Welcome to our community

Be apart of something great, join today!

Join me LIVE in going to Super Collector Status ... plus ... customs!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
Today has all the makings to be a big mail day for me, and my PC. Something that could potentially make me go from being a Canseco collector to a Canseco SUPER collector. Why do I say that is could, and not that it is? Well, that is because as I type this, I am waiting for the mail man to deliver my 30 pound package to me. It is coming from up north, and as of yesterday morning, the USPS website showed this:

usps.jpg


I was very skeptical about this, because - how can a package come so far, so quickly? It is my hope that it happens today, as we have a very busy weekend full of birthday parties, and other things. I won't let the cat out of the bag too much until it is hear, but let's just say that it took me probably the better part of 10-15 hours searching online for some Canseco cards I did not have.

WIth as much as I talk about Jose, you'd think I'd have a mammoth collection. Something beckett-worthy, (which was a goal of mine as a child - to be featured in beckett!) but that is just not the case. As a matter of fact, if you have been reading my blog / articles for a while, you know that I had sold 99% of my Canseco collection last year to "start over". All of the cards and memorabilia I had collected for the better part of 25 years were gone. There simply weren't any cards worth oohing and ahhing about. The main reason for this is because I rarely buy anything to keep, and have a hard time justifying keeping something that is worth anything of significant value. Perhaps that is why I like creating custom cards so much!

The collection I had amassed was full of nickel and dime cards. The "body of work" I had acquired since the late 80's was merely doubles, triples and beyond of cards I thought I didn't have. I had no checklist to refer to, or anything. As a result, I ended up just stockpiling all things Canseco, and figured "one day" I would make a list. The problem was, that there were hardly any gold cards, artist proof cards, refracors, serial #ed cards, etc. Just a lot of base with tons of multiples. (No one can have too many '88 donruss Canseco, right?)

I vividly recall going to a card show as a child. I sat at a table and spent maybe 15-30 minutes pulling out all the Canseco cards I wanted. I asked the lady behind the table if she would take $8 for them. She laughed at me. She laughed! To make matters worse, instead of answering me, she nudged her husband and said "You hear that, Bob? This kid asked me if I'd take $8 for all those Canseco cards!" As their ridicule and laughter echoed, I turned around and walked away in defeat.

That incident did not deter me, but it did not get any easier. Ultimately, as the years went by, I left the hobby, and the Canseco collection sat in my closet, gathering dust. One day, during a huge hurricane we had here, the power was out and I had nothing to do. So for the first time in forever, I took out my Canseco collection to look through it all, and start the arduous task of organizing it all.

Then, my sister in law came over.

"Wow...ummm...man crush much?"

I don't know why, but for some reason, I felt a tinge of embarrassment...a little bit of shame. It did seem odd at the time for me, a grown man, to be sitting in the middle of hundreds of cards of Jose Canseco. Oh well. Nowadays, I am consistently neck deep in cardboard, and everyone knows it!

Since I have come back to the hobby, I have told people I collect Canseco only, and basically sell everything else. Many people look at me strange and say "why do you collect him???" Dude ... he was like ... the man! Mr. 40/40! Jose Can-Crank-oh! (Or, as my friends growing up would call him Jose Can-Strike-Out).

UPDATE:

outfordelivery.jpg


YEAH!!! It says it is out for delivery! But ... but ... what if they are wrong? What if it is too heavy and I will need to goto the post office TOMORROW to pick it up? What if the cards are damaged? What if....

Yeah, this is kind of driving me nuts. Anyway, fast forward to nowadays. I finally have a checklist, and have been using it religiously. I currently sit at around 1,360 different Canseco cards. This time though, my collection has a number of "better, but not awesome" cards, such as some gold signature collectors choice parallels, some refractors, serial # stuff, etc. I used the proceeds of the sale of my childhood Canseco collection to finance my 2.0 collection. Many of them came from a "real" super collector.

A little over a year ago, another super collector put his collection up for sale. Ironically enough, it ended up being the first guy I ever met online who collected Canseco - probably in 2006-08...sometime in between there.

Every single card he had for sale in his collection was pictured online, so I spent a TON of time making a list of literally close to 1,000 cards I did not have already. It was really cool to be able to pick out some odd ball stuff that I had recalled as a child, but now it looks like I will have nearly all of the odd ball stuff. The stadium club cards were cards I already had, but not the first day verions. The studios, but not the press proofs. The Topps versions were mine already, but not the inaugural, opening day, o-pee-chee, versions, etc. The pacific cards were sparse in my collection, but now I should have several near runs of them. I gotta be honest - the anticipation for this package has kept me up at night!

I HEAR THE MAIL TRUCK COMING!!! I HEAR THE MAIL TRUCK COMING!!!!

That means the package is hopefully near :)

Ahem ... sorry. I know, this is all over the place. No sleep and no tv makes Homer something something. (Simpsons reference).

Speaking of the Simpsons, I do have a few customs to show, and the Simpsons are referenced. Here are 4 cards I had been working on.

GOOD AS GOLD - I anticipate having Canseco sign in gold just above his name.
goodasgold.jpg


A PIECE OF HISTORY - I have been working on something similar to this. I have always been bummed that Jose didn't have a card in this set. He didn't because the criteria would be to have 500+ home runs. Ahhh...if only he was a part of some other type of club. AHA! The 40/40 club! The wood piece is just a placeholder for now, and I anticipate him to sign in blue in the bottom left.

apoh.jpg


The next one, is my wife's favorite. "World Series Memories". The picture is of Jose and the A's team walking off the field after the earthquake from game 3 of the 1989 world series. A memory every man woman and child from California probably remembers vividly. Heck, our house even shook a bit while we were watching it on tv. It is amazing to think of how much damage was caused, and about the lives lost...yet, at 9 years old, the most painful thing to me was the delay for game 3.

wsm.jpg


The image on the left is in foil, and I think it looks great in hand! It is hard to get a good position with the camera, so I tried a few things.

10943038_10205817993031858_6269369576853182241_n.jpg


I actually used a previous attempt at a custom that I wanted to get Jose's finger print, but apparently that won't happen. Oh well. Here is my finger print with it instead, lol.

20140713_151648.jpg


Finally, I decided to use your favorite super-hero and mine, to show the reflective properties of the left slide: Bart Man!

wsmbart.jpg


Why would I just bring in Bart man for this card? Surely, I had to bring him in on one more that would make more sense!

988930_10205817964231138_3894842566555371530_n.jpg


I love how the card turned out. Mainly because I've been wanting to do one of Jose from the Simpsons in the episode "Home at the Bat", but all of the pictures online of him in cartoon form are HORRID. Absolute awful quality. I actually ended up having to do re-draw the entire thing. I am glad I did, because I think it turned out great. 1991 Donruss was a design that I enjoyed as a child, hated ever since (due to buying so much in my pre-teen years), and have just recently come to love again. It is so loud and so ... '90's ... that a Simpsons card matched it perfectly.

????????

What is this????? *Hands tremble*....

uspsdelivered.jpg


YESSSS! *Calls out loudly* "Thank you Post lady!"

14030_10205817313814878_4179985694314252729_n.jpg


10931311_10205817313494870_8025679921052220843_n.jpg


What??? A box within a box?

10929549_10205817313054859_7267660068736705204_n.jpg


Nice! Oddball stuff ...

10414481_10205817312534846_1567555737007927869_n.jpg


... and a whole lotta cards. I estimate about 98% of these are cards I do not have already! NONE of this is doubles. Not when compared within the box, and not when compared with my existing collection.

10635983_10205817311814828_9146479819802298686_n.jpg


Let's look at some of the notable ones.

More oddball stuff ...

10406855_10205817311494820_9052975095589252895_n.jpg


All kinds of STAR sets (I have a bunch already. Many fond memories of these from my past.) Out of my 25 years in collecting, I think I had only 3 sets ... now, I have almost all of them.

10360540_10205817310294790_6146649706951253561_n.jpg


Some cool runs of the same type of card (but all different)

10686593_10205817310734801_6133792099384402505_n.jpg


55 Game Used cards (all different)

10947310_10205817311014808_6748780107920162458_n.jpg


Some of my favorite cards from the game used stuff:

10933770_10205817310054784_6935174334209923274_n.jpg


Some nice rare stuff - Finest GOLD refractor, Thundr Clap gold medallion, Fan Favorites refractor, Fleer Brilliants gold and 2 finest embossed refractors
1604562_10205817308494745_1044392860343047342_n.jpg



Flair Legacy cards (these are the ones # to 99)
10382727_10205817307614723_7657883292815497908_n.jpg


An oddball card (I have always wanted one of these ever since I first saw one on ebay) a 1991 Donruss preview card (never saw one of these before), Tek blue, Power Rally die cut and a circa RAVE
10924692_10205817306694700_8423229028269442878_n.jpg


Gold label GOLD die cuts!
10942587_10205817307014708_1633890204099888551_n.jpg


Some wood HR Kings cards (send in and redemption + gold medallion) + some certified artists proof, blue, and mirrors
10931408_10205817308174737_817701120704811556_n.jpg


PLATINUM Medallion Ultra cards (The third one in the pic is one I saw on ebay a while ago. I offered the guy $20, and he countered at $25. I scoffed ... it ended up going for $60-80 if I recall correctly.)
10338301_10205817307254714_7856120730507070135_n.jpg


Perhaps my favorites out of all of them:
10403204_10205817307974732_8542792623152706357_n.jpg


The mirror red-blue-gold set was something I never thought I'd have. They are some of the most beautiful rainbows I think that can be made. I bought a large insert collection last year, and found some of these of other players and thought to myself how cool would it be to have these from Canseco?! Well, here they are! :)

That about does it for the latest acquisition! The vast majority in this purchase are not shown, because that would take forever. I have officially gone from around 1,360 to probably around 2,300 different cards - and now I'm really interested in getting more! This whole thing has been financed from the profits of some other cards I sold. Rememeber the million cards? Well ... they are all gone. I have very, very little left. We have our garage back! Stay tuned though, as that is about to change. I am always on the look out for more deals. Speaking of which, I have been able to find some deals on Craig's List. If you are interested, let me know!

First up, is this bad boy ....

95dollars.jpg


Only $95?!?! How can you not go for it? It is sealed! SEALLLLLLLEEEEDDD!!!!!

I also caught wind of another collection someone was selling on Craig's List. They said they had $5,000 worth of cards, and were willing to let it all go for the low price of $2,500. When asked what the collection had, they rattled off a few $8 sets ... and those were the highlights!

Perhaps this takes the entire cake, though. Someone reached out to me saying they "have like $60,000 worth of cards, but would be willing to negotiate". I asked for a picture and description. They mentioned most were from the 80's and here was the picture of the collection:

60000.jpg


People never cease to amaze me. I don't know what happens more - collections offered up to me that I wouldn't pay $5 for that people think/say are worth thousands, or ridiculous & unethical photoshop requests (the last one being for me to add a name to an electricity bill - not that bad, considering I've had people ask me to forge prescriptions and even a lawyer request I photoshop a man in a picture with another woman at a hotel!)

I know this posting has been all over the board (as usual), so I'd like to wrap up with a pic of the last 4 customs together in one pic.

1513743_10205818475323915_2099825186526883283_n.jpg


Thanks for following along with me LIVE in my journey to super-collector status! (well ... at least bigger-than-before-collector status).
 

goobmcnasty

Active member
Apr 4, 2014
1,583
13
You sir, can tell a story. Intercutting flashbacks and asides with the seemingly endless wait for the mailman! I felt like I was there. Like I was the Canseco fan. Thanks for the great read.
 

nkdbacks

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
865
51
AZ
Your threads never fail to blow my mind! I'm a writer myself and your creativity blows me away. Awesome stuff!
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
Thanks everyone!
[MENTION=1754]nkdbacks[/MENTION] - what do you write/who for/etc? Thank you for the compliments :)
 

Gwynn545

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2008
5,526
44
North Seattle
Bittersweet for me, you get a serious haul, my brother loses 1/2 his collection...

Bittersweet for me, too, as [MENTION=2239]1st4040[/MENTION] is one of my favorite people around. However, I am happy the cards are going to someone SO appreciative of what he has. If there was someone who would love my Gwynn cards as much as I do (or as much as [MENTION=7453]mouschi[/MENTION] and the Cansecos), I'd consider selling!!
Once again, great story telling. Waiting for the UPS truck brings me back to my 7-8 year-old self, waiting for my Sports Illustrated posters to come (6-8 weeks for processing and delivery). As soon as 6 weeks hit, I was at the living room window every day.
 

1st4040

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2008
5,918
105
New Bedford, Ma.
Bittersweet for me, too, as @1st4040 is one of my favorite people around. However, I am happy the cards are going to someone SO appreciative of what he has. If there was someone who would love my Gwynn cards as much as I do (or as much as @mouschi and the Cansecos), I'd consider selling!!
Once again, great story telling. Waiting for the UPS truck brings me back to my 7-8 year-old self, waiting for my Sports Illustrated posters to come (6-8 weeks for processing and delivery). As soon as 6 weeks hit, I was at the living room window every day.

Thanks for the kind words [MENTION=2477]Gwynn545[/MENTION] yes the collection will be missed but I have scans/memories that can never be taken from me! Me and my bro bonded over many card shows and have tons of stories to prove it!

I used to wait patiently too for the postman to bring me my oddball haul from Southpaw Cards back in the day before there was internet and he used to mail out lists yearly with all the new stuff. We met him by chance at a Boston National show(he is in Wisconsin if I remember correctly) and that mailing list was like crack to a super collector looking for regional stuff you couldn't get here on the East Coast.
 

mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
[MENTION=2477]Gwynn545[/MENTION] thank you for the kind words. [MENTION=2239]1st4040[/MENTION] I think I mentioned this to you before, but you were the absolute first Canseco collector I talked to ever online, if I recall correctly. Not only am I stoked about having these cards, it is good to know that there is a very storied history behind it. It is great to have a large portion of a collection of you personally, which makes it extra special.

When coupled with my existing collection, I simply have not seen so many different unlicensed/regional/odd-ball Canseco cards in one place. Well, I'm sure [MENTION=7109]RAZOR-Z[/MENTION] may have half a billion of them, come to think of it! The odd stuff brings me back to my childhood wading through quarter boxes at local card shows ... though, not being able to afford everything I saw. I was able to sit down with them with my son this evening and tell him about how companies would put these cards in loaves of bread, cereal boxes, cookies, etc. and tell him why some had air brushed the logos out, while others didn't, etc. It sure was fun.

Mother's Cookies was a big thing for me. We (me and my dad) knew what box to get in the pallet for Nolan #2 of 4. Our pantry was always stocked with them. One time, my friend came over with a Canseco Mother's Cookies card I didn't have. He was parading it around like crazy. Then my dad came home with one of my friend's favorite player ... Will Clark! We did a trade and I got my Canseco card I wanted :) Now, I can say I have all of them BWAHAHAHAHA ... next up: WORLD DOMINATION!
 

1st4040

Well-known member
Aug 10, 2008
5,918
105
New Bedford, Ma.
YOU GOT A SCORE RULES JUMBO!:eek:

thats one card I know I had a few discussions about on here before finally landing it to complete my run for 1995! they are one of the hardest to find high numbered early cards out there(much like the way the Donruss Elites once were pre internet)
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
Just curious, what are the stats for the haul? Like # of cards, % outstanding, etc. Just wondering because it looks amazing and a lot of fun to go through. Thanks for posting all the pictures... I can imagine how fun it has been going through it all.
 

Members online

Top