Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard!
2013 Panini Cooperstown Collection Red Crystal Shard #53
Looks like we're staring off with my birthday twin! I've finally decided with complete certainty that I'm no longer going to try and finish this set, but I'll still keep a few cards, including this one (despite the blah photo) -- just in case I do decide to start collecting cards from his post-playing days.
1998-99 Topps Stadium Club Triumvirate - Luminous #T8a
I have around 100 cards of John Stockton (mostly inserts and parallels), and this is by far one of my favorites. Also, how great were Triumvirate's? Despite missing them greatly, I very much hope that Topps never decides to try and bring them back... because we all know that they would look like hot s*** if they ever did!
1962 Topps Mars Attacks! #10
I can't help but wonder if a card like this could be made now in our post 9/11 world?
2012 Topps Chrome Retail Orange Refractor #100
Of all of the parallels of this card from Topps and Topps Chrome, the orange refractor is probably my least favorite, so why do I have like four of them now? Simple, I love the image, and the orange's tend to be pretty cheap, well, that and my semi-recent penchant for buying multiple of the same card seems to be getting worse.
1972-73 Topps #244
Now that was a match-up (offensively speaking), Rick Barry v. George McGinnis!
2013 Panini Father's Day Progressions - Magenta #38
Another piece of the completed rainbow.
2013 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures #SC
With this one, the COMC folder is now devoid of Golden Age autos. Steve has an autograph in the 2012 and 2013 sets, both of which I own. With a lot of help from Affirmed, he became the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown (1978), and was the only jockey to ever be named the sportsman of the year by Sports Illustrated.
1972-73 Topps #176
This card is interesting because this is back when they used the total number of assists to declare the season's leader, so you have Lenny Wilkens finishing in 1st with 766 assists, and Jerry West right behind him with 747 -- yet modern statistics will tell you that Jerry West led the league in assists during the '71-72 season with 9.7 apg, and Lenny Wilkens finished 2nd with 9.6 apg.
1963 Topps #31
Another one for the "Telstar Four" collection. I was trying to figure out who was in the background, but failed spectacularly... anybody have any clues?
2014-15 Panini Prizm Yellow and Red Mosaic Prizms #223
Some of the images that Panini used for veterans portion of the 2014 checklist are a bit iffy, some are even bad enough that it leads one to wonder what the photo selector's were thinking (or smoking), but not this one, this is a solid image of Artis Gilmore, and one that I believe is from the tail-end of his time with San Antonio, maybe '85-87? I also really like dig the stark contrast of background colors with his black jersey, it seems to make image pop more.
On an unrelated note, I meant to have a couple of more posts up this past week, but the Challenges happened, and I chose to try and start building the credit back up in my account over blog "writing", so... Sorry Not Sorry :)
Another week, another ten randomly selected items from last year's COMC hoard.
2013 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures #DDG
Not gonna lie, this is one of my favorite autos from the Golden Age sets. My introduction to Donna Douglas came from the Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder", which as some of you might know is one of the more famous episodes from the show's history. I saw that years before ever seeing my first episode of The Beverly Hillbillies, or any of her other television appearances (Michael Shayne, Checkmate, Project U.F.O., etc.). I keep going back and forth trying to decide whether or not I still want to try and finish the Golden Age autograph sets, but even if I don't end up trying to complete them, this isn't one that I would be getting rid of.
2015 Topps High Tek Pattern 1 Grass/Waves Gold Rainbow Diffractor #9
I really like the 2015 Tek cards, although some of the colors and background patterns don't jibe too well with the uniforms, but that's not the case with the gold Eric Dickerson, as you might be able to tell from the multiple copies here, it's one of my favorites (I have a purple Tom Brady sitting in my COMC account right now that is really quite spiffy as well).
1995 Collector's Edge - EdgeTech 22K Gold #23
Barry didn't scan so well, so you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that he (in card form) is absolutely gorgeous in person. I used to know what the odds were of pulling one of these 22K parallels, but that knowledge seems to have been lost with time. I do know though that they only fell in one out of every couple of boxes, I just can't remember how many boxes.
1964 Topps #580
1964 was not a good year for Johnny, and one could say that it was sort of the beginning of the end for him. Between an elbow strain, then being hit by a pitch from Warren Spahn on the very same elbow, and eventually needing surgery on that elbow, Johnny only made it into two games that season, both of which were lost.
2012 Panini Black Friday Progressions - Yellow #6
It feels a little weird to buy a card of a relatively contemporary athlete that I've never seen play before, but that's exactly what I did with this Arian Foster Progressions, although I have listened to his podcast, so that's got to count for something, right?
2014-15 Panini Prizm Blue and Green Mosaic Prizms #174
I've mentioned on here more than a few times now about Larry Johnson being my favorite player growing up, so I watched as many Hornets games as I could, and once he was traded to the Knicks, I then watched as many Knicks games as I could. Neither of these teams were MY team, but after watching so many games of both, it was kind of inevitable that I would become a fan of some of LJ's teammates as well, Allan Houston was one of those guys that I eventually became a fan of. It was pretty hard not to like him, or his game. Not only could he flat out ball, but he was also (and still is) a high character guy, and by the late 90's those kind of guys were becoming rather scarce, which only made me gravitate towards him more.
1971-72 Topps #44
To say that the '71-72 season was not a good one for Eddie Miles would be an understatement, as he suffered a career ending Achilles tendon injury, although by then he had already seen ten years of action, and his once very promising career was already on the downward slide. That being said, you don't ever want to hear about someone's career ending because of an injury.
2014-15 Panini Prizm Yellow and Red Mosaic Prizms #160
It is virtually impossible for me to see, or hear about, Dikembe Mutombo, without thinking about this commercial:
1962 Topps Mars Attacks! #12
This is going to sound absolutely terrible, but for as long as I can remember, I've always associated this card with this image of Ted Williams (sorry Mark):
Don't ask me why I associate the two, because I don't know, I just know that I can't see one without thinking of the other.
1972-73 Topps #65
Although he's not often credited for it in print, Tom Boerwinkle was a key component to the success of the early Bulls teams. As far as Bulls history goes, he's second in all-time rebounds (MJ is first?!?!), and he still holds the franchise record for most rebounds in a game, 37, which was set back in 1970.
Is it me, or did those ten cards go by really quick this week? Heck, the week itself has flown by, of course they all seem to be doing that these days... they just don't make weeks like they used to :(
Like a lot of collector's, I have quite a few saved searches on eBay, some going back over ten years, while others date back to just a couple of weeks ago. Many saved searches have been deleted over the years, either because I eventually got whatever it was, or I just lost interest in the item, and of course, new searches are always being added -- I think there's a limit to how many you can have, but I've yet to reach it (probably because of all the deleting).
And I don't know how it is for everyone else, but is seems like more often than not, that when I get the daily emails for items that match my searches... they rarely seem to match? Often times it's just stuff that shares a word or two with my search, and that's it! If this ever happens to you, than you know how frustrating it can be, especially if it's on a search that doesn't yield results very often (if ever), you get all excited, and are immediately let down once you crack open that email -- this too is something that happens to me on a fairly regular basis!
So imagine my surprise, when a couple of weeks ago I received a result amongst my daily emails for an item that hadn't popped up on the site in literally years, and wonder of all wonders, the emailed listing actually matched my search!?!?
You are looking at one of the most, possibly even THE most, hard to find autographs from the 2014 Golden Age set. This card was a short-printed redemption, which obviously is already going to be rare, but than when you take into account the fact that this set came out in July of 2014, and Mr. Banks passed away in January of 2015, well, that doesn't leave an awful lot of time for these cards to be signed. From what I've read - and I don't know how accurate the message board posts on the subject are - it sounds like they're might be less than 50 of these floating around, which would explain (if true) why this is the first one to come up in over two years.
I knew that if one ever did show up again, that it wouldn't be cheap, and I was right! It was listed for $89.99 (+ $3 for shipping), which is an awful lot for me right now, thankfully though, the seller was also open to best offers. Since I was seeing this listing just a couple of hours after it went live, I knew I'd have to act quick (I honestly don't know how it was even still there?), so I put in an offer, which was countered within mere minutes -- and even though it was a good counter, I still pressed my luck by submitting a counter to the counter, which was accepted after a very long two-hour wait.
Those couple of hours felt like an eternity, but it was worth it, because in the end I got my much desired card for $67 (plus that pesky $3 for shipping), which was still a lot, but it was a little more doable than $89.99.
Technically speaking, I didn't have, and wasn't going to have the money for this, but that's why god invented credit cards. I did have a plan though, which was to list a bunch of stuff for sale real quick, and hopefully have the money by the time the credit card bill was due. For the record, this is a terrible way to do things, so if any kids are reading this, don't do like me, go be financially successful so you'll have money on hand to pay for such things! That being said, the plan did work, as I did sell five things (including one that I didn't really want to) over the next two weeks, so when the bill comes, I will be good for it. I am glad though that I didn't have my heart set on going to a card show this month, because this purchase would've negated such a want.
As great as it was to have such a long standing search like this yield a positive result, I'd be completely okay if no more of my expensive much wanted items showed up on eBay for the next couple of months, that way I'd have a chance to build up a bit more of a reserve.
Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard!
1970 Topps #380 (Error)
No need to adjust your eyeballs, as this card is as off as it looks. When it comes to errors, I usually am only interested in blank backs, but I made an exception for this one. Tony showed up in a batch of Challenges that I was doing, and I immediately fell in like with him (do people still say that?). I added the card to my watch list, and then spent the next month checking in on it every single day, just impatiently waiting for it to be added to the site. Such efforts rarely pay off for me, but in this instance it did, as I logged in one morning to find that it had been added to the site during the previous night -- and not only had it not already been bought, but the price attached was considerably lower than I had expected it to be. When I saw that it was there, and that it was only $0.95, well, as you can probably imagine (especially after that build up), I could not hit that buy it now button fast enough!
2015 Topps High Tek Pattern 1 Grass/Waves Confetti Diffractor #18
I haven't been pursuing it as much as I was last year, but I have the want to fill up a page of these Tim Brown's. I'm no matholigist, but I believe that once the goal is completed I would then own roughly 10% of the to /99 print run. Without looking, I think I'm sitting at seven right now (4 from COMC, 2 from a card show, and 1 from eBay).
2014 Panini Prizm Red, White, & Blue Prizms #12
I got a mention from Trevor a few weeks ago in connection with this card, and now that's it come up in the Shuffle, the least I could do is reciprocate the shoutout :)
Also, I have no idea why that middle card scanned so poorly, but it don't look like that in person.
1952 Bowman #72
This was just one of those "it's too cheap not to get" kind of purchases. It doesn't really fit into any particular collection right now, but I'm hoping that inspiration will strike at some point, and I'll find a use for it.
2009-10 Upper Deck 3D Stars #3D-AR
I don't what the deal is with this set (and I don't really care), but some of the cards have just one player, while other's, like this LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, have two. LaMarcus is who you see when the card is at rest, which I'm assuming is just because his last name comes first alphabetically, as Brandon was a much bigger name at the time.
1998-99 Topps Stadium Club Triumvirate - Luminous #T11c
One of my favorite players of all-time, on a card from one of my favorite insert sets of all-time... I believe that's called a "win-win"!
2012 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures #JO
Fun fact: John went to the same high school (different years though) as Otis Redding and Little Richard. Fun fact #2: Otis Redding and Little Richard went to the same high school!?!?
1968 Topps Game #15 blank back
Here's a bit of a rarity. Not only is this the first blank backed Topps Game that I've ever seen, but it also appears to be the only one that COMC has ever had. For the longest time I was buying blank back lots of say, 1975 Topps baseball, with the goal of trying to get as many from specific sets as I could, but also still picking up the occasional outlier like this. Like everything else card related, my focus has shifted quite a bit, now when it comes to blank backs I'm primarily interested in trying to get just one example from as many sets as I can.
1954 Topps #23
I had never heard of Luke Easter until I read an article about him last year (which I of course can no longer find). He seemed like a really interesting person, and was probably one of the great "what could've been if it hadn't been for injuries" guys. Because of these things, I decided to try and get a few (or all) of his cards. I got this one during last year's Spring Sale, and haven't gotten any more since. I have found that other than his '54 Topps, COMC is not a good place to get his cards, and I just never think to look on eBay, hence the owning of only one card.
2014 Panini Prizm Orange Prizms #105
It looks like Dan wasn't too impressed with today's post. I guess I'll just have to try harder next week then!
Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard!
2011 Topps Platinum Diamond Anniversary #20.2
Canceling a game just because of a little rain? Weak! Modern player's no nothing of hardships, I mean just look at what kind of conditions that Honus and his brethren were playing in -- the diamonds are coming down so hard it's a miracle that the photographer was even able to get this shot. And how do you think sliding in that kind of weather felt? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it probably didn't feel too great, but were they going to do, not play? Pfft!
1933 Goudey #206
Found this on Gus' Wikipedia page:
"Prior to playing in the majors, Suhr played for the San Francisco Seals. In 1929, he hit .381 with 51 home runs and 177 RBI for his team. During that season, he became the only player in baseball history to be sued (in addition to his team) by a fan injured after being struck by a foul ball he hit.The case was dismissed under the legal Baseball Rule, a verdict upheld by the California Supreme Court three years later."
Look at those numbers! And that's at a time when the PCL's play was almost on par with those of the major league's, heck, according to many west coaster's of the time, it's level of play was better than what the "big boys" had to offer.
1998 Topps Stadium Club Leading Legends
I found one of these in a dime box just a few days after getting this one, not that I mind owning two of course, I just thought it was interesting to find one in the wild right after finding out that these cards were even a thing. As far as acetate cards go, these are definitely one of the more interesting one's that I've seen, they look like someone actually took the time to paint gold leaf on to each individual card.
2014-15 Panini Prizm Blue Mojo Prizms #144
One of my favorite Blazers of all-time!
2012 Panini Golden Age Historic Signatures #BP
One of my favorite's from the 2012 set, probably in the top five.
1998-99 Upper Deck Ionix Area 23 #A2
I'm not working on this insert set, but it seems like during every Black Friday sale, there's one cheap copy from this set to be had, and for the last four years, I seem to be the one who always get's that one cheap copy.
1965 Topps #528
Another one for the "Telstar Four" collection. I've heard that George is very generous with his signature, but with the price of postage now, it's really difficult for me to get up the want to send out any more TTM requests.
1975-76 Topps #232
Example #896 of why I don't normally scan vintage cards. I really miss the days of hearing Snapper and Bill Walton playfully go back and forth at each other during the NBC games. And I really (really) miss hearing Snapper doing the color work on the Blazers broadcasts.
2013 Panini Black Friday Panini Collection Progressions - Cyan #8
Yep, I willingly bought an Anthony Bennett card... first person to do so in nearly five years!
2001-02 Topps Chrome Black Refractor #109
I love the '01 black refractors so darn much! Being numbered to /50, they aren't always easy, or cheap, to come by (well, there is someone selling a large collection of them on eBay right now, but that's an anomaly). DA was on sale for less than five bucks, so it was virtually impossible for me not to grab him.
For the first time in over two months, I took five days off from posting, it was a nice break, so nice that I might be taking a few more similar breaks in the very near future. The weather has been crazy nice, and there are a few things that I want to do this summer, things that have been put on the back burner because of this blog -- I just don't have enough time to do everything! Either that, or I'll just try to shorten some of the posts, as I do tend to be on the rambly side, and those do take a fair amount of time to put together. Even if I do cut back for a couple of months, I will at least continue to do these Shuffle posts, if only because they seem to be the easiest to "write" right now. But I don't know, I'm just sort of thinking out loud, certainly nothing's set in stone yet.
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).
