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.

From his Card Shop to mine

I had planned on doing some card show post this week, however, judging by the amount of mail that I received last week, it would seem that some of my blogging friends had other ideas.

I've been sending out quite a few things as of late, and a few folks are starting to send some stuff in return, which was completely unnecessary, but still very much appreciated -- after all, I, like most people, do enjoy getting mail... especially when it contains some sort of collectible(s).

The first envelope came from Daniel, of It's like having my own Card Shop, who decided to help out with my meager collection of 1998 Donruss Signature Series', by sending this extra Andy Benes that he had:

I only remembered Andy Benes from his half a season with the Mariners back in 1995, so I was kind of surprised to see that he ended up playing for 18 seasons, finishing with a record of 155-139, and he even led the NL in strikeouts (189) during the 1994 season. Granted, I did start to lose interest with baseball around '96 or '97, but I still should've remembered him for more than just half a season's worth of play.

Daniel, thank you again for the card, it was pleasantly unexpected. I fully intend to pursue this set a little more actively once I complete a few others, but in the meantime, it's nice to be able to check another off of the list before ever even having to search for it.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page

The beginning of a Joe Carter super collection?

A couple of months back I ran my first contest, and as one would expect, said contest had a winner... Richard, who can be found at the helm of Toronto Blue Jays Collection. He also happens to run, what may be the most unique player/team oriented blog that I have seen, George 'Moon' Gibson. Over the past month or so, I have finally had the time to go back and read all of the 'Moon' posts, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys seeing old stuff and/or stuff that you don't see very often (two of my favorite kinds of stuff). Seriously, go check it out!

So anyways, during our email exchanges following his win, a trade was proposed. Richard was interested in a two of my three 1994 Collector's Choice gold signatures, which normally I wouldn't have been interested in trading away, but seeing as how Richard is working on a 1994 Choice master set, I was able realize that my whopping three gold's weren't likely going to be materializing into a set anytime soon -- so why not just call it a day, and send them to a better home. I also ended up being able to help Richard finish off his base set, having the eleven cards he needed to do so, which I was very happy to be able to help with.

Normally I wouldn't show the best card first, but since this was the card that Richard initially mentioned as sending for his side of the trade, I figure that this is one time where it makes sense to show such an awesome card first. As of late, I have been trying to put a little more effort in to looking for autos from both the 1997 and 1998 Donruss Signature Series sets, so I would have been way more than content getting this '98 Joe Carter for the cards I ended up sending as my part of the trade. This card is so freakin' cool, I mean just look at that nice big signature, he couldn't have fit that on a sticker. This is (and probably will be for awhile) by far the biggest name that I have gotten from either set so far.

As if that wasn't enough, Richard ended up sending a few more cards in an effort to help with some of my many set(s) needs. If the title of the post didn't clue you in already, see if you can spot the common theme.

This 2002 Topps Archives Reserve sure is a beauty. By sending this, Richard doubled my haves for this set from one... to two!

 Not only did I get Joe's base card from 2005's Upper Deck Classics...

... But there were also two serial numbered inserts from the set as well. Until getting these, I had never even thought to look for any of the inserts before, in fact I didn't even know this set had any inserts before receiving these. It's kind of funny to see that Upper Deck used the same base card photo for Post Season performers too, it seems like Upper Deck would have more than two images at their disposal.

I always enjoy finding/getting needed 2001 & 2002 Fleer Greats. In a weird away I almost don't want to complete either of these sets, because I would no longer have a reason to look for them if I did, and the thought of that makes me sad. I wasn't aware that Joe Carter had been included in both of these sets, seeing as how he retired in 1998, I think he had to be the most current "great" on both of the checklists.

I was very excited to see this 2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classics included in the package, as I almost never come across any of them. And on the few occasions when I have stumbled upon them in the wild, they are almost always in terrible condition, Joe here however... was in really great shape. The only bad thing about this set, is that with the all shiny silver, they don't scan or photograph well at all.

2006 SP Legendary Cuts is another set that I hadn't ever thought of looking for inserts from. This #'d Baseball Chronology sure is an awesome looking card, it also photographed really well, which is always a plus.

Richard, thank you again for the cards! I really enjoyed being able to mark these off their respective checklists. And hopefully next time it won't take me nearly two months to show off such a neat package.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.