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.
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
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
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.
