Thursday, August 26, 2010

1995 Classic Phone Card

This 1995 Classic Phone card is one that I've been trying to track down for quite some time. It was a fairly limited release, and I don't recall ever actually seeing any back in the late 1990's. I don't even think I knew that it existed until I saw it listed on the Beckett checklist.


There were a total of 57 $10 phone cards in the set, which included everyone from Cal Ripken Jr. to Denny Neagle. There was also an autographed Ripken version, which I can realistically assume was nearly impossible to find.

The cards are a little smaller than normal (about 2 1/8" by 3 3/8"), and are printed on a credit card like plastic with rounded corners. It was an interesting idea, but I don't think it really caught on.


The back of the card included the instructions on how the phone card could actually be used. I'm curious as to the price point on these, if they were sold for $10, or included some sort of "collectible" premium. I believe that the phone number at the top was at one time covered by a little scratch-off panel, which would indicate that this card was actually used. But, since the card expired in December 1996, that doesn't really matter.

Overall, a great addition to the collection, and the final card I needed to finish off the 1995 official Beckett checklist, with all 70 cards now in-hand and accounted for.

8 comments:

rickeyfanatic said...

I actually have mine still in it's original package. Guess I can scratch it off and use the minutes? LOL! I'd trade it anyday for the 94 Target POG. That thing makes this thing easy!

ManOfSteal said...

There was one that sold in the package a few years ago, but I lost out on it. I thought I'd saved the picture, and I actually went looking for it for the post, but couldn't come across it. If you ever get a chance, I'd love a scan to add to the post.

The 1994 POG came in the mail yesterday, and after I get it scanned, it's the next post I have planned :)

Dodgerbobble said...

That is sweet. We're those sold at card shops or liquor stores?

Hendersonfan said...

I think I have one of these phone cards in the package. If so it's at my mom's with the rest of my collection. Next time I head back to Ohio I'll check and grab a picture.

rickeyfanatic said...

If you ever come across another POG, let me know man!

Jason Presley said...

This is another one of those areas where the American telecom industry lagged far behind the rest of the world. In Europe and Asia, phone cards have been common since the early 1990s, and most public phones were build with phone card readers, sometimes without a coin slot at all. Naturally, that resulted in a new world of collectibles...which we were almost completely left out of.

ManOfSteal said...

DodgerBobble,

I actually have no idea where they were sold, but I've also been curious. Considering how hard they are to track down, wherever they were sold, they didn't sell very many of them! There's probably an entire warehouse of these things just collecting dust somewhere :)

Anonymous said...

You’re correct, there is a one time flooded, moldy, boarded up old warehouse in Easton Pennsylvania by PENN Pump Park that was used by The Score Board where inside there is probably thousands of these Rickey Hendersons just rotting away. I know because I’ve been there and see it with