1990 Impel Marvel Holograms

Boy has 2020-2021 been fun! This set has skyrocketed in demand in recent months. It’s a cool set. I remember it vaguely from my childhood, though I was never really into comics. I recall having some of these cards, but they weren’t really my thing. But fast-forward 30 years and I recently picked up a small-ish lot of 1990 Impel Marvel cards, including a set of the 5 holograms. In high-grades, these cards are going for big money. I posted the unboxing on YouTube for you all to enjoy.

So as you can see in the video, none of the base cards are gem mint quality. They all have some minor issues, so nothing I would consider flip or investment quality.

The holograms, on the other hand, look to be a different story. Upon close scrutiny, I certainly wouldn’t expect any of them to fetch a gem or pristine grade, but they do look pretty good! Centering on Cosmic Spider-Man and Silver Surfer, specifically, look great! Spider-Man vs Green Goblin appears to have a few minor surface issues. I think Spider-Man and Silver Surfer have potential to fetch 8s or maybe even 9s. Wolverine and Magneto, due to centering, I don’t think will, but I don’t see any reason I wouldn’t get a solid 7 on each of them.

Lately I’ve also been interested in maybe submitting some cards to SGC. I like their holders, and with the absolute madness behind PSA and BGS, I thought maybe these holograms would be a fun experiment to send into SGC. So that’s exactly what I did.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and I have them back in hand already! Generally, I’m very pleased! Was really hoping for one 9, but I’m not too surprised I didn’t get one. Cosmic Spider-Man got an 8, which is pretty much what I expected, and Silver Surfer got an 8.5 – also basically what I expected. Wolverine got a 7 – also expected. But Magneto only got a 5, which was a surprise to me. I think the drastic off-centering really affected this one. But to my pleasant surprise, Spider-Man vs Green Goblin, even with it’s surface scratches, got a nice 7.

All in all, I LOVE the way they look. In recent months and weeks, the market has been flooded with these holograms, including high grade examples, so the market value has come back down to earth. Frankly, as of this writing, I’d be lucky to break even on these if I decided to sell. I may still, especially if they help me get a card that I really want, but I may also hold onto these for the longer term. Regardless, it was a really fun experience and I think the cards look amazing. Well done SGC!