COMC Shuffle #8

It's hard to believe that this week's Shuffle post marks two months of doing these already, time flies...


2018 Panini Classics Timeless Tributes blue #102

As far as modern cards go, this one is pretty darn close to perfection in my book.


2013 Panini Golden Age Playing Cards #8H

This set is taking far longer to complete than I would've imagined. At least I'm still enjoying it though, unlike a lot of other things.


2013 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures #BL

The thought of abandoning my quest to complete the three years worth of Golden Age autographs has recently popped up. I'm not sure if I'm ready to commit to it, but if I did, I'd probably keep a few, and sell the rest -- Fred MacMurray's adopted "son" wouldn't likely be one of the keepers.


1998-99 Topps Stadium Club Triumvirate - Luminous #T16a

It's still hard to believe that the Dallas Mavericks took Tractor in the first round of the 1998 draft, then promptly traded him to Milwaukee for a skinny German kid who would one day become a hall of famer (Dirk Nowitzki).


1962 Topps #99

I can't remember exactly when it was, but sometime early last year I bought a cheap port - in case anyone doesn't know, you can buy ports on COMC, which are either all, or just part of, someone's inventory - it wasn't very big, maybe 60 something cards for $28 (in credit). I ended up keeping a few cards, Boog's rookie being one of them, and then put the rest up for sale (which is the point of buying a port). I still have a few cards that haven't sold, but so far, I've made around $20 profit, which isn't too bad considering that it wasn't the greatest of ports (hence the price).


2012 Panini Black Friday Kings Progressions - Magenta #1

I don't have a most wanted list of any kind, but if I did, the black Progressions Jim Brown from this set would be #1 on that list, as it would complete my rainbow. I have much to say about this card, but I will be talking about it in a post that's currently halfway finished, so I'll just wait until then to do so.


1933 Goudey #68

Hod Lisenbee led an extremely interesting life, on and off the diamond. I give the SABR people crap sometimes, but this is an instance where praise is owed to them, as they have a wonderful article about Horace up on their site. If reading about a former major leaguer who didn't play baseball until he got to high school, at the age of 21 no less, sounds interesting, click on that link. If reading about a former pitcher who went 5-1 against the Yankees Murderer's Row during his rookie season (1927) sounds interesting, then click on that link. If reading about a former player who was still pitching into his 50's sounds interesting, well... you know what to do!

For you back addicts :)


1969-70 Topps #53

I keep going back and forth as to whether or not I still want to try and complete this set, I think I'm over halfway done with it, but my heart (and wallet) just isn't really into it anymore.

2014 Panini Prizm Red, White, and Blue Prizms #53

In case you can't tell, I'm kind of fond of this particular card! Although I'm gonna have to keep an eye on that Frank in the bottom left corner, he could be trouble.


1998-99 Skybox Thunder Lift Off #2LO

I bought a lot of Skybox Premium back in '98, but never bought any Thunder, there was only enough money for me to choose one, and I made my choice. In fact, until just a couple of years I had never even owned a card from the '98-99 Thunder set. Since moving to TN though, I have found a number of inserts in dime boxes, but one that I had yet to find (or even see for that matter), was any of the Lift Off's, so when I came across this Ray Allen a while back for just a little under $2, I had to have it. I can't overstate enough how great these look in person, and to me, they really do seem like something that should go for quite a bit more money.

The shuffler came up with a pretty good mix this week, certainly more variety than last week, which is always a good thing... at least for me (and hopefully for you as well).



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My first Twitter trade

Twitter... it's a thing. Some people love it, some people hate it, some people love and hate it. Some people can't live without it, some people live just fine without it. Love it or hate it though, it's not going away anytime soon.

Personally speaking, I'm not very good at the social media, and it often makes me feel considerably older than I actually am, which isn't a good thing. Twitter has been good for the blog, and it's allowed me to get to know a few fellow bloggers a little better (in one particular case, a lot better), both of which have been good things. On the flip side though, there's a lot of rabble rousing going on, arguments over extremely trivial things, plenty of name calling, and lots of politics -- and all of the propaganda and misinformation that goes hand-in-hand with politics on social media as well.

Another popular thing on the Twitter, at least amongst card collector's, is trading. There seems to be a lot of good and bad with that as well, more good than bad though (at least from what I've been able to gather). I think I've been using the site for about a year and a half now, and up until two weeks ago, had never used it for trading before. This is mostly because a) formal trading isn't something that I enjoy doing a lot of, and b) most of the stuff I see people wanting to trade away tends to be of the higher end variety, which is something that I don't collect -- and even if I was interested in any of it, I wouldn't have anything to trade for it, as usually folks are looking for other high end stuff in return, which is the kind of stuff that I don't have for trade.

A few weeks ago though, Adam, who goes by the handle Alindz99, tweeted out that he had gotten a binder of 90's basketball cards, all (or least the majority of them) of which were going to be available for trade... 90's?.. Basketball?... My interest was officially piqued!

I don't collect a lot of base cards anymore, even stuff from the 90's, I've already seen it all way too many times, or I already have what I want (for the most part) -- but I do love me some 90's inserts and parallels, so I went ahead and asked if this binder contained any such things.

The binder did contain such things, I have pictures to prove it, speaking of pictures, Adam really went above and beyond by sending me literally dozens of binder page pictures via DM, it seemed like an awful lot of effort considering how small the trade ended up being, but it was an effort that I very much appreciated nonetheless.

Anyways, I got lots of pictures sent to me, most of the inserts were one's that I already had, and didn't really need any duplicates of, but there were two that stood out -- and not because they're crazy rare and valuable or anything, no, in fact they're both cards that can routinely be found in dime boxes. Instead they stood out because I didn't already have one of them, and the other is a card that I'm trying to get an entire pages worth of.

First up is the "new to me" card:



1994-95 Fleer 1st Year Phenom #8

It seems like it's been a lifetime since Big Dog's rookie season! Drafted in the #1 spot, Glenn had a ton of hype coming into the NBA, which I think he did a pretty good of living up to, or at least as good as anyone could playing for Milwaukee at that time.

1994-95 Fleer Super Star #4

Did anyone have more inserts than Fleer during the mid 90's? I don't think so! I have found four copies of this card in dime boxes during the last year or so, which is fine by me, because I absolutely love this card, enough so to chase an entire page's worth. With this latest acquisition, I am now more than halfway towards completing this goal. I feel the need to note too, that the card isn't miscut or anything, it was just a really bad picture by me, the cracked screen on my phone is really making the act of taking well centered pictures quite difficult (I know, first world problem).

So that's it, a two-card trade, certainly not the biggest Twitter trade ever, nothing like the one's that Matt routinely pulls off, but I'm still pretty happy with it, I might even have to try it again sometime.

I only spend about ten minutes a day on the site (there just isn't that much for me), so I'm glad that I saw this trade opportunity during one of those short stints, kind of makes me want to spend a little more time on there, just in case something else similar ever arises (kind of).

Thanks again for the trade, Adam! And to everybody else, go give him a follow, you certainly could do worse :)


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

Happy Easter!

In an effort to break up the monotony, I thought it might be fun to celebrate today's holiday with a few (seven to be exact) Easter themed postcards from my mom's collection (thanks for letting me use these ma).

Since I don't think that there's going to be a lot of people reading the blogs today, I'm not going to spend too much time writing, so these cards will be shown with next to no commentary. And for those of you who enjoy seeing the backs of postcards, don't worry, I've got you covered -- so let's get this show on the road, starting with the back of the card that led off the post:

This is the chunkiest postcard that I've ever seen... and I absolutely adore it!

Hopefully those of you who stopped by enjoyed the cards (it wasn't easy limiting myself to only showing seven). To those who are celebrating today, may you have a wonderful day! And to those who aren't celebrating today, well, I very much hope that you have an awesome day as well :)


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COMC Shuffle #7

Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard.


1971 Milk Duds -whole box-

Over the course of about a month last year I purchased 9 whole Milk Duds boxes from the same seller. This was kind of a big deal for me because I had just learned of the Milk Duds cards, and quickly became quite enamored with them (even did a post that I don't feel like going and finding the link for).

This was one of those stretches where the Challenges had been open quite a bit, so not only was I racking up the store credit, but it also meant that I could afford to get all of these boxes each time they went on sale (at prices that were much lower than eBay), if I hadn't been earning so much credit at the time, I would've probably been able to only get a couple of the lower tiered one's -- like Mr. Perry above.

When I finally got my yearly shipment after the Black Friday sale, other than the Goudey's and my first couple of T206's, I was most excited to see these, especially since I had never seen a whole box before... unfortunately that excitement didn't last too long:

The first box that I took out was the doozy, aka the biggest purchase (or use of my credit rather) of the year, Pete Rose. I knew that something was askew almost instantly, and upon turning the box over, I saw exactly what that was -- Pete's box is the first one in the above photo. All 9 boxes were near mint when I bought them, but four of them ended up arriving damaged, and not from something happening to them during shipping, no, this was sheer human error, as whoever put them into toploaders after I bought them, hooked four of the flaps on the toploaders while they were being loaded -- with Pete getting it the worst.

Obviously it didn't take me long to send COMC a wtf email. After a brief back and forth, I was given the option to send them back for a refund, which I promptly did. Getting the credit back was good and all, but multiple things about this still kind of bug me - a) I never get an apology, all I got was a "We're sorry that your unhappy with your cards", which came across like it was my fault, or that I was just being difficult. b) The employee who did this had to have known that they did do it, you would've felt the resistance as the boxes were getting hooked on the edges, and yet they didn't say a word, I mean did they really think that whoever purchased them wasn't going to notice that their once near mint boxes were no longer so. c) The Pete Rose box truly was near mint, and I bought it for less than half of what they sell for on eBay. I have never gotten anything graded before, but I was seriously thinking about doing so with this particular box, obviously that was no longer an option after it was received. d) This was supposed to be the start of a new collection, a collection that was going to be highlighted by Pete Rose, that collection idea is now a thing of the past, because after having to return almost half of this new collection, I've basically lost complete interest in all things Milk Duds (I realize that this mindset might not make sense to some, but that's just how I'm wired). It's been like five months now, and the five that weren't damaged are still sitting in the exact same place that I put them after all of this went down, I haven't looked at them once, if I ever do, it'll probably be just to scan 'em and list 'em on eBay, because I will not be collecting any more of these.

This disappointment has also caused me to spend far less time on COMC through the first couple of months this year. Normally I would have done a couple hundred dollars worth of Challenges by now, but so far, I've only been able to bring myself to do about ten bucks worth, and I don't know if that'll be changing anytime soon. I still have lots of though, as I still haven't even used all of what was put back from these damaged boxes.

Sorry for starting this week's post off on a downer (the shuffler just had to land on one of these first), but if anyone's still here, I do have nine more cards here today with a lot less backstory :)


1995-96 Topps Power Boosters #280

I don't remember what the odds were on these back in the day, but they seemed like difficult pull at the time. I was fortunate enough to get one in a pack, the only bad part was that it was Sherman Douglas, who, no offense to him, was probably the least interesting player to be included in the checklist. This is one set that I kind of wish that I had the MJ's from, as it would be a fun one to complete, but I'm not gonna pay for what those Jordan's are fetching these days.

2013-14 Panini Prizm Red, White, and Blue Mosaics #248

Is that Ted Kaczynski in the background?


2016 Panini Certified Mirror Gold #98

I found the orange bordered version of this card at a show last year, I liked it so much that I half-assedly decided to try and complete the rainbow. I'm under no illusion that I'll ever be able to get the black 1/1, and probably not the to /5 green either, but I've been able to find everything else so far, including this gold, which is numbered to /25.


1971 Milk Duds -whole box-

It took seven weeks for the shuffle button to land on a Milk Duds box, and now goes ahead selects two in one week.

1999-00 Skybox E-X E-Xceptional #15XC

I absolutely love the E-Xceptional's! I already had Lamar, but when I see them cheap (especially on the basketball side) copies, no matter who they are, I just can't not get them.

1975-76 Topps #236

If there was a Mt. Rushmore for fro's, Mike would most certainly be included!

2013 Panini Father's Day Progressions - Cyan #38

I have completed two Progressions rainbows so far, Chris Kreider here was the first, the second will be shown in a future post.


2013 Panini Cooperstown Collection Red Crystal Shard #72

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've sort of temporarily (I hope) lost interest in the Cooperstown parallels, it's convenient that my loss of interest waited until I was only one away from completing the green's, and around 20-25 away from completing the gold's, and the red's, as well.

2013-14 Panini Prizm Light Blue Prizms Die-Cut #228

The light blue, and the purple die-cuts, are by far my least favorite of the 2013 Prizm parallels, that being said, I still wasn't able to pass up this Sam Perkins when I saw it for just 46 cents (there numbered to /199 btw). I have multiple copies of this card in green, but unless I find any more for less than 50 cents, this'll probably be the only light blue Perkins that I ever get.

It seems like the selection this week was a bit basketball heavy, hopefully that didn't put too many people off, because with all of the Prizm parallels that are still sitting in the folder, this is bound to happen again... and probably more than once!


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The Ram has landed!

About a month ago I posted the contents of a trade with uber collector extraordinaire, Greg, also known as GCA, from The Collective Mind.

That package was highlighted by a '71 Topps Johnny Unitas, as well as a '71 Jack Snow. The Johnny U was wanted because, well, because it's Johnny Unitas! The Snow on the other hand was desired by me simply because of the card's staged photo, which just so happens to be a very fun one. It was in the comments section of that post that I replied to something that Fuji had said, by mentioning that I had seen another really fun photo from that set, that being HOFer Merlin Olsen, at the last show that I had attended. That particular card was priced a little high (IMO) considering the condition that it wasn't in, so I let it go, which really wasn't a big deal as there are plenty of copies out there, I just had to keep an eye out for a more reasonably priced example.

Fast forward to last week when a very unexpected PWE showed up in my mailbox, a PWE, that to my surprise contained the very card in question:

Turns out, I don't in fact need to keep an eye out for a more reasonably priced example, as Greg obviously saw my reply, and while at one of the many shows that he's been going to, found one for me!

I really can't put into words how much I enjoy this card, the photo is just so darn great -- leave it to an actor to ham it up like that for his football card :)

Thanks again for the card, Greg! This truly was one of the more unexpected acts of generosity that I've received during my time as a blogger.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

One Random Pack: 2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic rack pack

My mom just recently gifted me with this pack of Optic, which, don't get me wrong, was very nice of her, and thought behind it is certainly appreciated -- but in all honesty, this is a product that I don't really care about, and would've never bought any of for myself.

Again, I'm always grateful to someone when they give me something, but this is one of those instances where the money could have been saved, and even though I of course said thank you and all of that, I did try to gently get across the fact that this isn't something that was made with someone like me in mind, and that the money could've been better spent elsewhere.

I thought about asking her to take it back, but as a card collector you know how it goes, the old "what if there is actually something good in there?" thoughts got the better of me, so now I'm here today to see if there was actually anything good in there!

Seems to be the usual configuration here, three packs of four cards, and the bonus three card Blue Velocity pack. I thought it was kind of interesting to see that the BV pack is somewhat translucent, enough so that you can see who's on the front, and which rookie is in the back.


Pack #1

Not a good start!

Jeremy Lin: How is he still around? I hope that team's aren't still banking on the ten good games that he had 7 or 8 years ago. Plus there's the whole "always injured" thing.

Ben Simmons Express Lane insert: I've heard a lot about him, but I haven't ever seen him play. Supposedly he's put up some decent numbers during his first couple of seasons, but that doesn't do much for me, a lot of guys have done that, call me after he's consistently put up those same numbers for over a decade, and then we'll talk.

Spencer Dinwiddie: I know of him only from the two years of fantasy basketball that I tried, that's it.

Collin Sexton: No clue, but playing in Cleveland certainly doesn't bode well for him.

Keepers: None.


Pack #2

Better than the first pack.

Pau Gasol: Future HOFer. His parents should also be in a hall of fame somewhere for all of the good work that they've done over the years.

Kris Dunn: Interesting image on his card, sort of 90's-esque.

Marvin Bagley III: I remember hearing some hype about him a couple of years ago, but haven't read or heard anything else since.

Paul George Lock It Up insert: I'm starting to think that there's an insert in every pack, if so, it kind of devalues the specialness of getting an insert.

Keepers: Pau.


Pack #3

Looks like the second pack was the best.

Nikola Jokic: Another guy that's wowed those who tend to be easily impressed over his first couple of seasons, I'm a little more difficult to please.

Lauri Markkanen Franchise Futures insert: Yep, there's an insert in every pack, and apparently they all kind of look the same.

D'Angelo Russell: Tell me that he's not glad to be out of L.A.!

Kostas Antetokounmpo: Obviously he's one of Giannis' brothers, other than that I don't anything about him. Wasn't there another brother who already came and went from the NBA? I would have to imagine that all of these teams who are drafting Giannis' brothers are hoping that they turn out to be like him, and I suspect that none of them will.

Keepers: Giannis' brother, at least for a year or two... just in case!

Blue Velocity pack

These are really pretty cards, much more attractive than I thought they'd be.

Mikal Bridges: ???????

JJ Redick: He's stuck around a lot longer than I think most people thought he would.

Kevin Durant: Kevin looks like he's standing on the court and just reaching up to place the ball in the basket.

Keepers: Mikal (just in case he does something of note) and KD (I only have like three cards of his).

Overall, I'm not too impressed with the base cards, or the one per pack inserts. I'm not overly crazy about getting a rookie in each pack either, but I know that that's done for the modern collector/flipper... not for an old guy like me.

As usual, if anyone sees anything that they think they can't live without, don't be shy about saying so.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

Momentarily confused

Getting mail from fellow bloggers is always fun. However, me opening said mail after a long day isn't always the ideal time to do so. Case in point:

This one card PWE temporarily threw me for a bit of a loop, causing a piece of internal dialogue that went a little something like this...

Ooh, 1998 Signature Series!
Travis lee... I remember him!
That's a poopy (sidenote: poopy isn't the word that I thought of) lookin' autograph.
Is that an autopen?
I don't remember anybody ever saying anything about an autopenned signature in this set?

*Turns card over*

Oh!
It's a sample.
Obviously that's why the signature looks so terrible.
Duh!
I didn't know that Signature Series had samples?

*Goes and checks COMC. Finds out that the 1998 Signature Series did indeed have samples, or rather a sample, as Travis Lee was the only one*

This brief bit of confusion could've easily been avoided had I just read the note that Jim had included -- oh, and I don't think that I've mentioned it yet, but Jim (gcrl), of cards as i see them, sent this wonderful card to me -- anyways, I could've read the note first, but you know how that goes!

I've thought many time in the past about starting a collection of samples, probably the only reason that I haven't done so already, is that there are also pre-production, and prototype cards, out there -- and honestly, I don't what the difference is? Are they all different? Or is it just a bunch of different names for the same thing? Well, maybe this isn't the only thing that's holding me back from starting such a collection, but it is up there amongst the reasons.

Jim, thank you again for thinking of me when you came across this one! Even if I don't ever start a sample collection, this is still one really cool card.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.