Collectibles Column – News & Notes on Leaf Cut Signatures, ROH Action Figures & NJPW Cards

Collectibles Column – News & Notes on Leaf Cut Signatures, ROH Action Figures, and New Japan Cards

Sales of Leaf Cut Signatures

Approximately three weeks after 2016 Leaf Signature Series Wrestling was released, at least 15 of the 76 one-of-a-kind History of Wrestling Cut Signatures have been pulled in box breaks.

As of May 26, 14 of those had found their way onto eBay, with nine completed listings so far. Two of the biggest cards in the set, Earthquake ($400) and Owen Hart ($299.95), sold on eBay last week. However, those two cards sold to buyers who made best offers, and the sellers have not disclosed the final sale prices.

The highest confirmed sales so far have been Grizzly Smith ($199.99), Gary Hart ($129.50, by the author of this article), Lord Alfred Hayes ($127.50), and Sheri Martel ($106.50). Cut signatures of living wrestlers have sold for considerably less: Buddy Colt ($77), Harley Race ($66), Rick Steiner ($63.89), and Jim Ross ($61).

Other History of Wrestling cut signatures currently listed for sale on eBay are David Crockett, Howard Finkel, Leilani Kai, and “Superstar” Billy Graham. The Abdullah the Butcher cut signature was obtained by a Torch reader in a group break.

All active and completed eBay listings except one (Finkel) have been for the redemption cards that were inserted into boxes. However, Leaf has the cards made and ready to go, so many of them are on their way to consumers now. Some collectors who pulled the redemptions may be waiting to get the actual cards in hand before selling them, and some may very well never see their way onto the secondary market.

Leaf Signature Series Wrestling has some very cool cards, but there’s no doubt that the History of Wrestling cut signatures are the golden tickets in the product. There are plenty of big names that still have not surfaced on eBay or card trading sites, including Andre the Giant, Vince McMahon, Blackjack Mulligan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Dick the Bruiser, Randy Savage, Oliver Humperdink, and Rick Rude.

A full checklist for 2016 Leaf Signature Series Wrestling can be found at leaftradingcards.com.

ROH Action Figures Available for Pre-order

It’s been just over a year since Figures Toy Co. first announced plans for a line of Ring of Honor action figures. The real scale ring, with an exclusive Michael Elgin figure, finally went on sale last month.

Earlier this week, Figures Toy Co. made the first four figures in the line available for pre-order.

Series 1 consists of four figures: Kevin Steen, Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe. Lethal, the current ROH World Champion, replaces Adam Cole, who was originally planned for the first series. Cole will be released in a later series.

Each figure costs $24.99 and comes with removable accessories, such as Lethal’s House of Truth robe and Steen’s “Kill Steen Kill” t-shirt. A set of four figures with four bonus ROH title belts can be purchased for $99.96.

The figures are similar to the Jakks Pacific Ruthless Aggression WWE figures that were popular with collectors from 2003 to 2009. Chris DePetrillo, chief marketing officer for Figures Toy Co., said that the Series 1 figures will be sent to customers by July at the latest.

More information on these figures can be found at FiguresToyCompany.com.

Bushiroad Releases NJPW Super Juniors Cards

New Japan Pro Wrestling parent company Bushiroad recently released a new series of King of Pro Wrestling (Kinpuro) gaming cards. Bushiroad often produces sets based around NJPW’s big events, and the company’s latest offering coincides with the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament.

The set includes most of the competitors from this year’s event, including Kyle O’Reilly, Bushi, Kushida, Jushin Liger, Ricochet, Bobby Fish, and Will Ospreay.

Also included are cards of other prominent junior heavyweights past and present, including Hayabusa, Ultimo Dragon, Mistico (as both Mistico and his current persona, Caristico), and BxB Hulk, among others.

Because Kinpuro is a gaming product, and not a traditional sports card set, there are no autographs. However, Bushiroad mixes in limited edition foil cards, some with facsimile autographs, which are very popular with collectors.

A full checklist with pictures is available at KOPW.jp. If you’re looking to buy boxes, packs or single cards, start by checking out purocentralshop.com, a small online shop run by an American collector of Japanese trading cards. It might be the easiest and most affordable way to get these cards, given the language barrier issues that exist with many online Japanese retailers and the high cost of shipping that sometimes comes with buying from an overseas merchant.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on PuroCentral.com, check out Japanese sites like Yahoo Auctions and Toudoukan.com.

PWTorch Collectibles specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MMooreWriter.