Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

Dear Babe: I was wondering if you might have any further information regarding the ''warehouse'' set of Homogenized Bond Bread cards from 1947. I came across a ''complete'' 24-card set with square corners in mint condition purchased in 1989 for $255. They were purchased from the "Baseball Card Society.'' It says that Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson and Whitey Ford were on the advisory board. -- Dan Rubens, Chicago

"In the three years between stints with the catalog, I've been following a lot of forum postings on the Bond Bread issues,'' said Bob Lemke, who has just returned to edit the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest. "I have come to realize that the square-cornered 'warehouse find' cards, even the legitimate ones, are much more common than the round-cornered short-prints. I anticipate the lowering of prices for the square-cornered cards in the 2011 Standard Catalog. I'd envision a NM set of the 24 square-cornered cards would be a $200-400 item.''

Brian Fleischer, a senior market analyst for Beckett, agreed, saying that a 24-card square-cornered set of Bond Bread cards is probably a set made up of the cards that Beckett lists as double prints. Beckett's range for those 24 cards is $140-$279.

Beckett generally has lower values for older cards than those listed in the Standard Catalog. Bottom line looks like a range of $279-$400 for really nice cards.

However, the quality of the cards and even the price range are counterbalanced by the fact that many collectors are leery of just about any kind of Bond Bread cards because of all the controversy over the warehouse find and the subsequent reprinting of those cards. The problem is they all pretty much look the same.

Dear Babe: I have an official NBC News windbreaker jacket from the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted because of Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. I worked for NBC News back then and was credentialed to be on the broadcast production crew at the games. Unfortunately I discarded those credentials. I wore the jacket just to "kick around in'' for a couple of years but then realized it might have some value someday if I kept it in decent shape. It's definitely in very good shape. It's a blue satin-like shell with the official Olympic rings and "NBC News 1980 Moscow Olympics'' on the left breast. -- Terry Connelly, Marietta, Ga.

"The jacket is a cool conversation item but only worth around $100,'' said Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass. The value probably would have moved up some for a never-worn jacket in mint condition.

Dear Babe: I have a Steve Carlton 3-D Kellogg's Corn Flakes card. It is made by Sportflics and is No. 8 of 15. -- Vickie Mathews, Hapeville, Ga.

These cards were inserted in boxes of the cereal with the full set available through a mail-in offer. The 1991 set includes Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Rollie Fingers, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Boog Powell, Ralph Kiner, Gaylord Perry, Don Baylor, Steve Carlton and Harmon Killebrew. Becketts's Almanac of Baseball Cards lists the set at $10 and Carlton at $1. The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest has it at $4.50 with Carlton booking at 50 cents.

(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)