Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Expanding My MVP Script Quest Again

Two years ago I decided to more actively pursue script parallels for the regular MVP from 1999-00. I've loved those early MVP sets from Upper Deck since I was a kid and thought it would be another fun project to work on. While I am still pursuing that set, lately another MVP set has caught my attention and I've decided to make another PC project out of it.

Before being into the Stanley Cup Edition set, I had gotten a hobby box of 1998-99 MVP as a gift back when it came out. That was one of my very first hobby boxes and every time I see cards from that set I'm reminded of those good times as a young collector.

Fast forward to 2018-19 and for the 20th anniversary, Upper Deck created a Colors & Contours version of the original design to go along with the tribute Silver Scripts and Gold Scripts. While these have been around for a few years, they just recently came onto my radar and I cannot get enough of them. In photos and scans these things look amazing.

Here is a look at an original 1998-99 base card of Wayne Gretzky and a Colors & Contours tribute of Nico Hischier. I love what they did with this design, especially how close they kept it to the original unlike the Stanley Cup Edition tributes. My favorite part might be the red foil. Something about that stuff just looks nice on a card like this.

Between the three original MVP sets and the two tribute sets I've got quite a bit to chase after for the foreseeable future. If my math is right then there are 3,290 different cards between all the different variations. Here's a quick breakdown:

    1998-99 MVP Base [220]
    1998-99 MVP Silver Script [220]
    1998-99 MVP Gold Script [220]
    1998-99 MVP Super Script [220]

    1999-00 MVP Base [220]
    1999-00 MVP Silver Script [220]
    1999-00 MVP Gold Script [220]
    1999-00 MVP Super Script [220]

    1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition Base [220]
    1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition Silver Script [220]
    1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition Gold Script [220]
    1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition Super Script [220]

    2018-19 MVP Tribute Silver Script [100]
    2018-19 MVP Tribute Gold Script [100]
    2018-19 MVP Tribute Colors & Contours [100]

    2019-20 MVP SCE Tribute Silver Script [100]
    2019-20 MVP SCE Tribute Super Script [100]
    2019-20 MVP SCE Tribute Colors & Contours [100]
    2019-20 MVP SCE Tribute Colors & Contours Update [50]

Some of these will obviously be harder than others to complete. The base sets shouldn't be a problem at all, I just need to go through everything I've got to get an accurate count. The only sets I know for sure I have completed are the SCE base and Silver Scripts.

The Silver Scripts should be relatively attainable as well. There are maybe just a few names that would cost a bit more than the rest (e.g. Gretzky, McDavid, Crosby, etc.), but even then they're not that expensive in the scheme of things. Should be a fun build.

The Gold Scripts are where things start to get trickier, especially for the original sets. While they show up for sale occasionally, they're still not super common to see. When I do find them, I try to avoid overpaying so those are even slower for me right now.

The Super Scripts are still my favorites of the bunch and of course even harder to find. Rather than going for any of the big names, I just continue to be on the lookout for the less popular players and the great deals that can be had for them.

Finally, the Colors & Contours are a bit of a mixed bag. There are a ton to be had for a great price on COMC and Sportlots, but there are also some that fetch big money, especially with the way things are in the sports card world right now.

I know I'll probably never actually complete this 3,000+ card project, but that's the fun part: I will always have something to chase. After all, I get more enjoyment out of these simple MVP cards than I do for a lot of the crazy autos and patches out there today.

Anyone else really into the MVP script parallels? Or am I one of the oddballs going after these sets? Either way, as plenty of others have said, collect what you love. I love MVP and all the awesome script parallels, so that's what I'm going to collect!

3 comments:

  1. That Gretzky I believe is from the 1998-99 mvp and I believe there are four Gretzky cards as there are two that are checklists cards. I took a chance and sent two to Wayne and they both came back signed and was not a autopen which I was quite happy about. Thanks for the post I enjoyed it. I believe I had a post about this Gretzky on my blog or if not it has inspired me to write one.

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  2. Wanted to tell you that I enjoyed your post about the MVP cards. Seeing the 1998-99 MVP Gretzky card I believe that one was a checklist one but it made me think about that same card and another one of Wayne that I sent to him for an autograph. I sent one in my name and my Wife wanted one so she sent one A week apart and we got them both back signed and they were not auto pen but his actual signature. On my Blog I did a post and posted the same card auto'd. Look forward to more of your posts. I sent a comment in yesterday and it did not show so I thought maybe it really did not go. So if you get two then I am sorry. Thanks again for the info about the MVP series.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading, appreciate the comments too!

      That's awesome that you have one of those 98-99 MVP cards signed by The Great One.

      The closest I've got to that is the Silver Script facsimile auto, although I don't remember if it's the base card or one of the checklists. One of these days I'll organize everything for these sets and know for sure.

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