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I bought a lot of of cards this year. Not as many as in the past, and certainly less than many, but a good amount. Most of them are for my permanent collection, a few as investments, some to fill out sets i feel obligated to complete, and a few for no apparent reason. But so many provoke no reaction, no joy, on receipt. There were a few thoguh that i really love and felt real joy when i look at them. These are their stories.
Back in March, I got a card I've been wanting for almost 17 years, a 1993 Finest Frank Thomas Refractor. This card once booked for $2000, and I had never seen one in person. With eBay, and the cooling of Frank's cards over time, they became more accessible and affordable. So for about 6.5% of it's peak value, I acquired a new cornerstone for my Frank collection.
Then late in the year I acquired another one. I always liked the 1997 Notable Nicknames set, from the lesser lights to the immortals. The Frank in the set is interesting because he had to sign them twice. The story I heard back in the day was that he didn't like the nickname he was tagged with, and didn't like signing it. After receiving cards with only his sig on them, Donruss sent them back saying he was obligated to include the inscription on them. He grudgingly did so, writing Big Hurt in small script on the right edge. I don't know how true that story is, but I like it, so that's what I'm going with. I never liked that nickname, either.
In the spring I got the first football card I bought in years. #2/5.
John Jefferson was a nice receiver in the Air Coryell offense with the Chargers in the early 80s, but was overshadowed by HOFer Charlie Joiner and QB Dan Fouts. Growing up in Philadelphia I only rarely saw AFC games, usually just the highlights. In my mind's eye, it seems like every week, Jefferson was making some sort of crazy acrobatic one-handed catch between 3 defenders in the end zone of some west coast opponent, so he is sort of a mythical player in my mind. In truth, his stats aren't too spectacular, but that doesn't matter. Check out the 1997 UD Legends card and that's what he was doing every play for me.
Another pair of late season acquisitions, someone auctioned off a good chunk of the baseball, football, and hockey Precious Metals sets, and I was lucky enough to get 2 future HOFers. I hope to add more someday, especially the Franks, but they are really tough.
I had been building this set almost since it came out, but was stuck with one to go for at least 5 years now. Prices for the A-rod were never cheap. They started at $200 and went up quickly after he arrived in the majors. They were going for $800 raw during his MVP years, but then I noticed something. In November last year after the Yankees won the series, one of these cards went for $356, which shocked me. So I started keeping an eye on them. Then in November, I checked eBay one night and there was a BGS 9 for under $400 ending in 15 minutes. I reflexively threw a bid on it, and won it for about $420. While I certainly hadn't planned on spending that money that night, it was a good buy, I think, and ended my quest for the set finally after 16 years.
One of the joys in the modern hobby is finding a card you didn't know existed. With eBay and beckett checklists and such, there is usually little mystery in a set, except for gimmicky Jeter Bush cards. But with UD's issues this year, and Beckett not listing everything, I was very excited when I was contacted out of the blue by a collector who had pulled this card and offered it for sale. After a very brief negotiation the card was in-hand in just a couple days. Maybe the only one in circulation, this is the one Sizemore card I was most excited to get this year.
Back in March, I got a card I've been wanting for almost 17 years, a 1993 Finest Frank Thomas Refractor. This card once booked for $2000, and I had never seen one in person. With eBay, and the cooling of Frank's cards over time, they became more accessible and affordable. So for about 6.5% of it's peak value, I acquired a new cornerstone for my Frank collection.
Then late in the year I acquired another one. I always liked the 1997 Notable Nicknames set, from the lesser lights to the immortals. The Frank in the set is interesting because he had to sign them twice. The story I heard back in the day was that he didn't like the nickname he was tagged with, and didn't like signing it. After receiving cards with only his sig on them, Donruss sent them back saying he was obligated to include the inscription on them. He grudgingly did so, writing Big Hurt in small script on the right edge. I don't know how true that story is, but I like it, so that's what I'm going with. I never liked that nickname, either.
In the spring I got the first football card I bought in years. #2/5.
John Jefferson was a nice receiver in the Air Coryell offense with the Chargers in the early 80s, but was overshadowed by HOFer Charlie Joiner and QB Dan Fouts. Growing up in Philadelphia I only rarely saw AFC games, usually just the highlights. In my mind's eye, it seems like every week, Jefferson was making some sort of crazy acrobatic one-handed catch between 3 defenders in the end zone of some west coast opponent, so he is sort of a mythical player in my mind. In truth, his stats aren't too spectacular, but that doesn't matter. Check out the 1997 UD Legends card and that's what he was doing every play for me.
Another pair of late season acquisitions, someone auctioned off a good chunk of the baseball, football, and hockey Precious Metals sets, and I was lucky enough to get 2 future HOFers. I hope to add more someday, especially the Franks, but they are really tough.
I had been building this set almost since it came out, but was stuck with one to go for at least 5 years now. Prices for the A-rod were never cheap. They started at $200 and went up quickly after he arrived in the majors. They were going for $800 raw during his MVP years, but then I noticed something. In November last year after the Yankees won the series, one of these cards went for $356, which shocked me. So I started keeping an eye on them. Then in November, I checked eBay one night and there was a BGS 9 for under $400 ending in 15 minutes. I reflexively threw a bid on it, and won it for about $420. While I certainly hadn't planned on spending that money that night, it was a good buy, I think, and ended my quest for the set finally after 16 years.
One of the joys in the modern hobby is finding a card you didn't know existed. With eBay and beckett checklists and such, there is usually little mystery in a set, except for gimmicky Jeter Bush cards. But with UD's issues this year, and Beckett not listing everything, I was very excited when I was contacted out of the blue by a collector who had pulled this card and offered it for sale. After a very brief negotiation the card was in-hand in just a couple days. Maybe the only one in circulation, this is the one Sizemore card I was most excited to get this year.
