A Card You've Seen A Lot Here -or- T206 Scoops Carey

You've certainly seen this Scoops Carey card if you read my blog with any regularity.  However, I couldn't pass up a raw copy of the card on COMC, considering the price.  I got it for the price of a couple of those Bowman blasters everyone's buying in hopes of hitting the lottery.  

1909-11 The American Tobacco Company T206 White Border #NNO Scoops Carey 

This is the second post in a row that doesn't change my monster number, but I'm more than okay with that.  

My monster number now stands at 28 (of 524).  On T206Insider, my set is now at 12.1, good for 48th.  You can find a gallery of what I have on my Collector Focus page.

If you'd like to learn more about the T206 set, there are plenty of resources.  A very popular one is Scot Reader's "Inside T206."  Others I like are Net 54 and T206 Insider (links above to both), as well as the blog on That T206 Life.

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I've decided to try selling on Sports Card Direct again.  Hopefully you'll take a look at my page and see if there's anything you're interested in.  I can always sell off the site and ship in a PWE if you're only looking for a card or two and don't want to pay $3 shipping.  I'm going to start listing more cards daily.  It's time to get out of a lot of my stuff.  

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!  Another $40 was depostied into my Paypal account earlier this month.

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

T206 Kid Elberfeld -or- Which One Would You Rather Have?

Outside of my Scoops Carey cards, I didn't have any T206 duplicates until this one arrived from COMC last week.  I picked this one up over a year ago.  I was willing to pay $20 for it because it's scarcity ranking is 71, per T206 Insider.  I relisted it with a ridiculous price figuring nobody would buy it and I'd eventually have it shipped home.  It's home now.  

1909-11 The American Tobacco Company T206 White Border #NNO Kid Elberfeld (New York Variation)

Per the book "THE T206 COLLECTION The Players & Their Stories," Elberfeld was known as "The Tabasco Kid" because he often argued with umpires and was ejected frequently from games.  He was one of the top shortstops in the game and when he and Honus Wagner were in the minors, many considered Elberfeld the better prospect.  After his playing career he managed in the minors for 15 years and retired from the game at 61.  

As mentioned, this is my second copy of the card.  It's obviously in poor shape and not as visually appealing as my other copy.  

However, that copy is graded "authentic" because it's trimmed.  I'm also not a fan of cards in slabs, unless it's a high price card or I have another reason.  I ask you, which of the two would you prefer to have in your collection, and why?  I choose the raw copy, but I'm sure that many will disagree with me.  I'm interested to hear other bloggers' thoughts.  

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I've decided to try selling on Sports Card Direct again.  Hopefully you'll take a look at my page and see if there's anything you're interested in.  I can always sell off the site and ship in a PWE if you're only looking for a card or two and don't want to pay $3 shipping.  I'm going to start listing more cards daily.  It's time to get out of a lot of my stuff.  

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!  Another $40 was depostied into my Paypal account last week.

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - 1951 Bowman

The 1951 Bowman Football set is one of my favorites.  It's just one of the most beautiful sets ever.  Any time that I can pick them up cheaply, I do.  Condition really isn't an issue for me.  I picked up 14 in this COMC order and only have 22 cards from the set.  So, I don't see these cheaply very often.

1951 Bowman #3 Mac Speedie 

1951 Bowman #5 Woodley Lewis

1951 Bowman #11 Whitey Wistert

1951 Bowman #27 Thurman McGraw

1951 Bowman #37 Horace Gillom 

 How can you not love a large man punting?

1951 Bowman #39 Ken Carpenter

1951 Bowman #41 Vitamin Smith 

Even having this card in person, I can't figure out if the photo is crooked, or what's going on.  It plays games with my senses.

1951 Bowman #49 Fred Morrison 

1951 Bowman #63 Bob Hoernschemeyer

I guess with that last name, they felt that it was worth shortening his first name?

1951 Bowman #79 Bruce Alford

1951 Bowman #86 Fred Davis 

1951 Bowman #Otto Schnellbacker 

 There aren't enough men named "Otto" these days.

1951 Bowman #111 Alex Agase 

1951 Bowman #142 Eddie Saenz

If I can ever come up with another "big" get like this one, I will say that I'm working to complete the set.  I'm currently 15% there!

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - Blackhawks Pieces of History

It depends on your perspective.  If you're in the hobby to sell and make money, Upper Deck ePack may make you very unhappy.  As a collector, it makes me happy.  It's pulled down prices on some cards that I've been fortunate enough to add to my collection.  These four cards are perfect examples.

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-SL Steve Larmer

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-SL Steve Larmer (back)

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-JR Jeremy Roenick

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-JR Jeremy Roenick (back)

2016-17 Upper Deck - A Piece of History 1,000 Point Club #PC-MH Marian Hossa 

2016-17 Upper Deck - A Piece of History 1,000 Point Club #PC-MH Marian Hossa (back) 

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-DS Denis Savard 

2015-16 Upper Deck - A Piece Of History 1000 Point Club #PC-DS Denis Savard (back)

All four of these cost me $26.65.  Before ePack, this was what you might pay for one of these inserts.  I understand that there are scarcity levels, but even the most common copies were pricey.  COULD I afford those prices?  Sure, I could make it happen.  But that's money that I can't spend on other things, or it just makes me pass it by and collect something else.

The lower prices work for me, as a COLLECTor.  It's all about perspective and I don't feel badly about it at all.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - The Other Buybacks

The prices that most COMC sellers ask for their buybacks is much higher than I'm willing to pay.  I look when I think about it, and every once in awhile I can find a deal.  Or a card I just really want.  That's where these three come in. 

2017 Topps - Rediscover Topps Stamped Buybacks Bronze #117 Ramon Hernandez 

I paid 62 cents for this, which is more than I'd normally pay for a buyback.  As a kid, some of the first "old" cards I knew were 1973 Topps and that set always brings back some fond memories.  While I probably have a 1973 already, I was still willing to spend that much.

2017 Topps - Rediscover Topps Stamped Buybacks Silver #152 Omar Vizquel 

I actually paid $1.05 for this one, but it was worth it.  When I was in seventh grade, my parents bought me a stereo.  Not too long after that, I discovered that I could get AM sports radio stations from all over the east.  I was in West Virginia but depending on the day, I could get stations from Atlanta, New York, Toronto, Washington DC, KMOX out of St. Louis and most importantly, WKNR out of Clevelend. 

I spent many evenings and nights during the 1990s listening to Tom Hamilton and Herb Score call baseball games.  I wasn't passing up a chance to add Omar Vizquel to my collection.  Hopefully at some point I will come into some of the other players from those teams. 

2017 Topps - Rediscover Topps Stamped Buybacks Gold #322 Vicente Palacios 

The 1988 Topps design has grown on me in the last year, but I think I might nominate this for the worst card in the history of trading cards.  The chest up shot combined with that horrible airbrushing...I just can't get over it.  That's probably why I got it for 50 cents on COMC.  That's cheap, on there. 

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - Player Collection Buybacks

Most of my baseball player collections are guys whose cards are nothing but "commons," and the guys didn't have long careers.  One of the benefits is that it's not necessarily difficult attempting to put together a complete run of their cards.  One of the cons is that since they weren't stars, they aren't showing up in any current sets.

Enter the Topps buybacks.

Some guys, like Steve Kline, I haven't seen buybacks for.  However, I've seen a few for Chris Enochs, Russ Davis and Darrell Whitmore.  Many people dislike the buybacks, and particularly last year's "Rediscover Topps," but for guys like me, it's a rare opportunity to add something new to old player collections.

One problem is that there was no checklist released by Topps, that I know of.  Davis was in Topps sets for the better part of a decade and there may be buybacks for some seasons and not others.  That's not even taking into account the different stamp colors.  UGH!

I recently discovered that Trading Card Database has the sets in the system, and as users report cards, they are added.  It will never be a complete checklist, but it's better than nothing.  It's also nice since that's where I'm cataloging my collection and I'll be able to get these in.

Thanks to COMC, I was able to add three on my last shipment.

2017 Bowman - Bowman Buybacks Bronze #204 Chris Enochs 

2017 Bowman - Bowman Buybacks Bronze #204 Chris Enochs (back) 

 I found two copies of this card and happily picked up both of them for a combined $1.85.

2017 Bowman - Bowman Buybacks Silver #342 Russ Davis   

2017 Bowman - Bowman Buybacks Silver #342 Russ Davis (back)

It took $2.25 to get this one, but compared to prices on eBay it seemed like a steal, considering shipping.

2017 Topps - Rediscover Topps Stamped Buybacks Blue #193 Russ Davis 

2017 Topps - Rediscover Topps Stamped Buybacks Blue #193 Russ Davis (back)

This is my favorite card of the bunch.  I don't recall thinking that much about the 1997 Topps design in 1997.  Fast forward twenty-one years and I really like it.  Also, the blue foil stamping blends into the card well.  I really dig that.

This one set me back $1.99.  I wouldn't pay that much for any random buyback, but I think it was also a steal at that price to add to my Russ Davis collection.

Shane, of Shoebox Legends, is the one that turned me on to buybacks in general with his Frankenset posts.  I also realize that many collectors aren't fans of the buybacks.  What I'm curious to know is aimed at player collectors.  Do you look for these to add to your player collection(s) and what is your thought process on that?  Please comment below with your thoughts.  I'd love to read them!

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - 1950 Bowman

I love 1950 and 1951 Bowman cards for a buck or less.  Three of these were close to that on COMC. 

1950 Bowman #85 Fred Naumetz 

1950 Bowman #85 Fred Naumetz (back)

1950 Bowman #110 Joe Watson 

1950 Bowman #110 Joe Watson (back)

1950 Bowman #124 Jack Zilly 

1950 Bowman #124 Jack Zilly (back)

The final card of the post confuses me a little.  I'm not sure quite why I bought it for the price ($3.25) that I bought it for.  That will happen when you're shipping more than 400 cards and they've been at COMC for about a year. 

1950 Bowman #115 Ken Carpenter 

1950 Bowman #115 Ken Carpenter (back)

I have some educated guesses on why I might have purchased this.  Maybe it was the cheapest copy of the card by a significant amount.  Maybe I bought it off someone's clearance sale.  It's also possible that I was searching for vintage Browns card and it was the cheapest.  The reason may not be one of those, but it likely is.  Still, the cards averaged out to just a little over $1.50, so I am not complaining.

Just four more cards and I will be past the 10% complete mark!

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - 1948 Bowman

I believe that 85% of card-related blogs are baseball centric, so I'm sure that many will be disappointed in the blog title and post.  Why?  Because it's vintage football.

I paid a total of $2.90 for these cards.  I usually don't want to pay more than $1 for 1950-55 Bowman football commons, but the 1948s aren't as easy to come into, so I was willing to pay just a little more.

I love the images on the 1950 and 1951 Bowman cards much better than the photos that came afterward.  There's something about these photos that I enjoy.  I believe that it's the black and white photo.  That, or the helmets that the players are wearing.

1948 Bowman #31 Salvatore Rosato 

1948 Bowman #31 Salvatore Rosato (back)

1948 Bowman #67 Paul McKee

1948 Bowman #67 Paul McKee (back)

This is the only card listed for both players on Trading Card Database.  It's likely there are some oddball/regional issues not on the site, but they have to be the only mainstream cards.  I wonder what percentage of players from the early days of trading cards had just one card and if those men were interested enough to try and own a copy.

I only have four cards from this set so far, but I'm almost 4% of the way to set completion!  I have no plans to actually pursue completion, but I'll not pass up cheap cards that I come into.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

COMC Show & Tell - Hey, (Josh) Judy

A few weeks ago, I had a shipment sent from COMC.  It wasn't just any shipment, it was the largest shipment I've ever received.  I can't speak for anyone else, but years ago when I joined COMC, I never imagined I'd have a 432 card mailday.  What's the most you've had sent on one shipment?

Over the next few weeks, I'll post some of the pickups as I scan, enter them into my Trading Card Database collection and the other many things I do that are completely ridiculous.  I never would have seen this as the future when I started collecting in 1987.

These four cards are ones that I needed for my Josh Judy collection.  Judy was born in my hometown and once I discovered that, it was a given that I'd collect his cards.  Per TCDB, there are 56 cards of him, but I think there are a few minor league cards missing.

Many like COMC.  I also see a lot of whiners and complainers about it.  I added all four of these cards to my collection for $1.57.  I'm happy with that.

2011 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects - Chrome Purple Refractors #51 Josh Judy 

I tried scanning this card two different ways.  It makes me happy that the scan reflects that the card is a refractor.  In both scans, the border comes out blue.  I promise, it's purple!

2011 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects - Chrome Refractors #51 Josh Judy 

2011 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects - Chrome #51 Josh Judy 

2011 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects - Gold #51 Josh Judy

Yes, my goal is to have one of every Josh Judy card.  I also realize that with 1/1s it won't happen.  It won't stop me from trying.

At this point, my Judy collection is just over halfway complete.  I don't think it would take anything more than a quick search of Ebay, COMC and Sportlots to get that up to 75%.  In time...

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!