People have been able to add to their O. J. Simpson collections thanks to the International Collectors Society.
The 2 1/2 -year-old Owings Mills mail-order company has been selling a Simpson postage stamp issued in Guyana. It ran ads in newspapers and magazines from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1.
Co-owner Scott Tilson calls the response "truly overwhelming. . . We've never had anything approach the interest this had."
Tilson says there are 140,000 members of the International Collectors Society. He says the company searches the world for collectibles with the goal of purchasing the remaining supply to sell to its members. Often it acts on tips from members. That's what happened with the Simpson stamp.
"One of our members was in Guyana and saw them for sale in a local post office," says Tilson. "We knew it would be the hottest collectible in the world and did everything to lock up the remaining supply."
According to Tilson, Guyana produced 20,000 sheets of nine stamps honoring world-famous athletes. The Simpson stamp has face value of $50. Tilson says his company purchased 8,100 sheets and has about 500 left. Collectors could buy a maximum of six sheets. "Most people buy the limit," he says.
Tilson says his company offers a variety of collectibles -- stamps, coins, rare photographs, trading cards, autographs. "We have found that basically everybody out there collects something," he says.
For information on membership (free), call (410) 998-9700 or (800) 624-4427.
Topps Basketball II
Topps Basketball Series II has 200 regular cards and three insert sets. Draft picks are highlighted as a subset, and second-year stars form an insert set.
Action Packed hockey
Action Packed's hockey line, which had been scheduled to reach stores in October, waited for the hockey season to start. The non-card collectibles are Mammoth Cards (7 1/2 x 10 1/2 ), Badge of Honor pins and CoaStars, which are coasters sold in sets of six with the player in his home uniform on one side and his road uniform on the other. Sixteen players are featured on the Mammoth Cards, 52 on the pins and 78 on the coasters.
Classic trade-ins
Collectors of 1994 Classic 4 Sport cards who save their wrappers can redeem them for a four-card set (20 wrappers) or an autographed card and the four-card set (30, 144 or 216 wrappers).
Hockey's back, but smaller
Pinnacle's hockey Series II will be available in March, but there won't be too much of it. "With the uncertainty of the hockey season, we have made less of this product than at any time in our past," says Ted Kreder of Pinnacle. There are 270 cards plus inserts.
More Flair
Fleer's Flair Series II basketball set features three new insert sets (big-play players, top rookies, defensive standouts) and 150 basic cards. It will be out in March.
Conlon '95
The Conlon Collection returns with a 110-card first series. Subsets include baseball players who served in World Wars I and II, the 1920 Cleveland Indians and nicknames. This year, all cards carry a gold Conlon emblem in the front. There is an eight-card Ken Griffey insert set, picturing him with baseball legends such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Look for the second series in August.
Coming events
Through Sept. 5, "Babe Ruth: An Artistic Perspective," Babe Ruth Museum, 216 Emory St., (410) 727-1539.
Today, card show, West Manchester Mall, York, Pa., mall hours, (216) 571-3546.
Friday-next Sunday, card show, White Marsh Mall, mall hours, (216) 581-3546.
Friday-next Sunday, 14th annual Lake Placid Olympic Collectors Show, Lake Placid, N.Y.
March 18, card show to benefit Cape Saint Claire Elementary School, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth biographer Lois Nicholson will sign copies of her books), (410) 757-2457.
CARD OF THE WEEK
Pacific's 1995 Crown Collection baseball cards will have their backs in Spanish as well as English. There are 144 cards in Series 1 and one prism card per pack. Pacific says production has been limited to 2,999 36-box cases. (Shown is Jose Canseco.)