Recent slab pickups / grading

[2014BESTSERVICE]

OK more of the PSA slabs from that same Ultra Modern sub that had those PSA 8 on it
Missing little nics and dings, I'm ok with it I expect 9's nowadays and 10's are great if I get them
The Abreu Black and White is cool. Lots of sliding guys on this sub
The Tuckers were hot back when not sure about now
The Black Altuve is a tough insert- Pop 1 with none higher currently

More BGS & PSA slabs to follow of course still well behind on inventory and scans
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Finishing up the Ultra Modern PSA sub so I can move on to more BGS slabs
The Snell is a Pop 2 = the rest are all Pop 1 Gems

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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Some more backlogged slabs scanned as I catch up
As part of the Big 10 of recent top QB along with Brady I have a whole slew of Drew Brees / Peyton Manning coming back. These are all Drew Brees inserts from various years
Happy with grades. For the life of me I just can't get a 9 or higher on 2005 Prestige colors
If you've ever subbed Pacific stuff or thick jerseys- the Mint and higher are tough to get, so those were some nice hits
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The second sub had more Tom Brady which I'll scan in a bit= these were the Brees on the second sub
Some tough inserts and I always enjoy dual HOF players on the same card
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Haven't posted in over a week as scanning my you know what off and catching up on delivery and ebay mailings was a priority as was 3 different doc visits. One visit put me on the bed for a day and a half so that wasn't pleasant

Got to do some more scans this morning. More Drew Brees and Brady with some colors from various series and a dual HOF again

Your probably wondering same as I was how I could have a bunch of Mint 2005 Bowmans Best colors-- then that 5
Well- I didn't send it in that way= let's put that out there. I see a card like this come thru my apartment= its shredded
Literally- I would put in the shredder so no one else would ever encounter its damage
I certainly wouldn't have wasted time & money subbing the thing in this shape

And when all the cards on the same sub were 8 and higher- yeah- c'mon now- let's get real
23 years with PSA, 21 with BGS- I don't sub trash unless its a short print 10 or less and then I'll authenticate slab

Reported as a Quality Assurance issue using the appropriate channels
Second item in the last few subs to come back with damages
I normally do not waste time- but this is getting out of hand on my low serial number items
I've had enough of the damages. It happens now on a card I care about- getting reported

I reported the Bernie, this one, and any that follow

Just in case the numbers on the 05LRS Ruby are not visible kept the last 3 digits open so you can see its a different card
I won't be selling the Gold Holo from the 2007 PlayoffNFL Playoffs set either that's not a dupe- rest of these all are
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Back from a couple of early 2021 box breaks some ultra moderns
Subbed at the end of March 2021- entered by PSA end of April 2021

Also had some Brady pop on the same order- those I'll scan later on

Both the Illusions box and LRS box were freebie boxes a friend sent for me to break
He kept what he wanted and I got the balance. Subbed what looked interesting at the time
Mostly low pop stuff although the Herro and Burrow rookies have quite a few PSA 10
The Allen apparently is just a Pop 2 for some reason

The Dugger auto is #10/10 and cool in person. Being from MA- well was nice to pull from a box

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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Been throwing on a few 2004 Leaf Exhibit Clemens variations on some orders to knock off some registry variation holes
Still have = Oh, I don't know ,maybe 50-100 variations to slab. Slowly adding- they are just not priority
Too many variations to care much about how fast I finish slabbing the series
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Still looking for a whole bunch of missing slabs, but I will start my inventory on my 2004 ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA Roger Clemens
One of the first products that I noticed sold out every time it hit the local stores where I was. Couldn't keep it in stock
I remember paying $50 a pack and not blinking an eyelash when retail was "supposed" to be $35. Tons of hits, very interesting inserts- had it all. Even now I'd pay $60 a pack and not blink. This set was an 'absolute" hit, and frankly the brand was solidified with this sets production. Seeing that Absolute still exists today, I'd say their formula worked

I started out just cracking boxes for fun, then started actively buying singles whenever I could. The market was super hot, so not everything could be won. You could bid high on what you "thought" was a nuclear snipe, only to see someone else just demolish it who wanted it more
Took years of just using patience to accumulate some stuff. Even now wish I had a few pieces I missed out on

First up is some of the base Spectrum items. I have not slabbed either of the two base cards ( the hobby and retail base #91 versions). But I have slabbed the remaining 3, including a base 1/1 item. The Platinum has a nice bluish / silver tint to it
Hopefully the pics are clear enough to see the 3 differences in color
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Up after this is some of the Team Tandems / Team Trios / and Team Quads items I have slabbed
Still need to slab the base items as well. Somewhere I believe I have either a dupe Quad Spectrum or the missing dual Spectrum
Can't remember which
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Also have a dupe Tandem item slabbed
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Couple more recent Brady back from slabbing.
The TX Exclusive set of cards is under rated. I also have a Bronze TX Super Bowl one at PSA

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[2014BESTSERVICE]

OK so apparently inventory girl happened to notice I'd slowed down my Clemens inventory and asked for more pics
She was advised I was having trouble locating some 2004 inventory and to please wait
I then got an email asking about 5 cards from 2016 - which at first made me think twice because I don't collect Clemens post-career
Meaning I stopped with 2008 items, so why would I have stuff from 2016 ??

It was then I realized she was referring to a rare exception I made with 2016 National Treasures
Word on the street had filtered out that some pieces of inventory had been purchased by Panini from the old DLP stock
Some were released in 2015 NT baseball and more apparently in 2016. After some calls and digging- decided to buy some select pieces

Below is what I purchased that I could confirm came from the old DLP stock
Think there is 2-3 more pieces out there I haven't seen yet I'll buy when I see them
I bought the Leather signature only because I liked it. It is NOT one of the confirmed older items

The button I think is #15 or 16 total. I believe I am down to just 2 buttons total to locate ( non 1/1) to own all the non 1/1 button variations that exist
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[jmc855]

Been throwing on a few 2004 Leaf Exhibit Clemens variations on some orders to knock off some registry variation holes
Still have = Oh, I don't know ,maybe 50-100 variations to slab. Slowly adding- they are just not priority
Too many variations to care much about how fast I finish slabbing the series
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View attachment 339194
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Nice Jersey #22 !

 

[2014BESTSERVICE]

OK next up on the inventory list is 2004 ASTROS FANFEST Roger Clemens cards. Like I said I am missing slabs but I'll scan what I have for my inventory girl
Not only am I missing two slabs I know I have from this series, but a whole bunch of 2004 Absolute slabs as well
Will show them when I locate them. I did locate some cracked 2004 Absolute slabs I will need to re-slab soon

As part of a 5 day long series of events held during All-Star weekend, fans could participate in what was called the "Collectors Showcase". Basically a convention of displays and dealers with sports items including cards. The also held several pimp auctions ( i.e. Auction House) events. Think of a 5 day long kid infested series of events

I do have the list of what occurred during the 5 days, but won't list it here, should anyone need the Fanfest events that occurred for backup for their stuff

Part of one of the events as I said was the " Collectors Showcase" in the George Brown Convention Center
Just like any show, you could go to the manufacturer exhibit booths and buy their products
As part of the product purchases, they had what was called the "Wrapper Redemption program"
You could buy packs, boxes, or even cases, open and turn in wrappers for additional redemption's

The Redemption card set featured 12 current or former Astros players, and has four "supposed" game-worn jersey cards. Cards in the set include: Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, Roger Clemens, Richard Hidalgo, Jeff Kent, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and four different Nolan Ryan/Roger Clemens dual player cards

Clemens and Ryan were both on Fleer, Topps, Upper Deck, and Playoff cards together
Most everyone lists the four. Clemens also appeared on a 5th card solely by himself which was a jersey card for case buys

Below is my slabbed items I can find. I will show off the Playoff and Fleer when I can locate the slabs. I have a dupe slabbed jersey and 2-3 raw jersey pieces

I also included my Clemens "Collectors Showcase" badge I snagged. Had to wear it while inside but hey least it was my player. Think I also have the Biggio, Kent, Oswalt and Ryan badges somewhere

While I do not collect such things, these badges should you decide you want "everything of your player" have NINE levels ==> All-Access , Collectors Showcase, Exhibitor ( plus MVP Exhibitor), Facility, Media, Performer , Staff, and Special Guest

You can also find pins, a bunch of special limited edition artworks, hats, t-shirts, etc etc etc- get the picture? They pimped everything
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AND THE PRIOR MENTIONED FANFEST ROGER CLEMENS BADGE I WORE
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

OK found 6 of the 20+ slabs missing from 2004 Absolute, and wasn't too thrilled a bunch were cracked, but hey lots of travel on them

In the case of Tools of The Trade you will find the upper level numbered items ( 150,200 and 250) all have a nice dark Blue hue to them. The lower numbers ( 100 and below) will be more of a Greenish Blue tint. Be it game used or base, all were printed in similar time frames. I immediately noticed this years ago when I compared my items pulled direct from my packs and stuff I bought online. Became obvious that they decided not to change color levels for obvious reasons ( labor intensive and cost consuming to do this)

Considering I graded many of these April 2006 I remember being fairy certain of authenticity and speaking to a printing expert back then convinced me. The slabs I'm missing are all Spectrums and Game used. Pretty sure I'll come across them eventually as always just takes time to sort the mess
Like I said about 20+ are missing so another 14 or so should be located eventually
I did locate one of my 1/1 from the series also
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

While I try locating the rest of the 2004 missing Absolute slabs I'm going to catch up scans for both eBay and inventory.

In 2003, Upper Deck decided to go out online and purchase some of their own product, then began inserting them in various 2003 UD products. I purchased very little UD product at that time ( maybe Ultimate and a few other series) so I have zero recollection of the various sets these supposedly got inserted into. Many catalogs indicated they were inserted into "UD Series 2" product at the rate of about 1 card per 288 packs or so ( roughly 1 a case in other words).

These items were labeled as " 2003 Upper Deck Bonus " cards. I've seen 2 of Clemens 3 cards at various times. Bypassed the # to 117 one figuring I'll see it again . Of course never went back and searched for my missing items because new stuff appeared, then more new stuff- you get the picture. If you own one of the # to 117 items ( or the other to 12) see me I'll be more than happy to make a generous offer to knock a checklist item off

I did pluck one of the items, so I'll show the source piece they would have repurchased, and then the UD Bonus item
In this case, its a piece of a World Series Base from the 1999 Yankees World Series inserted into 2000 UD HoloGrFx product

I'll word this next statement carefully. UD had 'sourcing issues" since shown to be - um- "dubious" ( i.e. eventually convicted of crimes) . You'll need to forgve me on doubting either piece I own is an actual " game used" World Series item. I base this on the fact that microscope checking of the two items in my possession puts in doubt both came from the same source. That's all I'll say about that subject. I state facts- not circumstantial stuff. They do NOT match. Plain and simply one piece "might" be ok but the other certainly isn't
I'd need an actual GU base from that series to compare both my items to to tell which is which. Since I never bothered contacting anyone with access to an actual 1999 World Series GU piece no way of researching today
To convince me would require the same type of chain of command handling they use nowadays for "actual" items anyways

ORIGINAL PIECE IN 2000 UPPER DECK HOLOGRPFX PACKS
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2003 UPPER DECK BUYBACK 2003 UD BONUS ITEM
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Some recent PSA returns. Was a little caught off guard on the Fence Busters until I turned it then realized what caused the 9
The Monty and Freddy Autos were pack pulls from boxes 3-4 years ago that were lying around in sub piles forever
Glad I sent them in during cheaper days
Tek surfaces are tough Topps usual crap QC. Gems are hard to come by
Doubt the Pedro will be topped grade wise but we shall see
Helton OC Collection was a major surprise I knew it was good but expected a 9. It survived two cross country trips as well !!
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

More BGS & PSA Tom Brady back from slabbing. Tons of Brees & Manning still to come
Got some Brady also still to scan as I needed to gather a bunch of separate subs together to show certain runs together

A few surprises but all in all fairly graded ( except for the ones they keep damaging). Missed an obvious issue on the retail
If its cheap not gonna waste my time reporting damages -but if its one of my numbered items- sure will get the report
White on the Artifacts is lint
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Been a while ( 2 months) since I was able to do anything but sleep, eat and throw up, with some occasional work, so getting back to scanning inventory

When last I left was doing 2004 Absolute. In 2 months of off / on looking I cannot locate the other 20 or so missing slabs so will move down to 2003 now. Up first is items from the 2003 UPPER DECK MVP subset . One of the cheaper box entries designed for the kids and money savers

The boxes had all sorts of nice cheap inserts, a variety of game used items, and numerous cool subsets
The base cards also had gold, silver, and black parallel serial number items. Tougher to pull than you'd think
They came in boxes with 24 packs 8 cards a pack, with retail sets having the end of the set with new rookies and such

Info on the series can be found here 2003 UPPER DECK MVP

I'll be showing various Upper Deck subsets as well today a I get to them. All are short and sweet insert sets
Up first though is the MVP subset. The Gold insert was probably a throw in on a sub since I do inserts 3rd or 4th in my order of sub rules I follow
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[2014BESTSERVICE]

Next down the inventory scanning line is the 2003 UPPER DECK LEADING SWATCHES subset
Part of the massive 2003 Upper Deck releases, this subset of game / event used items was intended to show off top statistical achievements in various categories of pitching and hitting. There are tons of stars, semi stars and well known names in this subset, with a variety of great colors shown off
The set shows the items in two styles of subset- one a basic insert, and the other a Gold serial numbered version

Info on the subset is contained here 2003 UPPER DECK LEADING SWATCHES

Roger Clemens had two subset items, one showing off his Strikeout achievements (RC) and the other his ERA ( RC1)
Shown below are both the base item and his serial numbered Gold versions
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[Dazed]

Glad you're back!

 

[2014BESTSERVICE]

@Dazed glad to be feeling well enough to post and scan. Strange how some treatments you literally have to be made to feel like total crap in order to get better- go figure


I have a few newly scanned adds to my existing sets and more knick knack scans to satisfy inventory girl
I was able to slab two missing 2007 Premier items and a 2005 DK item. The BGS 7 is about average for the 2005 DK series of Framed stuff
The HOU Triple Remnant is the Platinum variation # to 10 and the Masterpiece obviously a 1/1 slab

Also shown below are two knick knack scans from 2003 Upper Deck Honor Roll. I need to locate 2-3 missing slabs from that series
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A few knick knack slabs from 2003 Upper Deck Honor Roll for inventory girl
Think the other public scans failed to have my blackout so I'll do again to make inventory girl happy
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[MrMet2.0]

Glad you're back!

Agreed!


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