McCovey Monday #8

 My favorite player of all time is Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.  I have amassed a collection of over 1100 different  McCovey cards since I started collecting him in the late 1980s.  I will show off one of my favorite cards every Monday.  Stretch was one of the most feared hitters of all time and I am excited to show off my collection.

Today I thought I would switch back to a recent McCovey release and share my "Rainbow" of 2012 Gypsy Queen minis.  I recently completed the set by picking up the 3 final minis in an eBay auction.

The top 3 mini cards show off the various backs - we have the regular back, the Red Gypsy Queen back and the Straight Cut back.  I believe the Gypsy Queen and Straight Cut backs are relatively similar in their production run, I recall getting about the same amount of each in my box break.  The next row shows the Sepia border, Black border and Green border.  The Black and Green are more rare that the top row but still relatively common.  The Sepia border card is the least common and is serial numbered 71/99. The final row show McCovey's other mini, a miniature version of his Moonshots insert card.  I really like this insert set and am happy my favorite player earned a spot on it - very deserving based on his lifetime 521 HRs and the power he displayed in hitting them.


The final card in the scan is a Cyan Printing Plate of the McCovey mini.  It of course is numbered 1/1.  I don't mind adding Printing Plates to my McCovey collection but the price has to be right.  I actually semi-overpaid for this card but I am okay with it as it fits nicely into my McCovey rainbow.  I know I won't be able to collect all 4 as the Black one has already passed me by on eBay but I would like to pick one more up if possible.  For some reason McCovey is gaining a little more life and his values are picking up. It is nice that my favorite player is respected but I like it better when I can pick up a plate for under $20.

My McCovey Gypsy Queen collection is about complete.  Currently I am only missing the Gold Framed retail and the Indian Head Penny card (that may be out of range for me, they are popular and serial numbered /10) in addition to all the Printing Plates that are out there.  He has 16 different plates , I have 3, I know at least one sold to someone else on eBay and there is another with a minimum bid I am unwilling to pay unless I come into some cash in the next couple days.

Do you have a rainbow that you have completed of you favorite player?  Which set?