The Good Kato, Not The O.J. Kato

This will probably be the last Bruce Lee card I add to my collection for a while because the rest on my wants list are significantly more expensive, but I put my Bruce Lee collection on hold with a very cool sticker from the 1966 Donruss Green Hornet release. This Kato sticker (#5) is one of my favorites of all of his cards and I really can not explain why. Probably being an action illustration with bold colors.

I have never seen one of these stickers centered, they are always off and seeing a diamond cut card is common, so I did pretty well with this one. The borders are discolored and there is a smudge along the bottom border and there are some minor marks along the front of the card but not noticeable unless you look for them.   

The next Bruce Lee cards on my want list are a 2007 Breygent sketch card, a 2008 Breygent Movie Poster suspenders relic and the big boy of them all… the 2009 Upper Deck Prominent Cut robe relic.

Jon Found The Answer

I am a bit behind on posting some of my recent trades and care packages. Knowing I am sometimes a bit lax on this I always send a thank you email when I receive the package, I don’t want anyone to think I don’t appreciate their kindness. 

Last month I received a care package from Jon from A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts, a gathering of Iversons for my collection. Allen Iverson was a more recent mini-PC for me and with Jon’s package I am at 63 Iverson cards, on my way to 100 unique AI cards.

Three 2000-01 Topps Heritage inserts that were all on my wants list.

A 2004-05 Fleer Traditions Hardcourt Tributes

A 2003-04 Fleer Platinum Big Signs fold-out card that I don’t think I had ever seen before.

Thank you, Jon, I really appreciate the additions to my Iverson PC

Edgar Martinez Bobble Head

Here it is, the Lights Out Edgar Martinez bobble head. I got a deal from a dealer in Tacoma and I am so excited to have it on display.

Monday Question Day- Do The Companies Care What We Want?

A hypothetical question. If you could make a single decision that would affect the entire hobby about all things card related, all companies and all products, what would it be?

For me it would be ending exclusive licensing. I am not saying everyone gets a license, but all companies have the chance to earn a license for whatever sport/non-sport. I know there is more to it than who gets a license, but you have to admit that over the past few years of exclusiveness there seems to be a stagnation of sorts.

My Great Red Whale

Have you ever seen something collectible, outside of white whale cards, that just takes your breath away when you see yet know that you will never own it?

While searching for Mandred von Richthofen cards I stumbled across this first edition von Richthofen autobiography “Der rote Kampfflieger”. The book itself has been on my Amazon Want List for a while, I haven’t ordered it because I have a stack of books already next to my bed that I must catch up on first. 

I am not as concerned about it being a first printing from 1917, it is what appears to be scribbling on the cover above the title (underneath the plane). That would be von Richthofen’s signature. Inside the book is also a CDV where Richthofen wrote “Gruss aus Schweidnitz 1917”, which means “Greetings from Schweidnitz” and is where he grew up.

At nearly $5,000 I will not be adding this book to my collection, but it is nice to have a dream.

Without looking it up, does anyone have a guess as to who replaced von Richthofen as squadron commander?

Glass Mariners

I am not a fan of wide vision, Tall Boys or oversized cards in general, mini cards too, they are difficult to store and in a case like mine where I have limited space storing cards comes in to mind when making some purchases. 

 I gave in last year when I did my Black Friday COMC order and picked up both Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano from the 2017 Gypsy Queen release. They really display nicely with a refractor surface and I really dig the design, even the backs look neat. The 2018 release has a border so the colored parallels look great but with no Mariners on the checklist I wont be adding any to my collection.

Monday Question Day- When Should You Sell?

If you decide to sell a card of a hot player, do you want to sell before an event (like the player hitting his XXX homerun or rushing for XXX yards) or sell after they accomplish the feat?

I do not sell much anymore outside of base relics and autographs that I tossed up on COMC and an occasional card on eBay that doesn’t fit in my collection. But in 2002 I sold my 2000 eTopps Emmitt Smith card right before he broke Walter Payton’s leading rusher record in 2002. Bidding ended at $200, I was so excited but right after I shipped it out I had seller’s remorse because I was worried I left money on the table if the card prices increased afterwards. After he broke the record eBay was flooded with Smith’s cards and the 2000 eTopps card was selling in the $12-15 range so I felt better. I don’t think the buyer felt the same way.

I Finally FInished My Richard Sherman Rainbow

When I initially started the 2015 Topps Chrome Football Richard Sherman rainbow project I thought there was the base, 15 parallels (Plus printing plates) and a photo variation. To keep it within my budget I had no intention of chasing the Superfractor #1/1 or the printing plates so 14 parallels were on my want list. After spending nearly 8 months hunting the elusive Purple parallel I finally figured out that the Purple was a rookie only parallel.  

So here the rainbow is in all it’s glory. I ended up cheating a bit and picking up the mini version of the photo variation, the regular sized versions were selling over $20 while the mini was $7.25 on COMC. I haven't requested shipment, so my card still resides in Redmond. 

Base

Refractor

X-Fractor

Hot Box Blue Diamond

Green

Blue Wave

Pulsar

Camo #/499

BCA Pink #/399

Black #/299

Blue #/199

Sepia #/99

Gold #/50

Red #/25

Photo Variation w/turkey #9.2

The Box Tape Brick

Yesterday I received a small set of 9 cards and I guess the seller felt it was OK to go the brick route instead of a standard bubble mailer. 

This is how I received the package, wrapped in what I figure to be at least half of a roll of box tape. A bubble mailer would have sufficed, but I can not complain because it was secure but there was a lot of waste.

Monday Question Day- Replacement Cards?

If you have a modern card that you have had graded and it has come back with a lower grade than expected have you ever cracked it from the case and requested a replacement for a damaged card from the manufacturer?

This question came to mind after reading on Blowout forums about people getting cards back from being graded and not happy with the grade the card received. I have heard of people cracking cards out of the case and resubmitting them to be graded but I was wondering if anyone just sent the card back to Topps/Panini/Upper Deck and complained about it being damaged.

I don’t know how I feel about it. I know that if a card comes out of a pack damaged, and it was a good player, I would request a replacement but if the card wasn’t damaged I wouldn’t bother the company. I have only requested a replacement once and that was a Press Pass autograph about 10 years ago.

An additional question: If you bought a lower graded modern card or even just a damaged card, would you consider breaking it out and requesting a replacement?

For example, you buy a Aaron Judge autograph with a dinged corner or smudged autograph. Would you request a replacement?

Vintage Card Of The Month: 1914 T222 Fatima Turkish Blend Eddie Murphy

This month’s VCoM from straight out of packs of 1914 T222 Fatima Turkish Blend cigarettes. The cards were printed by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company and used photography while other tobacco companies were still using illustrations of the athletes on their cards. The set is also not a baseball exclusive set, there are also other sports athletes as well as actors. 

I picked up this Eddie Murphy because he was later part of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team that threw the World Series and I am really drawn to that team. He wasn’t one of the players involved and had no knowledge of the games being thrown so he eventually earned the nickname “Honest Eddie”. 

These cards are rather rare and extremely condition sensitive. They were printed on very thin stock, literally paper thin, and they are larger than the standard tobacco era card of the day at 2.5” x 4.5”, roughly the size of a Tall-Boy style card. So, because of the size you will often see creases and fold marks but the glossy sepia photo more than makes up for the folds in appearance. Mine has a major fold across that someone taped, because it isn't torn I am guessing they did it to add support to the crease area.

Jay Fishing Again

I came across a pair of Jay Buhner cards from 1992 on TCDB that I had not seen before, they are from a 1992 Legends Sports Memorabilia Magazine that were part of a sport fishing release. The set has 18 cards with 9 athletes each having two cards with one card showing the player fishing and the other an action shot in uniform. The backs are the same writeup for both cards just having a different number. This is the second card I own with Jay Buhner fishing, the other is an Upper Deck/Shimano promotional card.

Monday Question Day- Horizontal Grading?

How would you feel about PSA or BGS coming out with a horizontal graded case so you can display a graded horizontal card?

I think it would be neat for those who want to display a horizontal card but a nightmare for anyone who wants to store the card.

The Big Red Mayor

Glenn Jacobs, better known as Kane to wrestling fans, has earned himself a new title. In addition to being a 3 time World Champion and 12 time World Tag Team Champion, he now has added the title of Mayor to his list of accomplishments after winning yesterday's election in Knox County, Tennessee.

No longer will he respond to the Big Red Machine, but instead as “Mr. Mayor”.

The Kind Of Finds We All Hope To Find

Today I read a story about two brothers in New Jersey, ages 76 and 79 years old, had an attic find from their old baseball card collection that they had forgotten about.

It started with the younger brother seeing a story earlier this year about Heritage’s auction that included a PSA graded 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle selling for $3.5 million. He discounted the story as being an error but when he saw that NFL lineman Evan Mathis sold his PSA 9 Mantle for $2.88 million he decided to go searching for his and his brother’s old collection, which had been stored in their mother’s attic before she passed in 2006 and then moved to the older brother’s basement. 

Besides other cards from the early 1950s, they found five 1952 Mantle cards, that have since been graded and ranged from PSA 5 through an 8.5. They sold a PSA 5 and 7.5 last month ($72k and $200k respectively) and another PSA 5 plus a 7 and the 8.5 all go up to auction later this year. 

Car enthusiast have barn finds, we have attic/basement finds.