Recent slab pickups / grading

[Letch77]

Indeed...welcome back!

 

[jeffv96masters]

This next series of scans brings back some memories. I had really taken a liking to the 2003 UPPER DECK FINITE SERIES way back in 2004. I thought it was very underappreciated, and the cool design hit it off in my analytical brain. Coupled with cheap box costs ( $50-65 each) I started in on the set. Was a very heavy buyer of the boxes 2004-2006. At one point in time back in 2008 I had completed the entire series which included a very tough Ichiro auto # to just 8
And when I say the entire set I mean every base, gold, game used, all four levels of Rookie cards, patches, autos - everything was done. At the time Hideki Matsui was extremely hot and the Level 3 and Level 4 rookies were expensive buys and the game used were not cheap especially patches. Along the way made a bunch of collector friends, including former board member Drake - aka @agentjak ( now deceased) whose son now I believe keeps the set

Back when I was trying to keep my condo in 2008's housing crisis I got an offer on that Ichiro Finite auto I couldn't turn down. At the time the autos were $600-800- this offer was for $1500. So I sold the auto from the set and sent it to Japan, and decided to break the set apart
Regret selling that auto now, but at the time made a lot of business sense, and my condo was more important
Sadly I lost both that auto and had to sell my condo when wifey lost her job less than 4 months afterwards.
Eventually I moved to Vegas. So life turned out OK afterwards

Drake at the time helped buy a whole bunch of set needs he needed, so I was forever grateful to him
I've often though about trying to rebuild that set, but my current mindset won't allow me as I've moved on to other set collecting goals

Another fact I'll let loose- at one point in time I owned 27 of the available 50 UD Finite Roger Clemens autos, including the BGS 9.5/10 which was # 07/50. The same housing crisis led me to release /sell all but 4 of them. The one below I kept slabbed the others I just keep raw. Sold that BGS 9.5/10 auto to a buyer from Japan who was a major Clemens collector back when ( I'll refrain from releasing his name unless he gives me permission as I am not sure he is still collecting , and he was a very private person)

Info about the set can be obtained here 2003 UPPER DECK FINITE

Below are the slabbed versions I found, and I need to locate some of the base items and just complete the series soon
Also need to recoup my Clemens Patch Gold # to 10 I had to sell back then - that one I want back
Otherwise here's the rest less the missing 2 base items and that Patch Gold
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OH AND A DUPE GAME USED JERSEY

 

[jeffv96masters]

This next series just going to blow through scans. The 2003 UPPER DECK CLASSIC PORTRAITS SERIES I basically ignored. I hated the concept, and the 8 inch collectible busts were a non-interest to me as I only did cards. Too little Clemens cards for me to even try opening a box. I basically waited until an item hit eBay and then bought it. Probably missed out on a whole bunch as that series didn't bring me much happy if you know what I mean

Info about the series can be found here 2003 UPPER DECK CLASSIC PORTRAITS

I was able to find a bunch of game used and patches but haven't searched for the base items yet
Shown below are the stitches and Patch variations

Going to switch to scans of stuff that came back as I have to go look for the next series ( 2003 Ultimate) and that will be time consuming
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[Greg Cleveland]

I'm not big into grading, but when my LCS was sending in a submission to PSA, I thought this was worth getting slabbed, just for protection more than investment.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[jeffv96masters]

I'm not big into grading, but when my LCS was sending in a submission to PSA, I thought this was worth getting slabbed, just for protection more than investment.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Freedom Card Board mobile app

I'd have dual graded that one - love that issue !
It's these out of the mainstream issues that people look for later on= hold on to that item



Some slabs scanned that came back this month after being gone for 18 months
None too thrilled at PSA's 2021 attempts at "storage". To be honest- they did a poor job storing and handling
When damaged items of mine go from 1.6% to 8.8% of products that I mailed- yeah- poor job somewhere

Turned the Wagner from the expected PSA 7 to a PSA 5, scratched the Nomar/Jeter, and you'll see more as I scan
I am not wasting 5 seconds reporting damaged items I put declared values less than $20. Not worth the time spent scanning, mailing, waiting

Bagwell, Rickey and Hendu all graded as expected. Bagwell looks perfect but has edging issues I knew about
More to follow as I catch up. Have to work in a couple hours
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[jeffv96masters]

Another couple cards plugged into the Clemens registry and inventory updated
Found another missing Absolute slab, and the 2004 Classic Clippings Jersey Rack Bronze CPO I was missing
Another day off and another day spent scanning today

And since I know it's only a couple dozen posts and pages back the link to the rest of the jersey racks are 2004 CLASSIC CLIPPINGS JERSEY RACKS
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Also some more scans caught up on my PSA sub from 17 months ago
The Rolen 2005 DK Challenge, Erstad 2001 Elite Red Die Cut, and Piazza 2008 Spectrum Jersey are all Pop 1 none higher. All the Macs are from boatloads of Mac's I own that I'm slabbing and selling
Piazza think that's one of the rare game used cards he has in an A's uniform
All going you know where
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[jeffv96masters]

Bunch more of my Tom Brady are back. The National Convention 10 already is at a new home
Gotta get used to the PSA 8 and 9 now. Tougher rules. Gotta retrain the brain I guess
I do it all old school - no loupe -so I know what to look for
Been using a magnifier now to see what I am missing when they come back so I can remind myself
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[jeffv96masters]

So some more scanning catch up late night before I go to work

New BGS slabs back. Bunch of low pop stuff. I missed a "dot" on the back of the Fields that was patently obvious once I got it back. Rest were about as expected no surprises in this group which is a good thing considering all the damaged stuff I keep seeing
All the cards came from stuff I broke back in 2020/21 time frames and subbed

Burrow is a Pop 8, the Hurts a Pop 2, the Ja Revolution base card a Pop 5, and the Trae Pink a Pop 2 currently
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[jeffv96masters]

So I found some missing slabs for my Clemens inventory I scanned again recently
Below are two of the 2004 ASTROS FANFEST missing slabs I couldn't find a little while ago
One of these days when I can will upgrade both. Also located some 2004 Absolute I am scanning
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These Tom Brady PSA slabs rolled in over the last few months. Catching up with scans
Many have new homes already . More to follow as I catch scanning up
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[jeffv96masters]

More slabs back from grading. Basically all but the Brady Prestige from 2020-2021 box breaks
I paid for just one of the boxes- broke the rest for a friend who let me keep the leftovers and use for some slab sales
As you can see took me two years to sub and get returns
Just can't seem to get a Gem Green Lawrence I've popped both in the Pop reports

Higgins and Lamb being two of the exciting newbies making waves was glad to see those come back graded well
The Trey Lance is from a single Absolute blaster box I broke , and the Tyrese poppage from a Select mega box
Since I did the breaking and upkeep no damages they are as they were packaged
All are Pop 1 or low pop items as usual. I have some lower graded CeeDee ( bunch of 9 and lower) will be scanning
these are just the main highlights first
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[jeffv96masters]

So some of the missing 2004 Absolute Memorabilia slabs made an appearance. I showed off the 91 Spectrum variations a little while ago. Below are the base 91 Hobby and base 91 Retail versions. Generally I wouldn't even have these slabbed yet as base cards are last

So I must have done them as sub "fillers" to round off a sub

Also scanned now is the base Dual team tandems with Andy Pettitte, plus a few more Tools of the Trade Red Sox #127 and Yankees #128 items
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[jeffv96masters]

More of my Brady back from PSA. And while I am happy about the PSA 10 Black Longevity - I am white hot about them damaging another item

The Black is nice but it just galls me I have to keep buying cards and sending new stuff in that's low numbered
This is the fourth numbered item below 100 I've had to do it on lately because I keep getting damaged stuff back. Enough is enough

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[jeffv96masters]

Bunch more knick knack Roger Clemens 2005 slabs for inventory girl to update
I don't think I've even looked at the PC or Throwback series in 5 or 6 years now
Maybe in the coming months see what's what it's not a priority right now

The Prestige Purple is a dupe I'll just put up soon gotta get my dupes outta the storage unit and gone
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DUPE IS BELOW= I already own his uniform # 22/100 in BGS 9 so this ones gonna disappear
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[jeffv96masters]

More of the BGS subs back. We showed a bunch of QB but I have been mixing in receivers as well
Keenan of course is well known. I'm expecting big things from both CeeDee and Tee this year

These Clear cards are just bears to Gem- think I have 1 gem in 50+ subs of clear cards with BGS & PSA. Just brutal on surface
A ton of Mint 9 though so that's become the norm. The 9 auto was expected as it looks like the marker used was losing ink and streaky
Lots of open spacing where you'd expect solid. Happens when the markers cheap
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[jeffv96masters]

Ever start in on something, then realize it leads you down a search for additional information because little to none is available ? Or the info that is available is woefully short, devoid of pictures , and lacking additional info ,research etc etc etc
Happens to me all the time when I come across something I am working on for my Clemens registry and the work involves set collecting at the same time. I always run into some problem where a website that existed back in the day was functional - but , well, not exactly top notch or informative. Basically someone mails it in and it flies because the product is selling itself well enough not to justify additional resources

Such is the case with the 2005 eTopps program. God knows I now wish I'd kept all the paperwork from back then.

I was working on my 2005 Etopps Roger Clemens BGS registry related stuff back in October 2021, while at the same time gathering items for Biggio / Bagwell PSA submissions. I ran a simple query into Becketts OPG, which as we know basically is a bunch of checklists sent in from the manufacturer
I already knew the individual players eTopps stuff, which Beckett was somewhat up to date on
What they were not accurately showing was team related stuff, and players associated with the team stuff, or AL/NL special eTopps issues

It did however spit out four items related to 2005 Houston Astros stuff

OPG # 5701132 = 2005 eTopps #13 Houston Astros/1227
OPG # 7622051 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #14 Houston Astros/650 *
OPG # 7622054 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #17 Houston Marathon/1000 *
OPG # 7622056 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #19 Houston Astros/579 *



So I went and located all my 2005 stuff, and immediately set about emailing Beckett's Manager of Collectibles Data Publishing
I politely informed him of additional info I felt was required in OPG because player collectors registries were involved
The summary was below, and basically summarized the above, except I added a request to add players and some titles

OPG # 5701132 = 2005 eTopps #13 Houston Astros/1227
Actual Title says "Houston Astros 2005"
Needed to add Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkmann, Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, and Andy Pettitte

OPG # 7622051 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #14 Houston Astros/650 *
Actual title should say "Astros Have a Record July"
Needed to add players Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte

OPG # 7622054 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #17 Houston Marathon/1000 *
Actual Title says " Houston Marathon"
Needed to add players Roger Clemens and Chris Burke


OPG # 7622056 = 2005 eTopps Season Events #19 Houston Astros/579 *
This last one I did not find my copy, so I had to wait until another one appeared on on eBay which I purchased
I set it aside, forgetting about my 2021 request until I recently came across it and put out an APB on help ID people

Recently I was able to finally update my email request after making online inquiries
Players to be added were : Lance Berkman, Willy Taveras, Eric Bruntlett, Jose Vizcaino, Mike Lamb,
Adam Everett, Chris Burke, Roy Oswalt and Orlando Palmiero



Two of these items I now have in slabs- the other Clemens one ( ES13) is being sent in now that updates are in
The slabbed copies are below , and below that are the pics of the raw ones I will be slabbing when I get that far
The ES19 is just for a Houston Astros collector I know who collects team related stuff
I had the info added because I know Oswalt , Berkmann and other player collectors

Sadly despite my help and research I am still having issues with Beckett's Registry not recognizing slabs with the players. So working on solving that headache, since I'm the BGS Graded Board mod and Beta Test lead for registry related stuff

 

[jeffv96masters]

Bunch more backlogged slabs from 2021 now scanned for my BGS Clemens registry

Not sure why I subbed a bunch of base items . Think this was the group of items I found in Feb 2021 that had an "Oct 2016" label on it
Meaning they'd sat around 5 years waiting for slabbing and I'd have grown tired of looking at that pile and just got rid of them to get space
A base 2004 Playoff Honors jersey, 3 from 2004 Prestige , and a dupe Prime Cuts that actually upgraded one I had







Upgraded one of my 2004 Prime Cuts by accident. Generally once I slab one I set dupes aside. I musta lost track when this one went in



Which is an upgrade to one I already had slabbed so I'll locate the dupe ( again) and adios amigos

 

[jeffv96masters]

Bunch of PSA slabs scanned now all from my personal Tom Brady collection and box breaks of 2021
The Leaf Rookies and Stars stuff are just dupes I had sitting around forever, so I've been slabbing and getting rid of

I pulled both the Tatum and Curry from 1 box of 2017 Revolution that was sent to me ( forever grateful to my box sender). He let me keep a bunch of the pulls to submit and finally getting some funds from sales to do so
The Tatum looks great slabbed as does the Curry. The newer football stuff was from a $30 lot I bought during Covid shutdown
That $30 lot after slabbing has netted me well into 4 figures of sales
The Luka used to be in a BGS slab, but I thought it would sell better eventually in a PSA slab, so I cracked and subbed raw to PSA. A surface issue on the back left corner prevents any higher

I have more Registry related scans to do today after doc visits
Looks like next up on my Registry stuff is 2003 Ultimate so gotta look in two different places in storage for thin and thick stuff. Stay tuned on that. Inventory girls after me again about it and once again I'm looking at a raise in my insurance rate due to lack of scans. Health and time are affecting it sadly . I just can't do what they want fast enough
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[jeffv96masters]

The next subset I'll be going on in the registry Clemens inventory is 2003 ULTIMATE COLLECTION . One of the very few Upper Deck products I regularly purchased back when. These sets were well executed and I always believe one of UD's top products. I still have a few boxes in storage, and I did break one of these in my box break thread 2003 ULTIMATE BOX BREAK

Sadly I didn't follow UD well enough, and my main reasoning back then was 20+ years experience with a certain deceased individual did not sit well with my own personal code of conduct, so I distanced myself from them. Enough said on that subject.

Info on the set can be found 2003 ULTIMATE BASEBALL

I'll start off with the individual tier cards and move on to duals and patches next post
Missing a few slabs so once again gotta go looking through boxes on off days later on
Never saw a Tier 2 Copper # to 10 when I did search regularly, but then again I stopped looking 5-7 years ago, so gotta locate me one now. I always have loved the Tier 2 card color schemes

I also have a bunch of raw I have to sub still
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[jeffv96masters]

Went looking for my 2003 Ultimate Dual jersey and patch cards and seems I'm missing a bunch ( in one case I know I never bought one)
I haven't slabbed my base or base gold items yet, nor any of my autos, so if you expected to see those, sorry they are still in the raw state

I am missing the Pedro/Clemens Dual Gold Jersey # to 25 . Guess I never went high enough in bids way back when
Anyone has the base Jersey Gold # to 25 = I'd buy it from you and make it well worth it
Here are the other 3 Dual Jersey Maddux/Clemens (MC) and Pedro/Clemens base (PC) that I do have slabbed
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Note to those looking at the Dual Patches- there is NO base Dual Pedro/Clemens Patch card - wasn't produced so stop looking. They went with a Manny Ramirez/Pedro Martinez Dual Patch instead

When it came to patches- I was and still am a "Plain Jane" buyer. The plainer the patch, the more likely I'd buy it then or now
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[jeffv96masters]

Next up on the registry inventory sheet is items from my 2003 UD AUTHENTICS sub set. This was a strangely distributed subset that I noticed had cards from 2003 Finite. I remember having to buy all the Class 4 rookies included separately. I have no memory of opening any hobby boxes, and as a UD product more than likely I wouldn't have purchased any ( sorry - just couldn't spend money on their stuff back then due to RM ).

Info on this subset can be found here 2003 UD AUTHENTICS BASEBALL
I do see a couple boxes on eBay. Neither shows the correct UD packaging- steer clear


Not sure why I slabbed a base jersey item but I must have topped off a sub back when
I'll locate my Threads of Time jerseys and send a few in to slab and complete the jersey subset

I do have a spare Star Quality Gold numbered to Clemens Jersey number strangely- not sure which I purchased first
Slabbed them both years apart so who knows




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AND MY DUPE
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