Post Cereal baseball cards were many Baby Boomers' first sports collectibles, printed on the back of cereal boxes rather than requiring separate purchases. Many Boomers are still getting over the shock of finding their beloved childhood items are now on sale in antique stores!
1960 and 1961 Post Cereal Baseball Card Sets
These were sets of baseball cards including a variety of 200 different cards, all printed on the backs of cereal boxes. Because of this, full sets in mint condition are extremely difficult to find, as few kids actually did what parents and teachers always tell them to do: Cut carefully and stay right on the line. Sports memorabilia appraisers usually value these sets from $1,000 to $3,000, depending on condition. Individual cards usually cost between $15 and $40.
1962 Set
In 1962, Post Cereal released another set of 200 cards. Most of these were printed on cereal boxes but the Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris cards were instead inserted in the April 13, 1962 Life magazine. (This magazine is itself a collector's item because the cover featured Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, then starring in both Cleopatra and most gossip columns.)
The prices for these cards in very good to excellent condition are usually in the $10-30 range, but the Mickey Mantle cards do sell for $100-300, depending on condition, according to collectible price guides.
1963 Set
There were 206 cards in Post's 1963 baseball cards series. Because Post put the most popular players on the most popular cereals and the least popular on the least popular cereals, many of the lesser-known players' cards are very hard to find, and thus worth more than those of moderately familiar players.
Some of the most valuable items from Post's 1963 baseball card sets include Mickey Mantle and Carl Yastrzemski, which each can sell for between $400 and $500. You can find more about pricing of all the Post Cereal baseball cards in sports memorabilia price guides.
1970s through 1990s
After 1963, Post didn't release any more baseball cards until 1979, when it printed 12 cards on Raisin Bran boxes. Post didn't put much effort into either producing or marketing these and it didn't get back into collectible baseball cards until it produced 30-card sets each year from 1990 to 1995. These were the first cards it provided in the more traditional three-card cellophane packs.
2001 Set
In 2001, Post baseball cards revived with a release of 30 cards, issued in nine of their cereals:
- Alpha Bits
- Marshmallow Alpha Bits
- Golden Crisp
- Honeycomb
- Oreo O's
- Fruity Pebbles
- Cocoa Pebbles
- CinnaCrunch Pebbles
- Waffle Crisp
Like most collectible producers, they aimed these cards at both children and to those who remember the nostalgia of the cards from their own youth. Eighteen of the 30 cards featured contemporary players:
- Moises Alou
- Barry Bonds
- Jermaine Dye
- Tony Gwynn
- Todd Helton
- Orlando Hernandez
- Barry Larkin
- Greg Maddux
- Pedro Martinez
- Mark McGwire
- Mike Piazza
- Manny Ramirez
- Alex Rodriguez
- Ivan Rodriguez
- Gary Sheffield
- Frank Thomas
- Bernie Williams
The other eight cards were all from the Hall of Fame,
- Ernie Banks
- Jimmie Foxx
- Reggie Jackson
- Harmon Killebrew
- Willie McCovey
- Frank Robinson
- Babe Ruth
- Mike Schmidt
These cards were packaged in Raisin Bran, Cinna-Cluster Raisin Bran, and Honey Bunches of Oats cereal boxes.
2003 CD-ROM Set
Additionally in 2003, RealNetworks created a series of virtual Post Cereal baseball cards on CD-ROM and distributed these in selected cereal lines, primarily in the hopes of enticing collectors to subscribe to its Major League Baseball online services.
