart or grocery store without seeing the characters on various things (where you dont tend to see Ty Cobb, Ruth, Mantle on various things). To take an extreme analogy: how many of the top athletes from hundreds to thousands of years ago do we know and have become household names? (perhaps from Greek olympics, Roman gladiators, medieval jousting or whatever the sport was back then, etc). Not many at all. The most prominent names that live on in history tend to be scientists, thinkers, authors, politicians/leaders, and names from cultural myths such as greek or norse mythology. In a way, things like SW and marvel are the stuff of modern myth. Obviously a different level than those older ones, but still...they likely have longevity.
I do agree though that most actual nonsports collectors probably wouldnt put the Spidey PMG green up there, for the reasons you said.