Monday, September 29, 2014

Today's hit addition, a Topps Five Star Jumbo Jersey


An incredible pack pulled Bronco Jersey card? Check! This one along with a couple base cards from Topps Chrome (#97 Eric Decker and #100 Adrian Peterson) also got added to my collection today. This might be the first time I've added 2 different cards of the same player in one day. 

I missed much of the NFL action yesterday as I was in the mountains out of NFL mobile range but I'm checking out the game tonight. I've dropped Tom Brady from my fantasy league (I have Andrew Luck so I'm not hurting there) and I can see by watching game tape that Brady just isn't the same this season. I don't know if it's the protection, the running game or what but something just isn't the same. Could this be the last season we see him play? I along with many fans have to be wondering the same.

Friday, September 26, 2014

A rookie autographed from my Five Star Break!



This card unfortunately isn't valued very high (you can BIN it for 9.99 on Ebay) so it certainly is a great argument against breaking high dollar wax. We were introduced to the idea of Flawless moving over to football and those boxes will run around 1200 to 1300 dollars a box. The cards look great but as Adam Gellman mentioned in his blog, what happens when you get low end rookies? What happens when Manziel gets a chance and then tanks? Long term value of these cards and even the unopened boxes I can't see down the road. If you want to say ouch to yourself, look at a box break of 2006 Exquisite football on YouTube. I got to witness a couple when they had the "Best of Football" breaks, esentially a cut hall of famer auto and an unopened box from the past. I never saw an old school break that went well, that returned value on the money spent. In the box of 2006 Exquisite I saw a redemption for some no-name player and a patch auto of Lawrence Maroney. He had a few good years but is now a largely forgotten Patriots running back. Is the card cool? Hell yah! Is it worth more than 20 dollars on the open market? Nope! That's the issue with high end releases in football. Players in this sport tend to "flash in the pan" for a few games or even a few years. Some end up being serviceable players but mostly uncollected. This is due to the nature of the game, injuries and the fact that collectors in our sport are not as intelligent when it comes to monetary collecting decisions as perhaps other sports with more history and older collectors that have been around the block. Personally I don't try to get all the top hot rookies because I've made those mistakes earlier in my collecting career. Now I know all you have to do is wait to get the cards you want, usually for a much more reasonable price than the first year they came out. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

6 more base and rookies from Topps Chrome, soon to be vintage!






More great additions from Topps Chrome 2013 Football today. Thinking more about the exclusive Panini license today and how much that's going to suck. Topps Chrome, in the absence of Upper Deck are some of my favorite cards. I do like some of the cards that Panini puts out but they don't excite me as much as the Chrome, Finest and Five Star brands. People all over the boards are starting to realize this. Baskteball collectors have spoken up and let us know that many of them are not happy with the lack of competition that this presents. Many people are upset, some claim they will quit the hobby for good. Personally I'll be upset, maybe even more upset now that UD is out of the official NFL card game AND Topps will be too. Card production might possibly slow if people stop buying, I can't imagine that this would happen at the current rates but stranger things have happened. This might be a good thing since I'm a bit tired of realizing how pointless it is to complete all but the most basic sets such as the one I'm working on right now.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

All Defensive cards today




Today's three additions include 2 base rookies and one base card from 2013 Topps Chrome. I've determined that once I book the whole 220 card set from 2013 Chrome I'll purchase a full set of 2014 Topps Finest. This will go along with the box hits that I purchased online the day these came out. Even with lack of patience I still ended up rounding up three autographs (one was a Pulsar Refractor Fantasy Finest Auto /10 ) which would be a far better box than most. Based on You Tube breaks you average one Patch auto and one Jumbo Jersey auto. Here's a video from my local card shop. 

Alas, I didn't participate but I felt like spending 50 and getting a case hit guaranteed and not being limited to one team was far better than spending 25 for a chance at one autograph. Looking at a case you get 17 autographs; since the break is broken up into 32 teams that means 15 guys will walk away with either base and if they are lucky, a refractor or two. Most of those not named Manning or Brady aren't worth  the price of admission. With my money I got a Tahj Boyd Jumbo Auto, a Ka'deem Cary patch auto, 3 blue refractors /99, a regular rookie refractor, a Pulsar Fantasy's Finest Auto /10 redemption card of Zac Stacy, a Pulsar refractor of Drew Brees /99 (the fantasy insert) and two rookie atomic refractors. I did not get any base cards but I'll just buy a set later on rather than pulling 1/3 of the set and perhaps finishing it, perhaps not. If I had gotten a box with cards like this I'd be pretty happy. My experiment was to place one bid above what the last one was on any cards coming up on Ebay that matched what might come out of a box. That's why my base autos were not really hitting it out of the park (Boyd has already been cut, Ka'eem Cary might be good but we probably won't know for a while since he's backing up Matt Forte). The Stacy auto I probably only won because it's a redemption. The lesson learned here is it's far better to get a sure thing if you're not in the mood for gambling. I had a bad feeling about this case break and after looking at the content this year I'm glad I went this way. We're seeing far more cards like Jace Amaro and not very many Jadeveon Clowneys or Johnny Manziels coming out of these packs. I still like the cards but it's much harder to pull anything valuable from this year's product than I would have expected. One thing I'm noticing that's driving down the value is that many of the second year players that are being included (see my Zac Stacy card or the Marquis Goodwin patch autos) just aren't that proven and don't have a fan base. At least in 2013 there were some really good players from 2012 that were added like Andrew Luck autos and Alfred Morris. These boxes could have gotten an A+ grade, instead I'd give this product a B+. Topps is going to be out of the game for who knows how long and they really had a chance to sell out on this product. Now I'm not so sure.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Quite a haul today base-card wise! 2013 Topps Chrome, 2013 Topps Five Star







Today I added all these base cards to my collection. The Topps Chrome were from a set I purchased in August, the Five Star base (the last one of 3 that I got from a box) was from a break in April. My favorite from the bunch has got to be the Champ Bailey. I don't have too many cards of him but he was such a pivotal player for the Broncos for so many years. It was sad to see him cut from the Saints and then remain on the free agent market after getting a workout with the Lions. He maintains that he's healthy and can be productive but it seems like NFL teams don't agree.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Today's Add, one of the best Pats tight ends ever!


Here's a great photo of card #35A in the 2013 Topps Chrome set. "Gronk" scored 17 TDs in the 2011 season and immediately became an impact fantasy player in everyone's mind.

Today I missed much of the NFL action because I hiked an "almost" 14er (the summit was 12,400 feet up) here in Colorado but to me this type of thing makes it worth it to miss a little football. Feet are sore, I'm happy and will settle down to watch the night game!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

A couple more Topps Chrome base cards in the books



Here's a pair of really cool cards, albeit the most common cards you can get out of a box of Chrome. I like how the Dalton they chose to go with a horizontal layout. I don't think I've seen this too much in issues past. Either they went all horizontal or all portrait but not too much mixing and matching from what I remember. Andy Dalton had a great 1st game and collectors might see that this guy is undervalued despite the hobby black hole of a team he's playing on as well as his "choke in the playoffs" misconception that he's being assigned. You have to remember how ineffectual the Bengals have been for most of their existence. Dalton is the sole reason why they went to the playoffs so it would be wise to remember this.

The Ed Reed card should look strange to long-time collectors since he's in a new uniform. 2014 brought him to his third team, the New York Jets. He may do better in his new environment because the Jets have a far better chance this year of making the playoffs. Reed seemed to be poorly motivated and perhaps not himself last year, could have been the front office, could have been his age but he wasn't the same player that Houston thought they were getting. Now expectations have been reasonably lowered perhaps he can have a better season somewhere else.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

2013 Topps Chrome Add (card #32A)


Today's addition is another base card from Topps Chrome. This is another one of the "two variation" cards that I mentioned in an earlier post. Being one of the top fantasy players often nets you a spot in every base set and this guy's no exception. The more time goes by the more that the rookie class of 2011 sticks out to me with guys like Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, AJ Green and Julio Jones not to mention defensive greats like JJ Watt and Von Miller. Even with a couple of years of production it's not hard to imagine any of those guys in the hall of fame someday. 


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Today's addition Vintage style


Now this one's Really Really vintage compared to most of the cards I collect. I love the modern card but there is a certain appeal to holding a piece of football history like this in your hands. This is a 1948 Bowman Football card # 55 Frank Reagan RC who was a back for the New York Giants. This is considered his rookie card although the back of the card states he'd been in the league for 4 years. Back in these days they didn't go rushing out and producing 4,000 rookie cards a year for any given player. Before 1948 there were not any nationally recognized main releases for football so this is kind of a landmark set. This card is in good, but not great condition, pretty average for a card that is 66 years old. I mentioned in an earlier post that I had 10-12 of these cards and was trying to build a set but needed some quick cash so I ended up regrettably selling all of them. The thing I've noticed is that prices really aren't much more than they were 10 years ago on these cards, at least for the commons. The best card I had previously was a Steve Van Buren (HOF) rookie that was graded a SGCC 50. I'm not sure what those even go for any more but there are a few ungraded examples on Ebay as we speak. Cards are always replaceable except for the very rarest examples.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Autographed Addition today


I haven't had much time for blogging or buying cards lately because I've been studying for my CompTia A+ Exam (it's a computer certification). I took the first half of the test on Friday and passed by a comfortable margin. I figured I'd hop on and show off this beauty. I've been working (slowly, very slowly) on the 2012 Spx set and am about halfway done with it. I've only gotten 3 cards this year, most of the cards I have from the set are from Ebay and a box I broke in 2012. It's not often that you see an offensive lineman featured on a card, much less an autograph. He was injured his rookie year but many sources think that this could be the year he puts in a Pro Bowl type season for the Steelers.

Football season kicked off with a bang and we had quite a few upsets (Dolphins over the Pats, Falcons over the Saints) as well as some huge hobby gains for some rookies around the league. Carlos Hyde for the 49ers shone in limited action, Brandin Cooks for the Saints looked awesome as did Kelvin Benjamin for the Panthers. Expect to see those card values bump by 50 to 100 percent as auctions end this week, If you pulled these guys I always say sell when the iron is hot because the NFL season is full of ups and downs, huge gains and huge losses in card values.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Today's card #22 Alex Smith in a new uniform


Here's my first Alex Smith card as a Chief! He's been in the league a while and was considered by many to be a bust. The last few years he's done more than a serviceable job for the Niners and the Chiefs. One thing I've noticed about sellers on Ebay is the funny trend of trying to recoup those first round draft pick dollars that they spent on him in 2005. You will see many WAY overpriced cards on Ebay and it's like, hey, you do realize this guy's only thrown for 81 TDs in his 9 year career? Never won a Superbowl? Paying several hundred dollars for any of his rookie cards is bordering on insane. Paying several thousand, even for a one of one like this? You gotta be out of your goddamned mind to think anyone would pay the price of a small car for this card. Anyway, I'll enjoy my 50 cent card here and let the sellers continue to dream and list their cards that will never sell for years on end...

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Nice base card from 2013 Topps Five Star Football

2013 Topps Five Star #15 Matt Ryan

Today's addition is from a box of Five Star that I opened in April. This is the base card of Matt Ryan, it's number 15 in the set and is limited to 208 copies. I've only added one card so far of the 8 that came from the box. Just trying to savor the beauty of these cards since it's not often I can afford to drop money on a box like this. I intended to keep all of the cards but just add them slowly to the collection so I can fully appreciate them.

I've really gained a ton of interest in vintage cards. I used to have a real tiny starter set (I think 10 cards of the 108 in the set) of 1948 Bowman football. These black and white undersized cards were one of the first main issues of football cards making them historically significant and yet undervalued in some collector's eyes. If you have any interest in this set and want to see what these look like you can find a complete gallery here

For financial reasons I had to sell off this starter set a few years ago but it's time to get some of the lower priced singles again and see how far I can get. I'm not one of those collectors that is super concerned about condition. I don't want a card with super bad corners, bad stains as these tend to get, wrinkles in the card or really bad off centering. What's interesting about the 1948 Bowman set though is that every 3rd card is a shortprint! This makes for a very challenging set but if I'm willing to put up with some poor examples I can probably put this together over a long period of time. As with any set builder has to be, you gotta be patient.


Monday, September 1, 2014

A pair of receivers from 2013 Topps Chrome!



I was fairly busy yesterday so I forgot to add my "card of the day" but here are today's and yesterday's additions. The Patterson could be a nice 5-10 dollar card someday if he lives up to the hype. He has quite a few variations on this card as do most of the top tier rookies including a photo variation card, even an autographed base photo variation card which a seller on Ebay is wanting just a bit too much for

 Nicks has a new team this year and it should be interesting to see just how well he clicks with Andrew Luck and the Colts offense. Football starts this Thursday night and I'm pretty excited! I did get rid of cable and now have to watch things on my mobile device or at a bar so we'll see how that goes.