Rounding Out My Father's Day Collection

A little over a month ago, I posted an awesome card that I had picked up from this year's Panini Father's Day promo. Well, I wasn't satisfied with just the one and I went on a mini eBay shopping spree with the goal of acquiring more of the singles and parallels that caught my eye. Here are the results of said shopping spree.

Let's start off strong out of the gate. This Schwarber relic was included in a lot of 6 cards that I really wanted to add to my collection. As much as I like him, it wasn't on my list of cards to pick-up. However, as I watched this auction come to a close, there were no bids, so I placed a really low bid and ended up being the only bidder in the auction. I was thrilled to add this in addition to a few of the others that will follow all in one auction, for the starting bid plus shipping. 

The Turner RC was a part of a 3 card lot alongside the Russell and one of the RCs that will appear a little further down the post. Once again, I was able to snag the lot for the starting bid.

While I don't normally stray too far from baseball and football, couldn't help but add the auction that included this Steph Curry to my list. Once again it was a lot(this time 6 cards) and I was able to win it for the starting bid price.

This was a separate 6 card lot from the same seller as the one that included the Curry and Harper above, so I made out twice as good winning for the starting bid and getting combined shipping to boot.

These three were included in the above six card lots. I love adding cards of former NC State guy, Russell Wilson. The Miller was a great addition as well, though not as great as the other card he has in the set. As happy as I was that the Broncos beat the Panthers, I do like my 'hometown' Panthers and Cam is the heart of the team. It's a pretty cool card of him if you ask me.

One of these was the third RC in the lot with Trea Turner. The other was one that I picked up singularly prior to winning the RC lot. I will likely find another home for the one that is #'d 300/599 simply because some of the foil on the serial number is flaking. If I don't find any takers, it'll just have to live in my collection. They are the first RCs I got that actually have the Broncos logo.

These two focus on the playoff exploits of two of my favorite Broncos. DT helping to defeat the Pats and of course, the base variety of my favorite Von Miller card ever produced(from SB50).

Last one for now, is the cracked ice parallel of the DT playoff card. It goes extremely well with the cracked ice Von Miller I posted about prior. Sadly, this DT isn't a Christmas card. I am keeping my eyes open for that one though. I've seen 11/25 and 13/25 listed...so close. Since almost all of the purchases in the shopping spree were lots, there are a bunch more that I have that will either find their way into trade packages or back onto eBay, but all told, I think I came away with some great deals. I walked away with 14 keepers(not including the Russell RC), some trade bait, and perhaps some singles to resell for right around $20(shipping fees included). There are a few other singles I want to track down, but shortly my attention will turn to Panini's National exclusive set. Thank goodness for the internet! Thanks for reading.

Card Show Recap pt. 3 - The Non-Baseball Stuff

When I was preparing to go to the show last week, I set some unofficial goals and rules for myself. The goals were to stay focused(no frivolous spending) and finish the 1968 Game set. The big rule I attempted to put in place was to avoid buying Broncos. I figured a week removed from winning the 'Big Game' that prices would be unreasonably high. Well, how did I do? I did complete the 1968 Game set, but as you're about to see, I wasn't very focused and I couldn't resist a few Broncos purchases.

At least his trio came from one of the home made repacks that this one vendor always has. I only snagged this one football filled repack, but I'll show off contents from the other 5 baseball ones in another post. I already had the Ware, but the Elway and the DT were new to me.

Now for some Super shiny Broncos! It's hard to see in the scan, but the Certified Shane Ray is some sort of parallel limited to #/499. I was able to walk away with the base version as well which is #/999. I grabbed them both for less than a buck a piece. Same goes for the green refractor of Mr. MVP, Von Miller. A mere fifty cents allowed me to bring that beauty home. The Tek Shane Ray base auto was a different story. The vendor that was selling it had a $10 price tag on it. I had no intention of paying that so I left it in the stack I found it in. I spent a lot of time flipping through this guy's boxes and chatting with him. Turns out, we are members of the same Facebook collector's group that is based in the Triangle here in NC. I pulled a few other cards out and he have me his best price so I ended up throwing the Ray auto into the mix and the number he gave me was fair enough for me to walk away with it and the next two cards.

This is the part of the program where my staying focused went out the window. For the first time, I was able to go through a box of some singles from the relatively recent Panini Soccer product. He had a bunch of great hits and singles from the set, but most would have busted my budget in one stop so I just admired them from afar. I really liked this Robben/Van Persie insert. It's a great card of the Dutch 'Dynamic Duo'. I was happy to have this one in the package deal, but the next single is the one that made it worthwhile for me.

This awesome Tim Howard red Prizm looks much better in hand than in this scan. In addition, it is the National Team SP.

Apparently, the National Team SPs are designated by the little soccer ball in he upper left corner on the back. Oh, by the way, did I mention this was numbered 16/199? When all the conversation was finished and the deal was made, I ended up taking all three of those home for the $10 price tag that was on the Ray by itself. It may not have been the best deal I made all day, but I felt better about it once I learned that the vendor and I belonged to that same local collecting group. It was great to meet another one in person.

I'd like to say that I was able to reign the focus back in after this lapse, but it was not so.

 

I ended up pulling this A&G surfer girl relic out of a $2 box. It complements the relic of the other surfer from last year's Ginter that I had already traded for a few months back. It's even technically a two color swatch. My last unfocused purchase was the first hockey single I've picked up in over a decade.

I happened to slow down near a table that was covered in singles in top loaders. Before I could pick the pace back up, the vendor was launching into his spiel about all of the cards on the table being $1 even though most of them were worth at least $15-20. I planned to move on as soon as he stopped talking directly to me because I get really annoyed at vendors that overemphasize how good their deals  are. I'm much more interested in buying from folks that let the deals speak for themselves but are available for whatever questions you might have. Before he could finish his push, I caught a glimpse of this Scott Stevens relic out of the corner of my eye. It was in a giant screwdown case(for no good reason), but I couldn't pass up that sweet Devils swatch for just a buck.

So, I went 1/3 in adhering to my goals/rules for the show, but at least going off the intended oath didn't break my budget. It also let me bring these awesome cards home. Hey, batting .333 is pretty darn good anyway, right? Thanks for reading.

A Legendary Trade Package

One of the many trade packages that was waiting in my mailbox when I returned home was yet another incredible padded envelope from Shoebox Legends author, Shane. In my short time being a part of this great community, Shane has become my most prolific trading partner to date. Each trade has included some really great new additions for my collection, and this one was no exception. In fact, it may top all that came before it.

Here are three great base card additions. The United We Stand subset was a really nice addition by Topps in the wake of the attacks on 9/11. I had a few of these, but this Clemens is new to me. The shiny Mussina is only my second or third card from the Pristine brand. I can't say much for the design elements, but it is chrome-y and shiny so it's 'OK' in my book. Have I mentioned how much I like Bernie Williams cards before?

This is my second card from the Sunoco Dream Team set. It's ironic that the first one I encountered was during my first trip to Baseball 17 in Myrtle Beach and this one arrived in my mailbox during the trip when I made my second visit to that shop. From here, Shane launched into another gear.

My first relic of Gardy! It may be a plain gray swatch, but I have been thinking of picking up a game used card of the first time All-Star, and now I have one.

Mo!!! The GQ design is a little lacking, but I agree with everyone else that thinks the framed relics are great. I've though that since the early 2000's when they first put framed relics in the Topps 206 set(s).

I love the Golden Moments insert design. The jersey swatch fits nicely into the design, and I am happy to have this Zimmermann.

Some of you may remember seeing these in one of Shane's posts a while back. I commented that they were great cards simply because I am a huge soccer fan and these are two of the greatest players to suit up for he US National Team. Shortly after commenting, Shane emailed me and told me he was going to include these in the next package he sent. I am not a fan of the Goodwin Champions sets, but 
I am exceptionally happy to have these in my collection.

So, five relics and some other great cards would have been plenty enough to make this a really great trade package. However, Shane really outdid himself by sending the following:

Again, I saw this one on Shane's blog. At the time he wasn't sure if he was going to keep it or send it to eBay. I commented that I'd be interested in knowing if he decided to put it up for auction. Once again, Shane emailed and told me he would be willing to trade(or sell) it to me. Here it is. A black foil parallel of Soler's RC auto. It's serial numbered 3/50.

Many thanks once again, Shane! It's always great exchanging some cardboard with you.