If one good turn really does deserve another, then it's only natural that Donruss would put together a second series of Americana cards after the first one proved to be a hit. Once again, the focus is mainly on the stars of movies and TV, but various sports are in the mix as well.
Boxes of 2008 Donruss Americana II hold four four-card packs, with a memorabilia card or autograph card in each one. At least one autograph is guaranteed.
Base Cards and Parallels
Americana II is a true second series to the 2007 product, so the base cards share the same design and continue the numbering from where the first series left off. The first 100 commons include names from entertainment history like Jackie Chan, Kurt Russell and Regis Philbin, while the sports world is represented by such diverse personalities as figure skater Peggy Fleming, pro wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and baseball legend Willie Mays.
The final 70 commons are short-printed and feature truly iconic showbiz personalities such as Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn. Parallels for the short prints come in three different levels with print runs of only 25 copies or less.mericana II is a true second series to the 2007 product, so the base cards share the same design and continue the numbering from where the first series left off. The first 100 commons include names from entertainment history like Jackie Chan, Kurt Russell and Regis Philbin, while the sports world is represented by such diverse personalities as figure skater Peggy Fleming, pro wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and baseball legend Willie Mays.
The final 70 commons are short-printed and feature truly iconic showbiz personalities such as Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn. Parallels for the short prints come in three different levels with print runs of only 25 copies or less.
Parallels for the first 100 echo those from the first series, with Silver Proofs (#'d to 250), Gold Proofs (#'d to 100) and Platinum Proofs (#'d to 25) for all of the commons. There are also Private Signings cards which add a signature to the base card design and Stars Materials which add a star-shaped swatch of material personally worn by that star. Stars Signature Materials combine the autograph and the swatch.
I opened a random box of Series II for this review and found eight commons, all from the first 100 cards. I also pulled two Proof parallels and a Stars Signature Materials Vicki Lawrence, numbered to 250.
Autographs and Memorabilia Cards
2008 Donruss Americana II Ring Kings Signature Materials Georges St. Pierre 125/197.
Nick Tylwalk
The first series of Americana had an impressive array of autographs and memorabilia cards from entertainers who aren't usually that easy to get, and Americana II continues in that vein. Hollywood Legends Signatures and Hollywood Legends Materials look to have the strongest checklists, with names like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, while Cinema Stars Signatures and Cinema Stars Materials feature more modern personalities like Gary Sinise and Patrick Stewart.
Co-Stars Materials and Co-Star Signatures carry over from the first series with two memorabilia swatches or two signatures, respectively. New for this series are TV Stars cards which spotlight stars of the small screen and have both autographed and memorabilia versions.
Sports stars get their due with a continuation of the Sports Legends insert, which adds five cards including racing champion Richard Petty and Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden. Also new for this edition are Ring Kings, a 30-card insert with memorabilia and signatures from the stars of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Among the names on the checklist are current UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, rising WEC star Urijah Faber and UFC legend Randy Couture.
The About.com review box seemed to have a pretty representative sample of the product's content. Along with the autographed memorabilia parallel mentioned above, I found a Hollywood Legends Materials William Holden, a Cinema Stars Silver Screen Materials John Cusack and a Ring Kings Signature Materials card of UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre.
Insert Cards
Rounding out the product mix are regular versions of all of the autographed and memorabilia inserts listed in the previous section. Of these, the ones likely to attract the most interest are the Ring Kings cards, as they are numbered to 500 and represent the first time most of the MMA fighters and personalities have ever appeared on trading cards.
My sample box held three insert cards - most notably a Hollywood Legends John Wayne - all numbered to 500.
The Last Word
2008 Donruss Americana II Hollywood Legends John Wayne 084/500.
Nick Tylwalk
There's no reason to think that Donruss Americana II won't be every bit as popular as its predecessor. It does a great job capturing men and women from all forms of entertainment who simply don't appear on trading cards that often, and the insert lineup appears to be just as formidable as the first time around.
My grade for the product reflects this site's focus on sports cards. Americana II actually feels a little lighter on sports subjects in general, though MMA fans are definitely going to be happy with Ring Kings. If you are primarily interested in the set for the movie and TV stars it showcases, you'll most likely enjoy it even more.
PER BOX ITEMS
4 Memorabilia or Autographs
2 Parallels
2 Inserts Per display autograph and memorabilia broken down as follows:
Pack 1: Autograph
Pack 2: Hollywood Legends or Co-Star
Pack 3: SP Materials, Cinema Stars or TV Stars
Pack 4: Mix
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Look for Cinema Stars Signatures Featuring:
Jackie Chan, Ricardo Montalban, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Elijah Wood, Mark Hamill, Jerry Lewis, Peter Graves, John Cusack
Look for TV Stars Signatures Featuring:
Adam West, Angie Dickinson, Barbara Eden, Christina Applegate, Henry Winkler, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Larry Hagman, Leonard Nimoy, Lindsay Wagner, Ricardo Montalban, Wayne Newton, Erik Estrada, Vicki Lawrence, William Shatner, Dylan McDermont
Look for Co-Stars Signatures Featuring:
Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn, George Bush/Barbara Bush, Priscilla Barnes/Joyce DeWitt, Christina Applegate/David Faustino, Lindsay Wagner/Richard Anderson, Gary Coleman/Todd Bridges
Hollywood Legends Materials Featuring:
John Wayne, William Holden, Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson, Montgomery Clift, Johnny Weismuller, Vivien Leigh, Douglas Fairbanks, Burt Lancaster, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland
SP Materials Featuring:
James Dean, Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart
Commons (100)
Same design as 2007 Donruss Americana, these cards are on double rainbow filmboard.
Silver Proofs (100)
Each card in the base set is highlighted with a holographic silver foil PROOF mark on the card front and serial #'d to 250 or less.
Gold Proofs (100)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Platinum Proofs (100)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
Private Signings (100)
Features the autograph of different personalities in the entertainment world, each serial #'d to 1,500 or less.
Stars Materials (100)
Highlights a piece of personally-owned and worn fabric with a star die-cut. Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Stars Materials Silver Proofs (100)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Stars Materials Gold Proofs (100)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
Stars Signature Materials (100)
Serial #'d to 250 or less.
SP Commons (70)
Insert on double rainbow film board with gold foil.
SP Commons Silver Proofs (70)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
SP Commons Gold Proofs (70)
Serial #'d to 10 or less.
SP Commons Platinum Proofs (70)
Serial #'d to 5 or less.
SP Commons Private Signings (70)
Serial #'d to 1,500.
SP Commons Stars Materials (70)
Highlights a piece of personally-owned and worn fabric with a star die-cut. Serial #'d to 400 or less.
SP Commons Stars Materials Silver Proofs (70)
Serial #'d to 50 or less.
SP Commons Stars Materials Gold Proofs (70)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
SP Commons Stars Signature Materials (70)
Serial #'d 250 or less.
Cinema Stars (25)
Names that have appeared in the credits of some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters comprise this set. Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Cinema Stars Materials (25)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Cinema Stars Signatures (25)
Some of Hollywood's biggest names have signed for this 30 card set. Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Cinema Stars Materials Silver Screen (25)
Parallel that features a swatch of personally-worn fabric with holographic silver foil and serial #'d to 100 or less.
Cinema Stars Materials Golden Era (25)
Parallel that features a swatch of personally-worn fabric with holographic silver foil and serial #'d to 50 or less.
Cinema Stars Signature Materials (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less
Cinema Stars Directors Cut (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Cinema Stars Materials Super Stars (25)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
Hollywood Legends (25)
The greatest names in Tinseltown comprise this set. Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Hollywood Legends Materials (25)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Hollywood Legends Signatures (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Hollywood Legends Materials Silver Screen (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Hollywood Legends Materials Golden Era (25)
Serial #'d to 50 or less.
Hollywood Legends Materials Super Stars (25)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
Hollywood Legends Signature Materials (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Hollywood Legends Directors Cut (25)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Co-Stars Materials (10)
Dual pieces of personally-worn material highlights this multi-swatch piece of Hollywood history. Serial #'d to 250 or less.
Co-Stars Materials Silver Screen (10)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Co-Stars Materials Golden Era (10)
Serial #'d to 50 or less.
Co-Stars Signatures (15)
Serial #'d to 50 or less.
Sports Legends (5)
Features images of headline-grabbing athletes in American history. Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Sports Legends Materials (5)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Sports Legends Signatures (5)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Sports Legends Signature Materials (5)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
TV Stars (65)
Some of the most famous actors and actresses to ever grace the small screen are highlighted in this collection. Serial #'d to 500 or less.
TV Stars Materials Small Screen (65)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
TV Stars Materials Big Screen (65)
Serial #'d to 50 or less.
TV Stars Signatures (65)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
TV Stars Signature Materials (65)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
TV Stars Directors Cut (65)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Ring Kings (30)
The toughest competitors in Mixed Martial Arts "MMA" are featured in this first of its kind collection, sequentially numbered to 500 or less.
Ring Kings Materials (30)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Ring Kings Prime Materials (30)
Serial #'d to 250 or less.
Ring Kings Signatures (30)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Ring Kings Signature Materials (30)
Serial #'d to 500 or less.
Ring Kings Signature Prime Materials (30)
Serial #'d to 250 or less.
Ring Kings Directors Cut (30)
Serial #'d to 110 or less.
Headliners (5)
This first-time insert features those who have resided in the headlines including the likes of legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, sequentially numbered to 500.
Headliners Materials (5)
Serial #'d to 100 or less.
Headliners Signatures (5)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
Headliners Signature Materials (5)
Serial #'d to 25 or less.
