Recent slab pickups / grading

[jeffv96masters]

Now this next series I'm gonna show comes with a qualifier-- 2005 Etopps. I say "qualifier" as there is a lot of misinformation, lack of info, or just plain lack of "public" release of info until well after the fact- a Topps trademark method of taking care of the "in" crowd before the general masses. I'll say very little about it except this- this isn't all I own, and until I get all my paperwork gathered in one place, and in one room, I can't talk about any of the "etopps conventions" that frankly were "gatherings" - not conventions in the traditional sense of that word.

What I currently have slabbed for 2005 is below. Technically only the 2005 Etopps #80 is considered part of 2005- the other two for registry purposes are back in the years of issue ( 2003 & 2004 respectively). Although all 3 state the 2005 Etopps production and rightly so. A word of warning if your thinking of buying a 2005 Etopps Chicago 1/1 and you weren't present at the National these were released at - there are fakes around of the 1/1 versions, and they are easy for an advanced Etopps collector to determine. No hints just know it does take some in person looking at under magnification.

On my 2004 version below you'll notice that lint inside- been there since slabbing after the 2006 National. A mere 15 days later after I purchased them in Anaheim. Suffice to say they were in their original holders with original paperwork included. If it doesn't have the original paperwork, I better trust my seller, otherwise I don't buy it.

Without further comment the base and the two 1/1 versions. Like I said- I own more just can't discuss Etopps stuff until I have all my paperwork together.

Oh and you'll notice few websites actually know a lot about them- wonder why ??
BTW I do buy paperwork associated with the Etopps programs, if you own any I do buy them for recording purposes of my PC. What I'm looking for in particular was the invitations right now and the Etopps papers we got when we were there in the conference gathering. I lost my backup in my move out here in 2008
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[jeffv96masters]

OK this next series I am going to gloss over quickly since I barely started slabbing stuff back in 2008 before I moved here and honestly haven't subbed any in quite a while. That's not to say I don't have any in the pipeline -- a two minute check of raw cards revealed the below in 10 minutes of checking my storage.

What I will show off of 2005 Donruss Elite was the cards I slabbed quickly either due to wanting them protected or in the Pujols case low # protection asap. I actually had just finished cleaning up some 2004 Elite back then when I moved and put these on ice in storage.

I'll have to take another inventory and slab a bunch and see whats left to pursue want to close off some of these easier series soon. I musta used the Turn of the Century to top a sub off back then.

I'll write more about them when I get more jersey and insert stuff slabbed

And what I found real quick in storage in about 10 minutes of looking. I'm sure I have lots more milling about
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[jeffv96masters]

Having to re-show a bunch I "thought" I'd already shown, but apparently inventory girl cannot locate, so here we go again.
Below will be items from the 2005 Donruss Classics series. By 2005 I was burnt on this series and did not really purchase much, focusing my efforts elsewhere. Might have purchased a few boxes but I don't remember teh hits so they were not outstanding boxes. While I should have spent more time on this Classic series, I just didn't like the ROI, so I spent $$ elsewhere on boxes. The cards are cool and I love the colors with a tasteful design use of the flag background and some cool color mixes.

You can locate info about the series here 2005 DONRUSS CLASSICS

Back when I indicated my friend Dave- a fellow Clemens collector- started a family, this series was one of many of that he sold to me. I've added a few , but 5 of the 8 being shown were from his collection. I slabbed most of them back in 2009, with the sole add on in 2017 of the Gold Classic Combos with Bob Feller.

What I have currently slabbed is below I have base items like the Tributes just waiting in line. I do own a bunch of extra # to 25 items from Dave's stash of these.

The uniform issue was a "deliberate" mistake meant to cause discussion about the Donruss Classics series.
Have limited time the next few days, but will try and do at least a one series a day.
Inventory girl has been sent the post link and sheet ,so she better not miss this post its done in alpha order for her sake
Lots of base items to slab will see what I'm missing GU and auto wise when I get time to figure it out
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[jeffv96masters]

A quick synopsis on this next set of scans- the 2005 Donruss Champions series. This was the last swan sing of DLP and they did the pump & dump of quite a bit of game used, autos, etc into boxes, with upwards of 8 hits a box. You can imagine they sold out quickly. Tons of this stuff around. I have slabbed very, very little of this series since quite a bit was inserts of various types. I did buy probably half a dozen boxes but have none in storage I popped those open in 2008 looking for some buttons.

I do remember having to ask Kevin @Pinbreaker for help when my Japanese Clemens collecting friend sold his collection of buttons. I could only bid /pay on one at a time so I had Kevin's help picking them up and paid him back on it. I went nuclear on his Red Sox #1/3 button , setting a snipe 3x higher than any Clemens button had sold before, yet strangely picked up for less than 1/5 my snipe. At the time Clemens stuff was radioactive with the accusations having just been released and the dumping that had resulted. Made me happy when they arrived from Japan. The Yankees version maybe if another appears will try for another one, the reverse of this one has an imprint of something on it. Maybe someone set something down on it. I do remember at one point that same Japanese friend was trying to unload the other 5 buttons at once of Yankees # /14 , but I didn't have a spare $900-1000 to buy them all. He listed like 7 total of 3 different types ( I'll see if i can dig up that auction) that I'd have loved to have purchased.

As you can see slabbed an extra Green # to 25 item. Thankfully Clemens had no Donruss Champions recollection autos.
I have very few items slabbed but most are low # or rare

Info can be found here 2005 DONRUSS CHAMPIONS
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And the dupe Green
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[Pinbreaker]

A quick synopsis on this next set of scans- the 2005 Donruss Champions series. This was the last swan sing of DLP and they did the pump & dump of quite a bit of game used, autos, etc into boxes, with upwards of 8 hits a box. You can imagine they sold out quickly. Tons of this stuff around. I have slabbed very, very little of this series since quite a bit was inserts of various types. I did buy probably half a dozen boxes but have none in storage I popped those open in 2008 looking for some buttons.

I do remember having to ask Kevin @Pinbreaker for help when my Japanese Clemens collecting friend sold his collection of buttons. I could only bid /pay on one at a time so I had Kevin's help picking them up and paid him back on it. I went nuclear on his Red Sox #1/3 button , setting a snipe 3x higher than any Clemens button had sold before, yet strangely picked up for less than 1/5 my snipe. At the time Clemens stuff was radioactive with the accusations having just been released and the dumping that had resulted. Made me happy when they arrived from Japan. The Yankees version maybe if another appears will try for another one, the reverse of this one has an imprint of something on it. Maybe someone set something down on it. I do remember at one point that same Japanese friend was trying to unload the other 5 buttons at once of Yankees # /14 , but I didn't have a spare $900-1000 to buy them all. He listed like 7 total of 3 different types ( I'll see if i can dig up that auction) that I'd have loved to have purchased.

As you can see slabbed an extra Green # to 25 item. Thankfully Clemens had no Donruss Champions recollection autos.
I have very few items slabbed but most are low # or rare

Info can be found here 2005 DONRUSS CHAMPIONS
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And the dupe Green
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[jeffv96masters]

More slabs for the inventory girl. This next series is known - as one website so eloquently put it- for its "almost obscene amount of parallels". I'd buy boxes of this stuff just for fun as they were always loaded with inserts. Didn't need to worry about what was pulled they were just fun breaks ( which is all one can ask really from a box break). So welcome to the 2005 Diamond Kings series !! I used to use these as toppers on bulk subs ( basically add ins to top a sub off at 100). I haven't subbed many in roughly 10 years, like 2004 Diamond Kings the amount of variations is just nuts, and large series I always will wait. Pretty sure my storage has no boxes of the 05DK. I rarely even left the parking lot at my card store with a DK box intact.

I'll try and show a few variations including a Hawaii and a few 1/1 items from the PC. I haven't slabbed any of the DK Challenge ones yet I consider them base cards. None of the base variations either have been sent in. This is not even remotely what I own, just what slab girl needs scanned. Most are raw right now. The set is notorious for off center frames, horrible cornering, chipped or bent edges,etc etc with Nrmt 7.5 and Nrmt 8 common. Unusual to get silver 8.5 and higher.

Info on the set can be found here at 2005 DIAMOND KINGS

Roger Clemens had two cards in Series 1 ( card 105-Astros and card 278-Yanks) and two cards in Series 2 ( cards 350-Astros and card 423-Red Sox) along with a few Timeline items.

Start off with a couple of the #105 Astros versions a Framed Black uniform #22/25 and a Hawaii variation #01/10
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Jumping down to his other Astros card #350 variations a Material Gold #08/25 and Framed Green #09/10
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And some for his Red Sox card #423 variation a Framed Red #88/100, Matl Silver #27/100 and Matl Gold #22/25
Will post his other #278 Yankees version in a separate post scanning them right now
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[jeffv96masters]

I wanted to show off his #278 Yankees 2005 Diamond Kings variation separately so I could show off just a few of the 1/1 that I have slabbed from this set. If you weren't able to tell from the prior post I concentrated on the harder to find Black and White variations of the set first after seeing their difficulty in 2004 Diamond Kings.

Without further ado here's some of his #278 Yankees stuff that I have slabbed
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And a few of the 1/1 and Timelines items
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[nosterbor]

Do you have any non canvas.

 

[jeffv96masters]

Do you have any non canvas ??

A # 278 non-canvas yes, buried along with a few other players. I don't own a #105, #350, or #423 non-canvas item for 2005 . I'd have to check too many plastic bins to dig those base items out. I consider it a base variation and it would be buried with others. If I remember correctly the noncanvas has a smooth, glossy surface, while the regular versions appear more dimply.


OK folks we have moved to a very interesting series the 2005 Classic Clippings series. I distinctly remember when these came out how underappreciated the boxes were in the local card store I went to in CT ( Cardsmiths in Orange,CT). For bang for the buck I'd buy these all day long. I believe they were around $75 a box where I was located. Its a set that grew on me over time, and while its got quite a few difficult items to locate, I found the majority of cards were skipped over by the masses in favor of more popular sets- to their everlasting detriment later.

Fellow board member patrick182 of @Radicards wondered out loud about these 2005 CLASSIC CLIPPINGS Final Edition FRANK THOMAS that he had acquired.

I'll take a stab at what I think the answer might be ,and would love to hear others comments about it as well. I'd expect one to be the authentic pack insert ( Patrick's PSA slabbed item), one to be the internal file copy Fleer should have kept, and the last the intended MLB Properties copy (maybe it never got mailed due to the bankruptcy proceedings?? ). Up close- if I remember correctly ( been a long while since I saw one in person) - that Final Edition is it a beautiful purple foil that only a professional shop can reproduce?? Patrick's camera system I guess intentionally kept that "fuzzy". As a collecting feat- impressed by the trio -that's for sure. I'd be interested to know more about how Patrick you came about owning the 3 of them. Possibly purchased the PSA version online or via another collector ( maybe a certain Frank Thomas guy in VA ??), but what about the non serial versions ?? Ara's auctions, ebay buys, or pickups along the line from more Thomas folks ?

I'm still look for my own versions of certain items. Crazy thought, but 15 years later I still haven't even confirmed most of the checklist on my player. What I will show is the five GU or auto cards I gathered quickly in the 2-3 years following issuance for this series and slabbed. I don't believe I've added a card in 10+ years from the series unless it was a base card pickup in a lot. Anyways here is my five slabbed items
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[Pinbreaker]

jeffv96masters, did you ever get one of the 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings DK Challenge cards?

 

[jeffv96masters]

jeffv96masters, did you ever get one of the 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings DK Challenge cards?

Kevin yep- I can scan the # 278 version if anyone cares to see it that one I know is here right now. I'd have to look for the rest.

 

[jeffv96masters]

Here's the one i know is here right now

 

[jeffv96masters]

Onward as the march continues to 2005 Bowman's Best. I was happy it was a rookie centric series with minimal Clemens items. I slabbed most of it right away for some reason never slabbed my Red yet ( as they were filler serial # items- I know why). Cannot for the life of me remember buying a box of this. Did all my insert buying from eBay, COMC and Burbank. Always irritated me the only way you could tell the base card from the silver version was serial numbering.

As Clemens had minimal items in it- wont say much as I don't believe I ever broke a box.
Info on the series is here at 2005 Bowman's Best

Without further ado what is slabbed. I'll slab the Red sometime in the next year to finish up. Never seen the Black or any plates.

 

[jeffv96masters]

Going to post just one for this morning as the wife is undergoing surgery today so will be busy rest of the morning/ afternoon. Today's post will be about the 2005 Artifacts set put out by Upper Deck. I generally only bought packs of this, as my money was always spent on DLP products then UD stuff afterwards. I loved the series though as the color combos were really eye pleasing. Thought it was well designed ,which is something unusual to remark about a card set. I tried years later upgrading a few and failed miserably. One of the rare UD products that was cut well- UD should have stuck with whomever they used to create this set.

I remember submitting the NL Artifacts base and Rainbow and when they came back wondering why the base wasn't in its expected silver slab. Turned it over and saw a back surface issue I missed. Haven't gone back to get an upgrade so maybe in 2021 will try again. I have a bunch of stuff still to slab.

Info on the set can be found here at 2005 ARTIFACTS

My two dupe upgrade failures are below ,will sell now since I am downsizing and ridding myself of all dupes
If anyone owns a base blue, red, or gold version, I buy all Clemens base colors.

 

[Dazed]

I'll say a prayer for you & your wife today.

I was a huge fan of 2005 Artifacts. I spent way too much money on it.

 

[jeffv96masters]

I'll say a prayer for you & your wife today. I was a huge fan of 2005 Artifacts. I spent way too much money on it.

Appreciated things went well they decided not to invade her boob until they can further confirm diagnosis. Initial diagnosis is cyst/scar tissue related to a subsidiary lymph gland issue, but they want additional tests. Overall she's happy so I'm happy.

If I were to rank the best year of card production as far as quality, ingenuity, sheer depth of offerings, and overall excitement it brought to the hobby, then 2005 would rank at the top of the food chain. Of all of them- 2005 Absolute Memorabilia can compete with any of them for hobby love. It even has its own post dedicated to it 2005 ABSOLUTE TALK I personally LOVE this set. I mean its got everything- great design, thoughtful colors, spectrum cards, game used, autos - has it all. Its the type of set you have to pick and choose your battles when buying and learn to reach out and get help unless your budgets up there. I've been incredibly lucky to have known quite a few private Clemens collectors who don't frequent ( or in some cases even visit) hobby message boards, and been able to use those folks to grow it slowly. Been able to add inconsistently over the years, and am quite happy to even be where I'm at overall. Might even decide later in the year to inventory where I'm at in the set. I've had help from Kevin @Pinbreaker as usual picking up a few 1/1 while I nailed down some other stuff which was up. Was able to snatch up some other 1/1 on my own thru sheer dumb
luck being in the right place at the right time.

Info on the set can be found everywhere including here at 2005 ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA

I'm going to show the set off in order they appear on my database sheets so inventory girl can move along easily.
They will be all over the place as the registry makes no sense alpha at times

I cannot recall how expensive that Recollection auto was- usually price sticks in the brain - that one draws a blank
Fairly certain it cost me between $200-300 although the exact cost eludes me

Up first is the Absolute Heroes Triples. Haven't slabbed the doubles yet just the Triples. Still need the Red Sox Spectrum # to 15. The fourth item is that Recollection 2000 auto
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Also a few of the lower numbered Spectrum for # 47 Astros Home and #182 Astros Away
I remember back in 2014 last inventory the older scanner couldn't handle these- much better on this scanner
I'm sure with today's technology I could even get better pics- but my scanner ($125 retail sale price) cost me $45 after refunds & eBay sales. Doubt their $2500 scanners cost them that little !!
More to follow just woke up was a long anxious day today
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[jeffv96masters]

OK the next group items is scanned on the list. The Single Swatch piece cost me just as much as the Dual Bat/Jsy Astros pieces. Crazy Yankee collectors !! I have zero memory of Randy Johnson pitching for the Astros- none. Zippo - I can't even remember the year. I'd have to look that info up

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The next four easily qualify as some of the more satisfying. I just wanted an example of each type of 1/1 if possible
( Bat / Jersey / Auto). The fact I was able to get more than one is like getting an extra piece of cake when you wanted just a piece or winning the last piece of lasagna from Mom years ago because I promised to wash the dishes
Gratitude as always to Kevin @Pinbreaker for helping pick on of these up and holding it !!
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[jeffv96masters]

Moving on scan wise the next three on the alpha registry list are below- the Reverse Spectrum items for TT175 Red Sox
Strangely I had slabbed the blue and black years before the red. Tried picking up either a # 1/50, 21/50, or 50/50
The 50/50 appeared first so I snagged that one. Just a numbers thing I sometimes like to do -nothing that's normal.
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[theplasticman]

These 2005 Absolute are awesome. Loved this set!

 

[jeffv96masters]

These 2005 Absolute are awesome. Loved this set!

I got more coming just no time lately to scan (medical and work what else).

Also missing a batch of these that several days of looking has resulted in a slow burn . All from the same sub in 2018. Will show more in am.

And good to see @CAROLINA BOSOX back