Really New and Really Old Billy Williams Items

I've adding something old and something new to my Billy Williams collection (and I guess they're blue too, but nothing borrowed!)


Here's the new item....

...Billy's first appearance on a Heritage card.  As of now, only four of these /15 cards (#3, 8, 9, and 15) have shown up on Ebay.  Three have been sold and two more are waiting as BINs.  I knew I wanted one and I knew that they were going to be hard to get, so I probably paid more than I normally would for a card.  Sometimes, you gotta bite the bullet, especially for your all-time favorite player.

My only complaint....the picture is from either 1970 or 1971, not 1964.  But, at least he finally made Heritage.  It will be interesting to see if Topps starts phasing Ernie out of Heritage (they didn't this year) and start including more Billy and maybe even throw in a Ron Santo card or two.

On to something old....something 50 years old...

....this Billy Williams coin from the 1963 Salada tea/ Junket dessert set.  Its fascinating to me that a tea company would include baseball items as a premium.  Maybe Salada was trying to expand its market.  But I picture baseball fans as guys pounding Buds, not sipping Salada tea.

These are very similar to the coins that Topps would put out the following season.  Do you think Topps stole the idea or did the coin manufacturer come to Topps?

Here is what the back of the coin looks like...

....with the Salada and Junket names prominently featured, and a few player stats on the bottom.

Ernie Banks was also on the '63 Salada checklist, and I'm waiting to pick one up at a decent price.