I Feel Like I Hit the LOTTery

I had been neglecting my Ronnie Lott collection for the last few months until my COMC Black Friday purchase.  I tend to go in waves with some of my collections and for some reason the cards of my favorite football player became the forgot one.  Since that Black Friday purchase I have been keeping my eyes peeled and found some great cards.

I had my eye on one particular eBay card.  The seller had it listed very high, much higher than a typical autographed card of Lott goes for.  I think it might have been something to do with that ridiculous eBay 1/1 numbering thing that sellers try to use.  This card is numbered 25/25 so apparently that makes it more rare that numbers 18/25 or 23/25.  There was no best offer option on this card so I sent a note to the seller - I got no response.

A week went by with nobody biting and the seller relisted it for a slightly lower price.  Then another week went by at it was relisted even lower, close to the price I had offered.  Again no takers.  I had set up an email notification for 2016 Ronnie Lott cards and one morning before work I got an email showing it relisted again, this time for less than I had offer so I pounced and won the card!

Here is the card that I finally brought home:

I was drawn to several things about this card.  First it shows him as a 49er.  I am fine with USC uniforms and can even understand Raiders uniforms but the number of Jets cards is a thorn in my side.  I was happy to see the Niners on this one.  The photo itself is great, it shows Lott's intensity and I like that he is on the move.  The HOF theme is awesome with logos for both the HOF and the Niners prominently displayed.  Even the red stripe behind the logo matches the uniform color.  The sets Canton Collections name works as well.  Ronnie's signature isn't as nice as it used to be but I am okay with it, still recognizable to me.

I have picked up a few other nice Lott cards that I will share as well.

 I believe Gala is a pretty high end product, this is Lott's only card in the set and it is a base card serial numbered out of 49.  Another nice design and this card is on very thick stock.

 Panini Phoenix is one of the newer releases out and I am a fan.  The geometric figures make for a nice design, they are shiny and look great in hand.

The Clear Vision relic card lets the jumbo swatch be the star of the design, it is great getting such a large piece of uniform.  I am a little disappointed that there is a clear piece of plastic over the swatch, I like to touch my relics.

 This relic from Classic is one I do get to touch.  This design matches the base card and the clear photo of the player in the foreground with his teammates in the background works.  It isn't often that you see a Defensive Back carrying the rock.  Lott did return punt early in his career, I wonder if this is a punt or interception return?

 This dual relic is one of the aforementioned dreaded Jets cards.  I like the jersey/helmet combo, just wish it was for the right team.  Tools of the Trade as been around forever, I remember back in my out of control box breaking days getting both baseball and football Tools of the Trade cards.

Last but certainly not least is another long running series from Absolute - a Marks of Fame auto. This time they got the team right.  Almost the same photo as the Canton card but it is slightly different.

If you don't follow football cards, you may not know that Panini is now the exclusive producer of licensed NFL cards.  I am a big fan of their design choices, I believe every card featured here showcases a plus design and all are 2016 cards.  Too bad that we can't get some licensed Panini cards on the baseball side - that would be like hitting the lottery as well.