One Card Post- Steve Kerr Vs. Gary Payton

This Steve Kerr-Gary Payton 2009-10 Upper Deck Dual Materials relic card has been a gray whale of mine for a number of years that I finally picked up. The card has two of my favorite guards to ever play the game and both Kerr and Payton are mini-PCs for me so a double win.

Get Better Soon Silent Bob

Last night Kevin Smith was scheduled to do two shows in LA for his “Kevin Smith Live” special but after the first show he suffered a massive heart attack. Not realizing he had a heart attack he decided to cancel the second show and go to the hospital. He tweeted about it this morning from his hospital bed (below) and seems to be in good spirits. I am stunned but relieved he is doing better.

The Boz

Brian Bosworth was one my favorite Seahawks but I never seriously collected, there never seemed to be much reason to because I only wanted the cards when he was with the Seahawks and he was in the league only two years before retiring with an injury. After he was drafted by the Seahawks I actually changed my jersey number to 55 in high school where I was a linebacker too. 

He had only four official cards from his playing days with the Seahawks; 1988 Topps (RC), 1989 Topps, 1989 Pro Set and 1989 Score. I have his ‘88 Topps rookie card and the 1989 cards are kind of gray whales where I will pick up eventually, but I did come across a 1989 Topps UK Bosworth that I added to my collection. It is nearly the same as the US version, but the back uses brighter blue and yellow and the card is number 13 on the checklist. At the same time, I found this 2016 Absolute Absolutely Ink autograph #/55 and I grabbed it. This is my first Boz autograph.

Note: Fossils Are Not To Be Eaten

I was going through some of my cards yesterday while dusting and I have a couple of fossil cards, one from the 2008-09 Upper Deck Champs Hockey release and the other from the 2009-10 Upper Deck Champs Hockey release and I noticed that there was an addition of a warning to the 2009-10 fossil card that was not on the previous year’s card.

Look at the area that I highlighted, Upper Deck added a sentence stating this artifact is not intended for human consumption. There must be an interesting story behind this specific addition of something that really should be common sense. This has me wondering if it was a child that got a hold of a card from a prior year’s set or an adult in a “Should I Lick It?” moment?

37! My Girlfriend Sucked 37...

A couple of autographs from the 2017 Upper Deck Clerks set that I’ve picked up. Both lead female characters Marilyn Ghigliotti, Veronica, and Lisa Spoonauer, Caitlin Bree. Sadly Lisa Spoonauer, who had been fighting cancer, lung disease and other ailments, died of an accidental overdose shortly after the set was released in May 2017.

I decided to add the Grace Smith and Virginia Smith autographs to my Black Friday COMC order. They may have played small roles in the movie, but they are Kevin Smith’s mother (Grace) and sister (Virginia) and since I already have a Kevin Smith IP autograph I figured they would make a nice collection together.

Get Grading While The Grading Is Gotten

As far as respectable grading companies go GMA (Grading & Authenticating) is an absolute dumpster fire but I guess you get what you pay for when you pay only $3 per card. I have made jokes before saying that GMA labels come pre-printed with Gem Mt 10. Imagine my surprise when I found a custom card graded by GMA, to add to the surprise, it isn’t a Gem Mt 10 but a MN-MT+ 8.5.

But, if you want a custom LeBron James 1989 Upper Deck design and you are willing to pay $12.99 then I have the auction for you.

Monday Question Day- Challenges?

Today is question day:

Do you like blog bat arounds or challenges?

What blog bat around would you like to see?

I like the idea with the things like the on-going Gint-A-Cuffs and the recent 30-day Baseball Card Challenge but I have never taken part of any of them except Gavin’s Wallet Card challenge and I have not been very good about that one.

Vintage Card Of The Month: 1910 T51 Murad College Series Kentucky Baseball

This month’s VCoM comes from packs of Murad Cigarettes and is cataloged as 1910 T51 Murad College Series. It was a multi-sport set, though some are not really sports, and contains 150 cards with an additional 75 variations for a total set of 225 if you are looking to complete the entire set as released. You’ll find baseball, football and basketball but you will also come across camping and snowshoeing, so the checklist is quite an eclectic grouping and as expected there are colleges and sports that will run a premium.

I picked up a couple of cards from the set and I will start with this baseball card of State University of Kentucky, now known as the University of Kentucky. I guess carrying around a banner saying you suck (SUK) can make the name change a rather easy decision.

In 1910 the State University of Kentucky organized their first athletic teams, so if you think about it this is a SUK RC.

Compared to other baseball cards from the set this one was rather cheap because of the back checklist being marked up. Apparently, the original owner had 16 cards from the 25 cards on the checklist. I don’t mind because as I have said before with vintage cards these types of marks add character. Maybe some day I will do a mini-PC based on the marked off cards, that would be quite the peculiar mini-PC.

Well That's Just Odd

I came across the most unique issue the other day while scanning in cards to add to TCDB, my 2011 ITG Griffey memorabilia card would not scan properly. It is the strangest thing, but when the card scans one of the bottom corners comes out disproportionately no matter where on my scanner bed the card sat.

The card is a standard relic card, so it isn’t thicker or shaped any differently than other relic cards, and I have scanned at least one hundred cards over the last few days and this is the only one that has this result. I added the red stroke so you can see where the card edges should be located.

There Is Always The Right Card

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The Art Gallery- 2009 Topps SpongeBob SquarePants

This month’s Art Gallery display is from Paul Tibbitt and was part of the 2009 Topps SpongeBob SquarePants Premier Edition release. Paul Tibbitt is one of the original animators, writers and storyboard artists of the SpongeBob show but moved up the line and is now an Executive Producer of the show, additionally he was the director of the second SpongeBob movie and is currently the director of the third SpongeBob movie that will be out in 2019. He has announced that after he completed the third movie he will be retiring from the SpongeBob SquarePants series.

I will admit that I enjoy the show and have been watching it with my kids for probably a good 14 years. Even now I will watch the show if the kids have it on and recently watched the second movie.

The sketch cards were 1:151 packs and are extremely rare, near impossible really, since the release I have seen maybe 6-8 sketch cards when I picked this one up in 2016. The cards are basic but when you see one, it doesn’t matter the subject, and you want one you, just pick it up.

Monday Question Day- Autographing A Card?

Today is question day:

Is adding a sticker autograph to a PC card that will remain in your collection acceptable?

What about getting a PC card signed IP or TTM? Is this the same as adding a sticker auto?

I am sure this question will get some very spirited answers because people look at altering cards in different ways. There is trimming a card to get a better grade and then there is getting a card autographed for your collection, what is considered crossing the line?

I think the sticking point here, excuse the sticker pun, will be the difference between an IP/TTM autograph and a sticker autograph. Most people can tell the difference between a card that is hard signed and packed out versus getting your favorite athlete to sign at batting practice. But, with the sticker autograph it become muddy, the sticker is official but the card that it is re-attached to isn't supposed to have a sticker autograph. I feel with the sticker autographs it is easier to deceive buyers when it is being sold, we have all seen cases where an unscrupulous seller claims the card is unreleased or missing the serial number trying to lead someone to believe it is more rare.

Buhner Book Buster

How do you remove a card from a magazine/team program if the cards are not perforated?

 

Last year I picked up this 1988 Donruss Team Collection book, inside there are three pages of nine cards each and a fourth page that is the entire Stan Musial puzzle. The cards are the same exact card that is in the base 1988 Donruss set, including checklist number, so there is no difference except that the ones I have seen hand cut usually have a little bit of a white border around the card.

My question now, do I cut the card out and put  it to my Buhner box or do I leave the card in the book but still add it to my Buhner PC spreadsheet? I have seen hand cut cards show up, but I bought the book for $3.99 and the card usually run around that price.

American Horror Story Asylum Goodies

I was kind of late to the American Horror Story party but my daughter suggested to me that I may enjoy the series, so I started watching and I am hooked and I am only in season two. The episodes are engaging, and I like that each season is a completely different storyline and while there may be some actors from one season to another they play a completely different character. Like Zachary Quinton plays a ghost attempting to keep his home in season one’s Murder House and in season two’s Asylum he plays a psychiatrist.

I picked up a couple of autographs and relic cards. The autographs are Joseph Fiennes and Naomi Grossman. They both play powerful characters in Asylum; Grossman’s Peeper appears more towards the end of the season. Quite a few of the actors added an inscription based on their character on their autograph cards. Fiennes plays Monsignor Howard so his inscriptions are religious based while Grossman plays a pinhead named Pepper who is illiterate so she signed "Pepper" as her character would have signed. 

Here is what Naomi Grossman normally looks like, a huge difference from Peeper. 

I liked this relic card especially because it isn’t the standard clothing relic, but instead a piece of a broken record. In the show, which takes place in an asylum (I know, the season name gives it away right?), Sister Jude, who runs the Briarcliff Manor Asylum, insists that the song “Dominique” by the Singing Nun play on a constant loop on a record player in the rec room. Later in the season the record gets broken and Breygent took the pieces and used them for prop cards, a very cool idea.

Another Moose For My Collection, But This Time Not The Mariners Moose

Finding quirky cards that fit in your collection always makes for a fun addition and the 2014 Topps UFC Bloodlines Engraved Engots (I guess they misspelled ingots for alliteration) is a perfect example. The front is a basic card, but it is attached to a metal ingot on the back that is made to look like an old engraving. Each fighter’s card back has an animal that represents their country so the Gustafsson has a moose. Other examples are Miesha Tate has an eagle for the U.S., Jose Aldo has a parrot for Brazil, GSP has a beaver for Canada, etc.

Ryan Bader was not included in this insert set so I went with a fighter I like for the cheapest price. The base versions are hand numbered to #/109 and there is a parallel that is hand numbered to #/25.

Nick Foles Rocks

Nick Foles is pure class and very inspirational, I can understand why he is interested in becoming a minister after he retires from the NFL. 

All That Is Left VIII

The Sports Cards Super Bowl prediction was correct and the cards are 6-2 overall. The dust has settled, so it is now time to share All That Is Left VIII.

This year was pretty light on what I felt was worth covering in my "All that is left" annual post, but I did select a couple of cards that were decent pulls. In addition to these cards there were 3 Seahawks, plus a couple of rookies and parallels.

From the 2017 Optics blaster I pulled the base Trubisky rookie card, a Rated Rookie pink Christian McCaffery and a Gridiron Kings Drew Brees. I am going to hold on to the Trubiksky and McCaffery cards hoping that these guys turn out to be decent.

 From the 207 Prizm blaster it was even more slim pickings, there were two Przims and the three retail blaster exclusive Disco Prizms but they were players where you ask “Who?” when you hear their names. This Premier Jerseys Josh Reynolds was the best of the worst.

Sports Cards Super Bowl VIII

It is Super Bowl Sunday so that means it is time for Sports Cards Super Bowl VIII. I've had no luck finding the repack Championship boxes anymore, so I have been just going the route of current product blasters. This year I have selected blasters of 2017 Optic and 2017 Prizm.

This is my eight year of Sports Cards Super Bowl and the cards are currently 5-2 as a predictor. Here is a link where you can find the previous seven games..

The scoring system has changed a little bit, because I am opening less packs I have increased the points per card. Like before, if a player is in a Patriots or Eagles uniform the card is still considered a score even if that player has been traded or cut.

Field Goal (3 pt.) For random cards that could be a sign or superstitious

Touchdown (7 pts.) For any player from the Patriots or Eagles 

TD w/ 2pt Conversion (8 puts.) For any Patriots or Eagles HOF locks

2017 Optic

Patriots – 0 points

Eagles – 14 points

#57 Alshon Jeffery

#183 Shelton Gibson

--HALFTIME--

Patriots 0

Eagles 14

2017 Prizm

Patriots- pts.

Eagles- 7pts.

#275 Mack Hollins

--FINAL SCORE--

Patriots 0

Eagles 21

There you go, the cards predict that former University of Arizona QB Nick Foles and the Eagles will blow out former University of Arizona teammate TE Rob Gronkoswki and the New England Patriots by a score of 21-0.

Now for my rebuttal, I don’t think that is how the game will end. I actually predict the Patriots will win 31-17 and I am hoping that Foles will play well enough that other teams will be coming to the Eagles with their hats in their hands and their wallets open trying to pry him away.

Star Wars Figures In A Box

There is a new repack set coming out that is not card related but still one of my interests. The 2018 Hobby Solutions Amazing Action Figures: Star Wars Series 1 is a product that will include one AFA or CSA graded Star Wars figure per box and there will only be 100 boxes made but I was unable to find any information about the price point.

I have never heard of the company Hobby Solutions and can not find anything about the release except a write up on Blowout’s Buzz blog and one breaker on Youtube did 7 breaks. The date for release based on Blowout is February 9^th but the Youtube videos were uploaded on January 26^th so I don’t know if Blowout had the wrong info or the breaker got early product.

The checklist amazing too, 21 different characters total on the checklist with the main characters having various outfits/releases, and you really cannot go wrong with most of the figures.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Boba Fett

Chewbacca

Darth Vader

Death Star Droid

Emperor’s Royal Guard

Greedo

Han Solo

Jawa

Lando Calrissian

Luke Skywalker

Princess Leia

R2-D2

R5-D4

Rebel Commander

Snaggletooth

Stormtrooper

Tusken Raider

Wicket W. Warrick

Yak Face

Yoda

Here are some video captures from the box breaks

Not To Be Outdone

Last week I posted the 2005 Donruss Elite Steve Largent/Darrell Jackson cards where the serial numbers were put on in different directions. Apparently, Topps had a “Hold my beer” moment in 2013 with the Topps UFC Bloodlines release.

I am now adding my Ryan Bader collection to the Trading Card Database and you guessed it, Topps outdid Donruss. Each of the 2013 UFC Bloodlines base cards have four serial numbered parallels and three of the four are serial numbered on the front of the card beneath the UFC logo in the top corner while the fourth (Flag parallel) has the serial number on the back of the card.

C’mon Topps, don’t do this to a brother.

Anyone else come across a similar situation where a card company likes messing with collectors?