Monday, December 24, 2012

A pair of trades = early Christmas presents

I guess the first isn't technically a trade, but Josh of Royals and Randoms sent me some cards in response to the Group Break cards I sent him. 


All of these are great, but I especially dig the Justin Upton die cut. Thanks, Josh!

The second trade of this post was my second trade with the world-famous Fuji.  He showed some tennis cards he picked up from an Ace Tennis Straight Sets blaster.  You may remember that I busted 2 cases of those blasters.  Fuji wasn't excited with the relic he pulled, so I made him an offer on it.  (now that I thin about it, I never posted all of the relics I pulled, oops.) I sent him an neon green Ai Sugiyama relic in exchange for a cool black David Nalbandian relic.


The Pat White card was one I found on his trade bait for my mentor at work.  I've been giving him WVU cards for a couple years now. It's a good deal, because I want nothing to do with WVU cards...except for the Noel Devine card from 2011 Sweet Spot.  It's the only card I need for my set.

I'm not sure how I didn't already have this next card.  I'm always ecstatic to add Ginter relics to my collection.



My favorite card in the trade is another one I saw on his trade bait list.  I must have missed it last time I traded with him.


Freeman was one of the more successful NFL Hokies.  I already have a Freeman auto, so It was cool to add a relic to the mix. Thanks, Fuji!

I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow!

Ebay and Topps Giveaway pickups = early Christmas presents


I finally took shipping of my die cut Verlander from Topps.  The card came pretty quickly.  I also took shipping of my Nick Foles die cut on the football site, but haven't seen that one yet.

Additionally, I picked up a couple of cheap cards on ebay.  After buying some boxes of 2011 Sweet Spot football (some of which I still need to post), I was interested to see what other years of Sweet Spot had Hokies.  The only one I could find was Ernest Wilford, as standout receiver who was there when I was.  I even sat next to him on the bus a couple of times. He was a large and very intimidating man.


I also picked up a Finest Refractor RC Auto because it's a nice on-card auto.  I got these for $2 each. 

A pair of contest wins = early Christmas presents

The first contest I won was at the Mojo Beard for a sweet Goudey Prince Fielder auto:


Kevin, being the generous guy he is, also included this:


It's my first '52 Topps card! Thanks, Kevin!

The second contest was over at I'm Ballsy. I took home a prize of two Goudey jersey relics:


Thanks, Arno!

Everything seen here is for trade if anyone is interested.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

On the Twelfth Day of Cardmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...12 Chromers Chroming,

11 Scorers Scoring,
10 UD Heroes,9 SP Prospects,
8 Packs-o-Ginters,7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.



What better way to end a Cardmas countdown than with 12 packs of shiny chrome cards. CC=Chris Cringle? By weight, maybe.


Random thought: Is a card with a piece of authentic base in it referred to as a base card?


Hooray for a poorly scanned insert of Zim!


Hooray for awesomely scanned refractors, especially the Wright gem!


Hooray for Xfractors, which have been the best easily attainable parallels cards for quite some time!

#370/499 and #358/499
 Hooray for numbered purple refractors even though neither team uses purple!

We finally reached the end of the countdown.  It is only appropriate to cap off the Cardmas tree with a gold star:

#24/50
I was really surprised to see a gold refractor fall out of a discounted retail pack.  I was stoked to see it was a good player.  I think it is definitely a nice card to end on.

I hope you enjoyed the 12 Days of Cardmas!

Cardmas Carols Riddle #10


Saturday, December 22, 2012

On the Eleventh Day of Cardmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...11 Scorers Scoring,

10 UD Heroes,9 SP Prospects,
8 Packs-o-Ginters,7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.




These are from the year before the Score design was nice.

GO HOKIES!!!

I really don't understand the appeal of glossy parallels in today's market. 


This may be the best pair of rookie tight ends in history.  Lastly, we come to the inserts:


The All-Pro cards are outstanding but the rest are unexciting.  At least first I thought the Ocho Cinco was just a base card and that his head was actually that big.  That card is so Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco Johnson it's not even funny.

Cardmas Carols Riddle #9


Friday, December 21, 2012

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...10 UD Heroes,

9 SP Prospects,
8 Packs-o-Ginters,7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.



UD Heroes is like Diet Masterpieces.  If I'm choosing between them, I'm going Masterpieces.  But, if I'm thirsty for cards and UD Heroes is available, I'm not leaving it on the shelf.  In this case, I picked up a ten-pack blaster for a nice discounted price.


Top Row Veterans: Arguably the best QB of all time, the 4th best QB from the 2004 draft (behind Roethlisberger, Schaub, and Rivers), and the best QB from the 2004 draft.

Middle Row Rookies: The reason Andy Reid should be fired, a decent QB on a bad team, and the most well known blindside protector ever.

Bottom Row Legends: Mongo (RIP), an often overlooked great QB, and an original WR legend.


If the entire set looked like these, I would be all over it.


We seriously need to get Joe Satriani on a card.  Steve Vai is ok, but he's no Satchifunkilus.  In a fight between Douglass and Mozart, I choose Douglass. 

The blaster guaranteed a jersey card, let's see who I got:


Forte is a solid player, and definitely underrated for his contributions to the Bears.

Cardmas Carols Riddle #8


Thursday, December 20, 2012

On the Ninth Day of Cardmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...9 SP Prospects,

8 Packs-o-Ginters,7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,
3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.



It's easy to toss a couple of these on the counter every time I'm at the LCS.  The checklist is pretty good.
Adam Dunn, Josh Beckett, Jimmy Rollins, Hong-Chih Kuo, CC Sabathia,
Josh Hamilton, Adrian Gonzalez, and Drew Henson

The inserts are ok, but the real draw for me is that Cuddyer has a few cards in there.  I managed to snag two:

The "The Show" card is really nice.

Hits come 1:12 packs, and I managed to pull an auto, though it wasn't as big a name as I was hoping for.


Still, a hit is a hit, and it's an on-card auto. 

I may have to go back to the LCS and buy the rest of these.  I also need to go through and see if I have a complete set, yet.

Cardmas Carols Riddle #7

 
 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

On the Eighth Day of Cardmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...8 Packs-o-Ginters,

7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.


Anyone out there actually singing along?


I love discounted Ginter blasters. 

The only base card of note...or that I scanned.

I needed that Ben Franklin, so that's cool.  I still need some inserts from 2011 by the way.  I also still need some SPs and inserts from 2012 A&G.  I also need 1 base card from 2008.  Someone's gotta have it.  Check out my A&G want lists.

The Kemp is a code parallel of a short print.  My research tells me the Argyled Plaschke man doesn't have it.  Hence, if my sources are correct, it will go in his pile on top of the Kershaw relic I pulled recently.

I still love the Floating Fortresses cards.  Great insert set.


I didn't get a hit, but the Flora cards are pretty rare, so it's close.  Of course, the Wright made my day.

We're already 2/3 of the way through this thing.  Crazy.

Cardmas Carols Riddle #6


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

On the Seventh Day of Cardmas, My Mistress Gave to Me...

...7 SPx-es,
6 Masterpieces,5 Triple Plays,
4 B-ball Chromes,3 Cheap Primes,
2 Junky Fleers,And A Pack of Overpriced Crap.



I couldn't resist picking these up at the card shop.  I really should have just bought a box, oh well.  It's pretty pricey, but the cards are nice looking.


I like how it feels like the players are running right out of the cards.  Go figure I get a UVA guy.


A few numbered rookies...talented LBs Lavonte David and Vontaze Burfict and undrafted QB Brian Reader.


One of the draws of SPx this year is the use of acetate shadow boxes.  I got three of the insert "Shadow Slots" that go in the bigger cards. Fuji showed these recently.

Odds on hits in SPx are 1:4.5 packs, so I had a decent shot at two hits but ended up with only one.


I'm not a fan of Miami by any stretch, but I am always glad to see their guys in the pros...that means VT doesn't have to play against those guys anymore.