Quick Update

No card scans or stories tonight.  Just wanted to let my blogging and trading friends know that I have moved out of my house and my address and email have changed.  If you need my new mailing address shoot me an email.

My new email is:   arpsmith@aol.com

I am probably 1-2 weeks out from having some cards unpacked so I can start trading and posting again.

Have a great weekend!

Night Owl delivers a nice package of Giants goodies

I thought I would share some cards I received from everyone's favorite Nocturnal Feathered Creature, Greg at Night Owl Cards.  Greg and I are in the habit of sending each other random cards every so often, I even sent him a huge stack of 1979 Topps cards as I started my purge prior to my move.  He didn't need all of them, but I did clear up some much needed space. Once I get settled I plan on putting together a list of all my duplicates (tons of sets from late 70s through early 90s) to see if anyone wants starter lots to build any of those sets.

Let's look at this last batch of cards Greg sent.  First up are some - Mmmmmminnniiiiiiiiiiiissssssss!

I am half way done with the 75 mini set after getting these cards.  Also scored a nice Barry Zito mini from this year's Gypsy Queen.  I really am behind on my 2013 Giants collecting as I really need to update my want lists and make this a focus.  While I haven't been posting much of my recent purchases, my focus has been primarily on 1960s Giants vintage.  I love picking up vintage but need to make sure I don't let the opportunity to get the new cards pass me by.

Speaking of newer cards, here are some more 2013 cards Greg included.  I really like the Opening Day parallels and I suspect that it wasn't too hard for Night Owl to separate himself from a card featuring the Beard.  the Mays die cut is a sweet card and I am happy that Cain's perfecto was memorialized as a Heritage insert.  Back to my lack of focus on 2013 cards, I can't believe I still need Series 1 emerald parallels after Series 2 has been released.

The final 2 cards of the package - I don't know where Greg keeps digging up these 90s cards.  I have slowly accumulated 7 of the 10 Stadium Club Mays/Bonds/Bonds inserts, mostly through trades like this. 

Thanks Greg for the cards, once I get unpacked I will be getting a stack together for you.  Plus, I am moving deeper into Dodger country so if there is something specific you are looking for, let me know.  One of the LCSs may have it.

The Move is Almost Here

It has been over a week since my last post, I think this is my longest stretch since I started this blog over a year ago.  Life is hectic - good but hectic.  I feel blessed to have a solid job and to have gotten a new position where my relocation is being paid for by the company.  It sucks to uproot the family but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

One of the biggest negatives is my lack of time and opportunity to focus on my hobby.  I have made a couple trades of the PWE variety lately but wasn't able to toss in as many extras as usual as many of my cards are packed up. I have made some nice additions to my collection but haven't had the chance to scan and share since I am away from home all week and playing family catch up on the weekend.

However there is finally a light at the tunnel!  The movers come on Monday and will be loaded and out of here on Wednesday.  We will take possession of our new home either on 7/1 or 7/2 which means we will have a few days of homelessness either staying with some family members or at a hotel - my boys are super excited about this part of our adventure.

Some of the best news is the house we are moving into will have a room dedicated to me!  My own man cave (although with it being the only room on the second story it is more of a tree house than a man cave).  Once I get everything moved in and set up I should have a great area to get even more organized and have even more hobby fun.  I am hoping the new space will get my creative juices flowing and result in some posts that go beyond "look what I bought" or "look what I traded for".

If you are one of those amazing bloggers that send random gifts of kindness, you may want to hold off for a little while.  I do have a new address but I am hesitant to give it out until we get there.  Plus I have very little at my ready to trade back.

So there you have my update, life is hectic but good, feeling blessed but stressed and happy I am nearing the end of this journey.

I have to post at least one card so how about a nice HOF auto I pulled a ways back from 2012 Panini Cooperstown, the mustache on the card just has to make you smile and I feel like smiling!

Trade Post - 1967ers - Infusion of Candian Cardboard

I have a bunch of great trades in the queue I need to post and I thought this one would be a great place to start.  A little while back I posted about some OPC cards I had picked up and expressed my desire to track down more reasonably priced OPC cards for the Giants collection.  Fortunately Chris from Diamond Cuts and Wax Stains saw my post and reached out to me with some of his extra Giants OPC cards.  Here are the goods he sent my way!

I typically don't scan the backs of cards too often but in the case of 60s and early 70s OPC cards, the fronts are identical to the Topps issues and most of the Topps versions of these cards have been previously featured in the blog if you really want to check them out.

Note the PRINTED IN CANADA in the bottom right of these cards, these are the only differences.  These are two of my oldest Candian cards in my collection and I was very happy to get a card from both the 1965 and 1966 sets.

To me this is where the OPC sets get exciting.  I love the color of these backs!  I like the fact that they are different and color is vibrant and stands out. Picking up 3 new cards from the 69 set was one of the main highlights of the package.

Speaking of highlights, these 1971 backs are great.  These are probably my favorite backs with the dual languages framing the floating head.  Three sweet pickups in this batch plus a 1970 Jimmy Davenport.  I have actually made some solid progress on the 1970 team set and this Davenport was a nice card to mark off the want list.

As you can see this package contained cards from many of the years and this scan shows the back of the 1972 and 1973 cards from this trade.  I should have scanned the front of the Tito Fuentes, it is one of my favorite cards from 1973.

This quad of 1974 cards features one of my favorite sluggers of all time, Dave Kingman.  He was so one dimentional but man could the guy crush a ball.  I primarily remember him as a Cub and Met, his time with the Giants was in my very early years in life.

Here is the batch of 1975s, this is one of the sets that will probably be the hardest to complete because Marc Hill of the Giants appears on the Gary Carter RC card.  This card is a $20 plus card and will probably be hard for me to pull the trigger on.

Finally I scored 11 different 1976 cards towards the Giants team set.  This set fully paralleled the Topps set and I still need 17 additional cards.  With the exception of 4 cards I do have all the OPC cards from 1977 to 1989.  It would be nice to extend it another year.

Chris, thanks for the trade and the big infusion of Canadian Cardboard!  I really appreciate the trade and hope that you enjoyed the Blue Jays I sent your way.  Thanks!!!

2013 Museum Collection - A Mighty Fine Product

Typically I am not a huge fan of the high end releases.  While I have picked up a couple here and there for my players collection, Triple Threads has never exited me.  I usually appreciate the Tribute base cards and will seek out some parallels but again not much in the way of excitement from that set.  Back in Upper Deck's heyday, I did enjoy Exquisite but it was way too out of my price range, even base cards were going for more than I wanted to spend. It was a pretty quality product but the box price and resale price made me less than a fan.

Over the past 2 years, Topps has released Museum Collection and I am a huge fan.  Last year I actually bought 4 packs of the stuff (the equivalent of 1 box) and pulled a Griffey Jr. Auto/Relic that I quickly sold on eBay to actually make some money for once.  This year I bought a pack at the LCS and scored this beauty:

It is numbered out of 30 and even though I am fairly certain that I wouldn't get my money back on the pack, this is the kind of relic that should be in a high in product.  Great color, design and a huge bat piece.  This has replaced another Schmidt relic in my HOF collection until I score an auto of his.

The product does have some less than stellar hits but to me that keeps the price down.  Another thing I really like is the design of the base cards.  The photography is typically quite nice and I appreciate the border and overall design.  They have a few parallels of each card which makes player and team collecting a little more fun.  Recently I have scored these Giants base and parallel cards on eBay and at the LCS:

I am not sure where the 424 serial number came from but I have been able to pick up 3 bronze parallels from the Giants team set.  As of now the Green parallel of Juan Marichal is the lowest numbered card I have but I plan to keep on seeking out more of these parallels.  I like the mix of current players and past star players.  I also think the orange in McCovey and Cain's cards look very nice.

Speaking of past star players:

Two of my favorites and two guys I player collect are in the base set.  The green parallel on the Rickey card goes great with the A's uni and the gold Reggie jersey stands out.  I love it when these two players are in their A's uniforms on new releases.  As you can see, I picked up two of the Reggie bronze parallels so if you would like one, drop me a note for a trade.

The autos in Museum Collection can be found on the secondary market for a very reasonable amount.  I may have even overpaid for this one but jumped on it at $8 to take advantage of combined shipping:

 I am very happy Vida has made a return over the past couple years.  While it isn't a new photo, this one does fit perfectly in with this product.  I also greatly appreciate the on card autos in this product.

Finally my last pickup...

For only $6 on my LCS's bid board I scored this HOF auto of Billy Williams.  I had a really nice Williams auto in his Cubs uni but traded it to a friend on my message boards as he needed it for a set he was putting together.  I got another Williams auto in return but in that card he is in an A's uniform and it just didn't look right. Now I have a new Williams card for the HOF collection.

This is my favorite high end product of all time and I can't wait to pick up a few more of my players and of the Giants.  I will also keep on the lookout for some more autos, the on card auto and great design make for a great card!

2013 Topps Archives 2 Box Break - Plus a Want List

The new Archives brand that has been released over the past 2 years seems to get mixed reviews.  Some don't like the thin card stock (I tend to agree) and the reuse of old designs (I personally like this).  Most seem to like the inserts and I definitely agree, the inserts generally arrive one per pack and that always seems to be the highlight of the pack.  I also like the autograph checklist, the players are typically superstars and don't have a ton of resale value but I like seeing some of the semi stars get some hobby love.

Over the past week I have picked up 2 hobby boxes at 2 different hobby shops - 1 near my current (and soon to be former house) and 1 near my new house.  I also bought 2 loose packs at the first hobby store.  I am not going to try to do a full review of the product as it has been out and covered on a ton of blogs, however I thought I would share my inserts, SPs and hits here on the blog.  I also know I am getting 2 blasters for Father's Day and am in a 3 box break with the Giants on the Nachos Grande blog.  I will share my want lists for the set, the Giants and my player collections at the end of this post but I am still hoping to fill some Giants gaps via the box break.

First up are the SPs I scored.

I got 5 unique SPs in each box and scored the Durham duplicate in one of the 2 loose packs.  I really enjoy seeing these SPs with different pictures on the original design.  My favorite here is the Dave Parker, loving the All Star shield, yellow jersey and the awesome hat.  I am not sure if I have officially "announced" it on the blog but I have started a Parker collection, only when he is suited in a Pirates uni.  However, this one stays with the base set - the set collector has gotten the best of me.

Next up, the most plentiful insert:

The top 3 go straight into the Winfield player collection and the Giants team binder.  I picked up the Buster duplicate in the other loose pack along with another awesome insert that is coming up.  The Trout dups came from the same box that also had quite a few base duplicates within.

Next are the mini Tall Boys:

This is a pretty cool insert set and the player selection is nice.  Great to see players like Dewey Evans, Dave Stewart and Rob Dibble.  I also scored 2 Giants for the team set.  I have decided with this set that the base goes to the set and the inserts go to the other collections, even when I am going after the insert set.  Not sure if there is logic here but that is the way I am going.

It may be a little hard to tell but these are 4-in-1 stickers:

 There seem to be themes on these with the top left being guys with no-hitters, top middle are 1986 Mets, top right are Triple Crown winners, bottom left great, fast all around players?, middle bottom great catchers and bottom right stud outfielders. The bottom row goes right into collections while the top 3 start the quest for the insert set.

 These are modeled after the 1972 Basketball set:

 These typically come 1 per box and I was lucky to get 2 in 1 box but unlucky to get a duplicate.  The Winfield will go into the player collection and I have already reached out to 30-Year Cardboard to see if he wants the Stanton dup.  There is a Willie McCovey in this set and a REALLY want to get it, it looks awesome.

This is my least favorite insert set.

Another 1/box insert, it is the Triumvirate based on an old Stadium club design. The idea is that 3 of this fit together into one large connected card.  I happened to get 2 that fit together.  I may not go after this insert set, just not a huge fan.  Maybe I would like it a little better if the Giants had a trio.

I saved the best insert set for last:

 The stained glass Gallery of Heroes cards look amazing. This Buster came from the same loose pack that produced the Buster All Star - what a pack!

This year the set has gold parallels again, this year they are numbered to 199.

 I got 3 in 2 boxes and was happy that 1 was a Giant.  I won't be going after more than the Giants team set for this parallel set.

Finally my 4 autos, 2/box. The top 2 came from the first box and I was quite disappointed.  I don't like the idea of getting a Rock "Star" auto in the baseball product.  If it was Slash or Axl Rose, maybe I wouldn't complain (actually I wouldn't because I would flip in on eBay for $300).  I was much happier with the bottom 2 in Box #2, especially with the Crime Dog.  Outside of the 2 Giants, this was probably my most desired Fan Favorite Auto.

Speaking of Giants, here is my current want list for the Giants:
2013 Topps Archives #89 Barry Zito
2013 Topps Archives #109 Sergio Romo
2013 Topps Archives #223 Matt Williams SP
2013 Topps Archives #242 Kevin Mitchell SP
2013 Topps Archives 1972 Basketball Design #WM Willie McCovey
2013 Topps Archives All-Stars Autographs #BP Buster Posey
2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #KML Kevin Mitchell
2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #MWI Matt Williams
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #MCWP Willie McCovey/Will Clark/Matt Williams/Buster Posey
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #PDCP Buster Posey/R.A. Dickey/Miguel Cabrera/David Price
2013 Topps Archives Framed Mini Autographs #JM Juan Marichal
2013 Topps Archives Framed Mini Autographs #WC Will Clark
2013 Topps Archives Gallery Of Heroes #WM Willie Mays
2013 Topps Archives Gold #4 Marco Scutaro
2013 Topps Archives Gold #29 Angel Pagan
2013 Topps Archives Gold #89 Barry Zito
2013 Topps Archives Gold #90 Matt Cain
2013 Topps Archives Gold #106 Tim Lincecum
2013 Topps Archives Gold #109 Sergio Romo
2013 Topps Archives Gold #118 Brandon Belt
2013 Topps Archives Gold #166 Ryan Vogelsong
2013 Topps Archives Gold #168 Pablo Sandoval
2013 Topps Archives Gold #180 Buster Posey
2013 Topps Archives Gold #223 Matt Williams
2013 Topps Archives Gold #242 Kevin Mitchell
2013 Topps Archives Greatest Moments Box Topper Autographs #JM Juan Marichal
2013 Topps Archives Greatest Moments Box Toppers #3 Juan Marichal
2013 Topps Archives Greatest Moments Box Toppers #13 Will Clark
2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys #BP Buster Posey2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys #MW Matt Williams
2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys Autographs #MW Matt Williams
2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys Autographs #WC Will Clark
2013 Topps Archives Relics #MB Madison Bumgarner
2013 Topps Archives Relics #MC Matt Cain
2013 Topps Archives Triple Autographs #CMW Will Clark/Kevin Mitchell/Matt Williams

I already have pulled the Romo and Zito base in the box break.

Here are my player collection needs:
2013 Topps Archives 1972 Basketball Design #WM Willie McCovey
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #MCWP Willie McCovey/Will Clark/Matt Williams/Buster Posey

2013 Topps Archives Gold #195 Dave Winfield

2013 Topps Archives All-Stars #RH Rickey Henderson
2013 Topps Archives All-Stars Autographs #RH Rickey Henderson
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #CHNL Vince Coleman/Rickey Henderson/Otis Nixon/Kenny Lofton

2013 Topps Archives #239 Dave Parker SP
2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #DP Dave Parker
2013 Topps Archives Gold #239 Dave Parker
2013 Topps Archives Mini Tall Boys #DP Dave Parker

2013 Topps Archives 1972 Basketball Design #RJ Reggie Jackson
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #RGBJ Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig/Yogi Berra/Reggie Jackson
2013 Topps Archives Four-In-One #RJMJ Babe Ruth/Reggie Jackson/Don Mattingly/Derek Jeter
2013 Topps Archives Framed Mini Autographs #RJ Reggie Jackson
2013 Topps Archives Gold #95 Reggie Jackson

Finally by base set (with SPs) want list.  I was lucky enough to get all but 7 base cards but still need tons of SPs:
2013 Topps Archives #201 John Mayberry SP
2013 Topps Archives #202 Mike Greenwell SP
2013 Topps Archives #205 Ruben Sierra SP
2013 Topps Archives #207 Lee May SP
2013 Topps Archives #208 Keith Miller SP
2013 Topps Archives #210 Bob Tewksbury SP
2013 Topps Archives #212 Otis Nixon SP
2013 Topps Archives #213 Juan Samuel SP
2013 Topps Archives #216 Jesse Barfield SP
2013 Topps Archives #217 Mookie Wilson SP
2013 Topps Archives #219 Dave Lopes SP
2013 Topps Archives #220 Ellis Burks SP
2013 Topps Archives #221 Hal Morris SP
2013 Topps Archives #222 Howard Johnson SP
2013 Topps Archives #223 Matt Williams SP
2013 Topps Archives #225 Kent Hrbek SP
2013 Topps Archives #226 Larry Bowa SP
2013 Topps Archives #227 Mickey Rivers SP
2013 Topps Archives #228 Delino DeShields SP
2013 Topps Archives #229 Hubie Brooks SP
2013 Topps Archives #230 Ray Knight SP
2013 Topps Archives #231 Kevin McReynolds SP
2013 Topps Archives #232 Travis Fryman SP
2013 Topps Archives #233 Vince Coleman SP
2013 Topps Archives #234 Don Baylor SP
2013 Topps Archives #235 Gregg Jefferies SP
2013 Topps Archives #236 Jesse Orosco SP
2013 Topps Archives #237 Sid Fernandez SP
2013 Topps Archives #238 Frank White SP
2013 Topps Archives #240 Darren Daulton SP
2013 Topps Archives #241 Fred Lynn SP
2013 Topps Archives #242 Kevin Mitchell SP
2013 Topps Archives #244 Eric Davis SP

I am hoping to pull my base needs and some additional inserts (my insert want list will be posted to my Set Wants tab) with my blaster breaks but if you have some stuff I need, feel free to reach out for a trade.  Since I am only home on the weekends, I may be slow to respond but would enjoy making some progress on this set!