NON-SPORTS
Mark Metcalf & Tim Matheson
2024 Laf Metal Pop Century
Co-Stars 2 Autographs
Prismatic Purple #CS2-27
Numbered 5-of-8
CGC Grade: Pristine 10
CGC Auto Grade: 9
With a wide variety of signers, the checklist takes an eclectic approach to themes as well. For starters, there are Base Autographs. These act as both a foundation for the product as a whole as well as a catch all as far as subjects go. As has been the case since Pop Century began more than a decade ago, multi-signature cards are also on the checklist. The Co-Star 2 autographs checklist includes 48 cards with multiple variations. The Prismatic parallel includes purple numbered to 8 or less. The film is about a trouble-making fraternity whose members challenge the authority of the dean of the fictional Faber College. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed National Lampoon’s “Animal House” culturally, historically and aesthetically significant – selecting it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Eric “Otter” Stratton, the main protagonist, is the rush chairman of the Delta Tau Chi fraternity who was well-known for sleeping with women every chance he got. Otter was originally going to be played by Chevy Chase, but Tim Matheson would score the famous role. After being turned down for the role of otter, Mark Metcalf lied about his ability to ride horses to get the role of Neidermeyer. After he got the role, he immediately took equestrian classes. Metcalf also changed his hotel room to the one above Bruce McGill’s, where the Delta actors partied every night, so his anger at their noise would help him get into character as the Delta hating Neidermeyer.
John Calipari
2021 Leaf Metal
#JC1 So Money
Blue Rainbow 27-of-50
PSA Grade: MINT 9
PSA Auto Grade: 10
The majority of the 2021-22 Leaf Metal Basketball checklist revolves around the game’s youth. That comes through in a couple of forms, though, thanks to new NIL rules that open up the sport’s prospect possibilities. Recent draft picks are joined by players slated for the 2022 NBA Draft. High schoolers and college players are also in the set, offering something more long-term for collectors to watch and follow. In addition to the main Metal Autographs line are themed inserts, including Court Queens, First Round Bound, So Money!, State Pride, and With Pick. The “So Money” autograph set checklist features only 26 cards. The rainbow parallels (in blue) are numbered to 50 or less.
John Calipari was previously the head coach at the University of Massachusetts from 1988 to 1996, the NBA’s New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1999, the University of Memphis from 2000-2009, and the University of Kentucky from 2009-2024. He led the Wildcats to one NCAA National Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2008 and 2015) and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Erin Andrews
2012 Topps Allen & Ginter
#75 Autographed
Beckett Grade: Authentic Auto
Beckett Auto Grade: 10
Although the set may no longer be the sensation it was when first released in 2006, it has remained popular while staying true to its’ roots. Bringing together baseball's best with champions from other, often quirky, realms, the set always brings with it several surprises. Boxes burst with three hits per box. The autograph checklist is one of the strongest in years, featuring Ken Griffey Jr., Arnold Palmer, Roger Federer, Cal Ripken, Bob Knight, Albert Pujols, Willie Mays, Kate Upton, Erin Andrews and more.
Andrews rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined FOX Sports in 2012, and has since become the lead sideline reporter for the network's NFL Broadcasting Team.
Sammi Sweet Heart
2024 Leaf Metal Pop Century
#BA-SG1 Samantha Giancola
Dark Blue Crystal
Numbered 1-of-6
CGC Card Grade: Pristine 10
CGC Auto Grade: 10
Leaf Metal Pop Century took an “everything-goes approach” with its’ checklist in 2024.. Actors, singers, athletes, athletes turned actors — collectors will never know what could pop up. The one guarantee? The product is definitely shifting back to being all autographs. And for starters, the base autographs act as a both a foundation for the product as a whole, as well as a catch-all as far as subjects go. The “base autographs” checklist includes 188 cards, and the crystal version in dark blue is numbered to 6 or less.
Samantha Giancola, also known as “Sammi Sweetheat,” is an American television personality, known best as one of the eight main cast members in the MTV reality series “Jersey Shore.”
Denise Richards
2023 Leaf Metal Pop Century
#K-DR1 Knockouts Autograph
Silver Crystal Numbered 4-of-10
CGC Grade: MINT 9
CGC Auto Grade: 9
The 2023 Leaf Metal Pop Century checklist is filled with famous celebrities, including autographs from A-list actors and top musicians. In addition to the main autograph line, one could find themed autographs in Growing Up...Graphs, Knockouts, Perfectly Cast, Pro Set Raps, and Stand-Up Signatures, among others. The “Knockouts” autograph set checklist includes only 39 cards, all serial numbered to 30 or less.
Denise Richards is an American actress, television personality and model. She rose to prominence with roles in the science fiction film “Starship Troopers,” the thrilled film “Wild Things,” and the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough.” Her performance as Bond girl Christmas Jones, granted Richards her mainstream breakthrough.
Hayden Panettiere
2023 Leaf Metal #K-HP1
Pop Century Knockouts
Green Wave autographed 4-of-5
SGC Grade: Auto 10
SGC Grade: MT+9.5
The 2023 Leaf Metal Pop Century checklist is filled with famous celebrities, including autographs from A-list actors and top musicians. Fans can count on multiple first-time signers, as well. In addition to the main autograph line, there’s additional themed autographs like this “Knockouts” card. In the knockouts autographs set checklist there’s 39 cards, all of which are serial numbered to 30 or less.
This green wave auto of Hayden Panettiere is numbered 4-of-5, which is a sparkling card of Coach Yoast’s daughter in “Remember the Titans,” a star of the “Scream” franchise and the 2006 “Bring It On.” Pop Century always includes low-numbered autograph cards, cut autos, tickets and backstage passes. It is truly one of the most unique products produced by Leaf.
Karla Conway
1995 Playboy
Centerfold Collection: April
#38 Autographs
Numbered 102-of-600
CGC Card Grade: MINT+9.5
CGC Auto Grade: 9
The Playboy Chromium series was issued by Sports Time Inc in 1995 and celebrated iconic covers from the magazine's, then, 42-year history. The all-chromium set included 96 base cards as well as 18 illustrated chromium refractor cards and a 12-card chromium refractor celebrity subset available via redemption card.
“Karla Conway” was the name used by the American model and artist Karla Jo Musacchia for her appearance as Playboy magazine’s “Playmate of the Month” for its’ April, 1966 issue. She moved to Denver, and worked as Bunny at the Playboy Club in Aspen. She also worked as Bunny at Playboy Clubs in Denver, Jamaica and Los Angeles. She now uses the name Sachi and has become an artist. Due to her concern for the environment, she created a turtle logo for companies to use for bags that they make that are both biodegradable and compostable.
The World Trade Center Dedicated
2022 Topps Heritage #NF5
News Flashbacks
PSA Grade: GEM MT 10
The standard insert lineup matched past years, including Baseball Flashbacks, showcasing '73 baseball action, New Age Performers, for 25 modern stars, News Flashbacks, with notable world news during 1973, and Then and Now, which compares past and present talent. The “News Flashbacks” set checklist of 15 cards included the London Bridge opening, President Nixon swearing in for a second term, the Endangered Species Act was passed, NASA launched Skylab Space Station and the World Trade Center dedication among others.
On April 4, 1973, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the completion of the Twin Towers’ construction. At 110 stories each, 1 WTC, or the North Tower, and 2 WTC, the South Tower, provided nearly 10 million square feet of office space. Reaching over a quarter of a mile into the sky, they were the tallest buildings in NYC, and for a brief period, they were the tallest buildings in the world. As of 2001, the WTC housed more than 430 businesses from 28 different countries—roughly 50,000 workers. They attracted tens of thousands of tourists and commuters every day.
“The Griswold’s”
National Lampoon Christmas Vacation
Chevy Chase & Beverley D’Angelo
PSA Grade: Authentic Autograph
Every year, National Lampoon's “Christmas Vacation” proves itself to be, as Cousin Eddie would say, the gift that keeps on giving. No matter how many times you watch it, you always find a new whip-smart line to howl over. Did you notice that the entire movie is about the joy of Christmas, and yet there is no Christmas Day filmed on camera? The movie ends with the family celebrating their Christmas Eve but the morning after is never actually seen!
Signed by both Chevy Chase & Beverley D’Angelo, this legendary card is certified “authentic” by PSA grading. Chase said “I loved the stuff on the roof, which was typical of Clark Griswold. I loved sliding down the roof and hanging on. It was all very funny and I love Ellen (D’Angelo) coming out and going ‘Um…Clark?’ Nothing seems to bother her.”
Burt Reynolds
1997 Playboy
Chromium Covers Edition 3
Numbered 246-of-600
CGC Grade: NM 7
CGC Auto Grade: 9
Refractor parallels were found in three distributions: 18 cards as pack inserts, 12 Celebrities cards (as a redemption subset), and 70 exclusives to the binder sets. Autographed cards included Barbi Twins, Pam Anderson, Burt Reynolds (numbered to 600), Cathy St. George, Debbie Boostrom, Karla Conway and Lisa Baker.
Burt Reynolds played leading roles in a number of subsequent financial successes, including The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit among many others. He was nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Reynolds was voted the world’s number one movie actor from 1978 to 1982 in the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll – a record that he shares with Bing Crosby.
World’s Tallest Buildings
2012 Topps Allen & Ginter
Authentic Auto #WTB5
Rudy Giuliani
Beckett Grade: Authentic
The world’s tallest buildings insert checklist features 10 cards inserted 1:10 packs. The list included the Burj Khalifa, Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building among others. Opened in 2014, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is also the seventh-tallest building in the world. One World Trade Center soars to a symbolic 1,776 feet as a New York landmark.
Serving as the 107th Mayor of New York City (from 1994 to 2001), Giuliani previously served as the US Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983, and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989. After a failed campaign for Mayor of New York City in the 1989 election, he succeeded in 1993, and was reelected in 1997, campaigning on a "tough on crime" platform. Rudy Giuliani led New York's controversial "civic cleanup" from 1994 to 2001 and appointed William Bratton as New York City’s new police commissioner. In 2000, he ran against First Lady Hillary Clinton for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, but left the race once diagnosed with prostate cancer. For his mayoral leadership following the September 11th attacks in 2001, he was called “America’s Mayor” and was named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2001.
Hogwarts Express Ticket
2015 Harry Potter
London to Hogwarts
Autographed by Daniel Radcliffe
PSA Grade: Authentic Auto
Physical tickets for the Hogwarts Express from London to Hogwarts were printed as part of the 20,000 square foot expansion of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London in March of 2015. The expansion also included a recreation of Platform 9¾ and the original Hogwarts Express steam engine. This ticket is authentically signed by Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself! Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the Harry Potter film series. He starred in all eight films in the series from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in 2001 to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” in 2011. It is uncertain whether students in years other than first year are provided with this ticket, since the details of where and when the Hogwarts Express depart never change, barring very special circumstances. It is also unknown if the ticket serves anything other than an informational purpose, though no mention is made of Harry having to surrender it. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” however, does refer to a "ticket inspector" who signaled Harry, Ron and Hermione when it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between Platforms nine and ten.
But the ticket might still be charmed in some way, an invite that means only authorized travelers are allowed on the Hogwarts Express. Visitors are allowed on the platform, but not on the train itself (unless authorized by the Ministry, such as the Dementors), so the tickets may allow entry to the train. Neither in the books nor in the movies do the students have to present the tickets in any way. So, maybe, they are only given to first years that don’t grow up in wizard families, so that they know where to go. Others think students receive their letters at the beginning of the year with their school supply lists which makes more logical sense. Some assume that tickets are only for muggle-born students. Others say that the entry can be charmed. Some argue the ticket is the Fidelius charm. Once you get the ticket, you have the password and can go again any time, while others note that Hagrid provided Harry with one of these just before Harry caught the train that would take him back to the Dursleys. Later, when Harry explained to Vernon Dursley that he needed to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters (and Vernon replied that there was no such thing), Harry stated that it was on his ticket. In addition, when Albus Dumbledore visited Tom Riddle at Wool’s Orphanage as his special messenger, he provided him with an envelope that included, amongst other things, his Hogwarts Express ticket.