Monochro-o-ome

 For those of you that are of the 50ish age era, you might be able to guess what the inspiration for the title was.  I'll put the video in at the end of the post just in case you didn't know...

Recently, Nicole (@nic_andersen) on twitter offered up a bunch of Dallas Stars cards for sale.  Not that I'm a Stars fan by any stretch, but there was one card in the group that caught my eye immediately.

I had bought a few of these a while back from Kin and immediately took a shine to the look of the card.  I'm not a big jersey card collector, but if the set looks good (in my opinion) I'll give it a look.  Nicole gave me a good price on the card, and asked if there was anything else she could send to fill out the envelope.

Leafs all day!  Figured I would get some commons from recent sets, which wouldn't have been bad as I've started chasing those as well.   Nope...

Calle Rosen and Rasmuis Sandin rookies!!  I even enjoyed the Alex Kerfoot rookie even though he's pictured in an Avalanche jersey,  I was happy the Leafs were able get Kerfoot in the trade with the Avs last year, and I think now that Manny Malhotra is an assistant coach with the club, he'll help develop Kerfoot into the 3rd line center that the Leafs really need.

I really haven't seen many of the Allure cards in hand, so getting ahold of one, a Sandin RC no less, was a great pleasure, and I've not given up on Calle Rosen yet either.  

Kodachrome is one of the older songs from Paul Simon that I still remember, and it reminds me of camping in Northern Ontario back in the 70's, which we did every summer.  

Thank you to Nicole for the great package, I highly recommend to all of you out there whenever she tosses out a pic or 2 of cards for sale.  

Enjoy the hobby!

Robert

A little bit of help

 Chris from the Collector blog spotted a post of mine a couple of weeks ago asking for a start on the '86 Topps football set.  A day or 2 later, a TCDB trade popped up that netted me some help on a pair of sets.  Let's start with the '86 FB

What I love about this set is not only the design, is that I remember a lot of the names that I've been seeing on cards so far.  The big name on the first scan is of course Danny White of the Cowboys, the QB that took over America's Team when the legend Roger Staubach retired.  You may or may not remember that White also did the punting for the Cowboys for a decade, an interesting side job on a football field.

What I like about the set so far is the team cards.  Love seeing the action photos and then turning over the card and seeing the team leader stats, along with the full results from the '85 schedule.  Different, but still it works for me.  By the way, Gary Anderson had way too great a hair style for a football player in the 80's.  Looks as if he should have been on an episode of Miami Vice.

These 21 cards just about doubled my total; I now have 43 cards out of the 396 card set.  Still a long way to go, and I'd still like to see if I can get another nice chunk of cards to get the build going.  

Not only did Chris hit this set, he hit another one that I've been building for a while.  The 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee hockey set is becoming one of my favorites because a good portion of what I have so far has come via the trade route.

11 more cards to add bringing the total to 330 out of the original 600 card set.  I bought very little of this set when it first came out, so hitting this number is very satisfying because of the help I've received from the card community.  

Last up is a quartet of "random" cards, 1 each from 3 of my player collections, and Terry Ruskowski from the 81-82 OPC set.  Ruskowski is in great shape considering 81-82 is known for rough edges and poor cuts.  The Thome and Sundin cards fit into the "didn't I have that already" category, but thankfully I did not.  

A big thank you to Chris for putting a very nice dent into a couple of set want lists, especially the '86 Topps football which I'm excited about putting together.

Enjoy the hobby!

Robert

5% squared

 I guess you could call it double dipping.  Earlier this week eBay had their 5% bucks promotion, so I took the opportunity to look for one specific card that was likely the big fish remaining in the '74 Topps pond.

Not the greatest copy of card #1, but I'm not looking for pristine, I'm looking for affordable and good enough.  Between this and a current copy of Beckett Hockey that the same seller had, I spent just about $20.  5% of that went into the eBay bucks account, and since I have my Discover card tied into my paypal, I gained another 5 % cash back on that end as well.

Don't panic, I have a very low CC balance that I keep paid off monthly so I'm not abusing it, but using it to get the extra buck or 2, which will add up to something nice in the next couple of months.

Oh and by the way, the '74 set is down into the teens now as I have a handful of them on their way to a new Sportlots box order.  I'm looking to get this set out of the way finally and move on to some other things.

Enjoy the hobby!

Robert

Don

The Next 10

 Blog post #2010 finally got me around to posting the next 10 sets that I want to complete.  The pair of '74 Topps cards below were also helpful in getting me closer to finishing the first 10 sets I posted back on January 1st.

These cards bring the want list down to 21.  A third of those are in my first Box order on Sportlots that I submitted yesterday.  You'll be hearing more about that as this post develops.

Now as far as the 10 sets that I want to finish next is concerned, some of them are pretty close to completion, much like the original group of 10.  I've chopped the want lists on a lot of these during the year , so what you're going to see for each set is the original want list count when I wrote the list about 2 months ago, and what I need now.

Let's go!

1.  2008 Upper Deck X die cut

Original want list:  12

Now:  8

It's been forever since I first snagged one of these die cuts, and they've always had a soft spot in my collecting mind.  The Sportlots order has 6 of them, I think I'm down to Ken Griffey Jr and the Ian Kennedy RC (cheapness won out over grabbing them).  I'll take care of this on the next order.

2.  1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Hockey

 

Original want list:  28 cards

Now:  3

I remember ripping a box of these when they first came out 30 years ago.  Why I never got around to finishing the set, I'll never know.  I've carted these around for over a generation.  One of the cards is a Joe Sakic, which I'm going to hunt through my doubles to see if I have an extra copy.

The other two cards are Jamie Macoun and the Blackhawks team card.  This is almost fait accompli.

3.  2017 Topps Allen & Ginter

Original want list:  88 cards

Now:  21

A couple of recent trades, and a kind envelope from the Night Owl have put a nice dent into this want list.  With just 7 of the 21 cards remaining being of the SP variety, this will be another quick finish.

Why did I scan the Trees of India card?  When I first bought a few packs back in '17, it seemed like I pulled a lot of these.  Made me wonder if they used too many of the Indian trees to print the cards at the time...

4.  2012-13 ITG Between the Pipes

Original want list:  58 cards

Now:  31

I remember buying a box of this product back at the Hockey Expo I believe in 2013 or '14 for less than 30 dollars, and was quite happy when I got it home and ripped it.  I remember pulling a Gary Inness auto and a fabulous Henrik Lundqvist Jersey/Stick card (which has since moved on to a Rangers fan).  But most of all, I loved seeing the goalies and the masks they wore, including the John Garrett card above from his time as a Nordique.  

Most of the remaining 31 are part of the Sportlots box order that is in process.  This will be an easy set to complete and knock off the want list.

5.  2019 Donruss Football

Original want list:  93 cards

Now:  51

One of the 2 football sets on the list, both of which I regretted starting once I realized the make up of the set.  350 cards, 100 of them rookies is more of a task than I should have taken on.  I still need three of the big name quarterbacks (Murray, Hoskins and Allen) and all 51 cards on the want list are RCs.  Getting this set and the next one out of the way will be a welcome relief

6.  2018 Panini Prestige Football

Original want list:  76 cards

Now:  32

Another kick myself moment when I decided to pursue this set.  100 of the 300 cards are RCs and SPs.  This and the Donruss set above are the reason that I decided to start building a couple of the older football sets.  Baker Mayfield, Sony Michel and Sam Darnold are 3 of the cards I need to finish the set off.  This one may end up being finished a little bit later than the next couple on the list.  We shall see.

7.  2019 Topps Gypsy Queen green parallel

Original want list:  62 cards

Now:  41

This set was an instant love affair.  I love the green far more than the base set.  The only down point that Fuji pointed out to me one day is the card numbers on the back.  I need a magnifying glass to see them.  

I have 4 of the 41 in my Sportlots box right now, so this one is definitely on the radar for completion.  

8.  2018-19 O-Pee-Chee hockey

Original want list:  90 cards

Now:  48

A nice chunk has come off this list in the last couple of months.  However, 44 out of the 48 cards that I need are SPs.  BUT, 13 of those SPs are team checklists, similar to the New Jersey Devils card you see above.

I decided to try and hunt for a few of the player SPs today on Sportlots, and there's one seller who is selling his SPs for $6 apiece.  Crazy.  I think I'm going to try and reach a contact with a Canadian LCS and see if they can get me closer to finishing this set.

The modern OPC set run is one that I want to complete/keep up with, and finishing this up will be the 3rd one out of the way.  I believe the 2020-21 set is the 15th release, so I'm a little behind.

9.  2002-03 Upper Deck Vintage hockey

Original want list:  34 cards

Now:   30

Another set that I got close to completing but slowed down on over the years, 02-03 Vintage is a simple design, but the base cards are all horizontal while the team checklist and rookie cards are all vertical.  13 short printed base cards (all stars of course) and 17 team checklists are what keep me from finishing this set.

10.  2013-14 Panini Prizm hockey

Original want list:  115 cards

Now:  111

Another set that is 1/3 rookie cards, 2013-14 Panini Prizm is the one and only Prizm hockey set, so I'd like to finish this one up if it doesn't get too pricey.   This will definitely be the 10th set of this group of 10 that gets finished.  

I hemmed and hawed about getting adventurous and finishing off a vintage baseball or hockey set, but those are too far off and would only end up discouraging me as the process will be a lengthy one.  I can reasonably see myself finishing these by next summer while getting a start on the run of modern OPC hockey and modern A&G baseball sets.  

I'm definitely looking forward to getting this group done!!

Enjoy the hobby!

Robert

Stacked

 I do consider myself to be very lucky when it comes to my collection.  I've had quite a bit of help over the past 9+ years, bloggers with opinions on products, places to buy cards that I hadn't heard of when I first started writing about my collecting exploits.

What's interesting now with COVID-19 in our midst is what's happening to the card economy.  With a lot of non-essential business being shuttered due to social distancing, a lot of supplies and access to them have been in short supply.

What I've wound up with an excess of is top loaders, one of the items in short supply (so it seems).  I read a post on the TCDB website from someone who needed extra toploaders and responded saying I had a bunch that were just taking up space.   Used ones of course.

After a bit of back and forth, I decided to send them off with nothing promised in return, for 2 reasons.

1. It was about 250 top loaders, and the space that they were taking would be better used storing cards or other items
2. I was long overdue to perform a Random Act of Kindness.

Off to the post office I went and shipped them off.  Received a message a couple of days later thanking me for the package, and asking what I wanted in return.  Didn't really need anything, but told him if he wanted to send me something, I'd trust his judgement about fair value.   To be honest, I really wasn't concerned about getting anything back.

I was stacked.   Look at that stack!!!  I had recently just put up a want list for 2012 Allen & Ginter on TDCB, and Bobby (TCDB ID: Bobby L) took a shot at reducing it.  Just about 100 cards came my way, and the set is now just over half done with what I already in hand.  

This made my day when I wasn't expecting a stack like this to come my way.  The timing was also good as A&G 2020 made its way to shelves this past week.  I've seen a lot of early pulls on Twitter and I think it looks pretty good.  Of course, there's the normal bitching from people here and there, but over the years I've been converted and I enjoy the product each year.

Bobby, thank you for the great stack of cards, they really are appreciated!

Enjoy the hobby!

Robert