Collectible of the Week - Hamilton Collection: The Mike Schmidt Plate Collection
Limited edition porcelain plates have been popular with collectors for decades. In the early 1900s, merchants often used hand painted plates as advertisement, and several manufacturers issued holiday-themed releases. During the 1970s - The Bradford Exchange (then, The Bradford Gallery of Collector's Plates) introduced the idea of using characters and images from U.S. popular culture on their plates, forever changing the collecting world.
During the late-1980s, early-1990s the niche expanded a little to begin including sports-themed plates - mostly baseball. Led by American Hackett and later followed by Gartlan USA, Sports Impressions and The Bradford Exchange sports plates often featured well-known feats and players. Production reached its height during the mid-1990s - about the time this week's collectibles were released.
In 1994, The Hamilton Collection (a subsidiary of The Bradford Exchange) in association with Sports Impressions, produced a four-plate, limited edition "Mike Schmidt Plate Collection." The set contains four, 6.5" (diameter) porcelain plates - each representing a different phase of the Hall of Famer's career: "The Ultimate Competitor", "An All-Time, All Star", "A Home Run King" and "A Career Retrospective." The plates, which were created over a stretch of 28-days, feature the artwork of Robert Tanenbaum - in full color, with gold trim. Each are hand numbered.
Prices for these plates has dipped over the past 10-15 years - and can regularly be found online for $25 or less. There are several factors that are impacting their long-term value:
- They are not that rare.
- They take up a lot of room and are difficult to display.
- They break easily.
References:
- eBay Listing (photos)
- Tuff Stuff's Baseball Memorabilia Price Guide
