As captain of the “Fierce Five,” Raisman was a media darling before the start of The Games, and her star rose further with each metal-winning performance.
In addition to her gold medal for floor exercises at the London Games, the first ever gold in the event for an American female gymnast in the event in Olympic history, Raisman earned gold with the U.S. Team in the all-around competition, the first for the U.S. Women since 1996, and a bronze metal for her individual performance on the balance beam.
Collectors of Jewish Olympic memorabilia have access to a wide range of Raisman collectibles.
Her cards (visit Beckett.com for a more inclusive checklist) include:
- A 2012 Topps Olympics issue, including parallel, autograph and memorabilia cards;
- An ACEO trading card;
- A limited edition FA Productions Olympic preview card;
- and, a 1/1 artist sketch card by an illustrator known as "Q."
of eBay.
Raisman's cards sell for
a little as a few dollars to as much as $200 in the Beckett Marketplace, Amazon
, depending on the variation and scarcity of the card a collector is seeking.
Other Raisman memorabilia includes a
variety of unsigned and autographed photos, available on eBay and Amazon.com
Raisman and her Olympic teammates are featured on the cover of the July 23, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated (see JSC.com's previous posting for a list of other Jews to grace the cover of SI).
Back issues of SI can be purchased
on eBay and Amazon.com
The Jewish gymnast also graces the cover of the August 8, 2012 issue of the New York Post. The paper carries the headline "Star of David: Jewish girl wins gold, honors slain Israeli Olympians.
eBay or Amazon.com are the most likely source of back issues of the newspaper. eBay or Amazon are likely your best source for finding back issues.
Named as a "Bostonian of the Year" in 2012 by the Boston Globe, Raisman was honored at a Red Sox game last year, where she threw out the first pitch. Raisman autographed baseballs sell for between $100 and $200 on eBay.
A wide variety of other Olympic memorabilia,
including a "Got Milk ad" picturing Raisman and other Olympians,
tickets, programs, books (including The Fab Five) and DVDs
Raisman participated in the 2012 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. Tickets and programs from the tour are no doubt obtainable, and Raisman and her fellow Olympians were featured on Corn Flakes box put out by the cereal company. Boxes featuring Raisman can be found on eBay occassionally.
Facebook.com.
Raisman has endorsement deals with, among others, Pandora. She is featured in the jewelry company ads, which some Jewish Olympics enthusiasts might want to add to their ephemera collections.
An active social media user, anyone wanting to "collect" bits and bytes in the forms of posts and tweets can follow Raisman on Facebook and Twitter.
Do you have any Raisman memorabilia in your Jewish Olympics collection? What's your favorite piece? Have any JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers had a chance to meet the Olympic star or obtain her autograph?
Let JSC know by commenting below.
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