More Than Half Done!

It's always a great feeling when you're putting together a set and you've passed the half-way point.

Until then, it's all up-hill. Especially when it's an older set. It's not like you can go to the corner store, buy a few packs, and luck into the remaining commons.

I've been slowly putting together an ungraded, low-grade 1956 Topps Baseball set. It's a great set because the design is top-notch, it contains an unbelievable number of superstar Hall-of-Famers (except for Stan Musial), and it's possible to find most of the needed cards with time and patience.

Today, I received an eBay lot of cards from an American seller which put me over the half-way mark. The set has 340 cards plus 2 un-numbered checklists, so 342 in total. I now have 183 cards in the set! Only 159 to go!

As you can see, the cards are low-grade. But these three cards above book for $525 in near-mint condition. I was able to get these three plus about 10 more for only $50.

I felt low-grade was the way to go from the beginning.

Graded cards by PSA cost too much. If I purchased ungraded cards in great condition, I'd always be worried that they'd be fake. But with low-grade cards, there is a sense of security. I don't mind if my New York Yankees Team Card has extremely soft corners or if my Duke Snider is full of creases. In the grand scheme, I'm pretty damn happy that I own these cards. Period!

I still have some big names to acquire. Hank Aaron. Sandy Koufax. Yogi Berra. And lots of commons.

On the bright side though, I've already got The Mick!

New Year's Resolution Update

It's six weeks into 2012 and I've made great progress on my resolution.

Each sport is now within it's proper grouping.

All of my common base hockey cards from 1970-71 to 1989-90 are all within one giant monster box. All within their proper year and in numerical order.

I've done the same with all of my pre-1990 common baseball, basketball, and football cards too.

In addition, I've listed over 125 auctions on eBay.

There's lots more to do... but I'm starting to feel like I can breathe and I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's great to have a plan!

New Year's Resolution

First off, I don't make New Year's Resolutions.

But I'll make an exception this year.

It's collection related. Which is why I'm making this post.

I resolve to get my collection under control.

I have too many cards. And while some of them are sorted properly, too many are not. I plan to put vintage with vintage, jersey cards with jersey cards, autograph cards with autograph cards, and so on and so forth. I plan to focus my collection on the teams I collect, the players I collect, and the untouchables. I plan to reduce my collection with extensive eBaying, posting on hobby forums, and giving away more commons to local kids and during Hallowe'en.

It's time that I get it under control and 2012 is the year!

When December 31st, 2012 hits, I'll feel like a weight has been lifted. The weight of thousands of cards that I have but don't need in my collection.

It'll be a great day and it will make me enjoy the hobby so much more.

Awesome Card of the Week

At the 2011 Fall Sports Card Expo in Toronto, Ontario, I had some good luck at the Panini booth with redemption products.

But no hits were better than this...

A massive 8X10 hard-signed photo/card of the hottest NFL rookie in a long time.

Cam Newton is my new best friend!

Topps Diamond Giveaway - Order #3

Another day, another bubble envelope from Topps in the mail.

With only about 6 or 7 weeks left in the promotion, I'll be curious to see if I can score some more goodies.

This package contained more Hall of Fame players, more personal favourites, and a few more Toronto Blue Jays.

Not only did I add another 1952 card to my collection (Harry Simpson), I was able to acquire some big names like Al Kaline, Roy Face, Rickey Henderson, Jim Kaat, Sandy Alomar, and a League Leaders card containing Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax!

Some other trades allowed me to get some 'late in the career' cards of Tom Seaver, Felipe Alou, and Pete Rose. In addition, Birdie Tebbetts, Walt Alston, and Gene Mauch will be added to my Manager collection.

Last but not least, some of my favourite Blue Jays from the ealry 1980's, Damaso Garcia and Willie Upshaw.

Time to place another order.

2010-11 UD Ultimate Hockey Break

I'm one of the many collectors who are not fans of the new Upper Deck distribution policy. In my opinion, Upper Deck is taking on the internet... and that's a war that no company will win in the long run.

The policy has resulted in fewer Upper Deck purchases on my end. However, since I was already committed to a few packs of 2010-11 UD Ultimate Collection Hockey before the policy came into effect, I'm not the type of person to turn my back on some busting.

The first pack was uneventful until the final card. A Jason Spezza base card /399, a Jamie Arniel RC /399, a Chris Stewart Ultimate Signature, all fine but not worthy of a big smile... and then, my favourite goalie of them all.  A Patrick Roy dual jersey/autograph /25!!!

There's no way I could match that with Pack #2, right?

Wrong.

Again, it was an uneventful beginning. A Ron Hextall base card /399, a Brandon Pirri RC /399, a redemption which I didn't look at closely, and a Debut Threads jersey of Ian Cole /200. When I took a closer look at the redemption card, the interest turned to a grin turned to a smile. An Ultimate Signatures Sidney Crosby autograph redemption card!  My first SC87 auto!

Two great hits. Yes!
Will it make me buy more Upper Deck. No!

Awesome Card of the Week

From 2007-08 In The Game Ultimate Memorabilia 8th Edition comes this Retro Teammates jersey card of legends Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov.

Both thorns in the side of many Canadian hockey fans during the 1970's and 1980's, these veterans of the Soviet Union hockey team are important additions to any collection. The bonus of this card is the inclusion of seams and stitching from the Kharlamov jersey.