by Matt | Mar 16, 2015 | Baseball, Cards
Last week, right at the height of my fever and coughing, I got a package in the mail. I wasn’t expecting anything, my eBay bids had all run dry, it was completely out of the blue. AJ, the Lost Collector, had dropped me a package and it completely made my day. Out of nowhere, he sent me a whole collection of Sox cards, with an emphasis on the large father…
Just look at that. Three refractors, two Chromes and MINIS! His note said “Hope you need a few of these”. Dude, I needed all of them!
He even followed it up with another refractor, this time for ManRam, two Topps Flagship Minis and a sweet Yaz mini to boot.
AJ, these are awesome. They totally made my day when I was super sick. I don’t know when I’ll send it, but a return bomb of epic cardboard has your name all over it.
by Matt | Feb 4, 2015 | Cards
I’ve been neglecting to post this for quite some time, mostly due to laziness and a general sense that no one really cares. My friend, the one who had previously found a complete sets of 1980’s products for me at some local Texas auction house, came up big again. This time however, he bought out someone’s flea market collection. He had sent me photos, mid-adventure, of a particular set (’91 Studio) and asked if I was interested. I’ve always enjoyed that set, and at the price they were asking ($3) I couldn’t really say “no”. When I met up with him a few weeks later he opened the trunk of his car to reveal an entire utopia of junk-era wax. He had procured the entire collection the seller had available, allegedly for pennies. I didn’t even know what to say. It was his biggest haul to date and I was extremely grateful…
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by Matt | Feb 4, 2015 | Cards
I feel like a terrible person. Dennis did something super nice and it got left beside the scanner at work and wasn’t rediscovered until today. We recently moved office suites (in the same building, just down the hall) and it’s been a solid two weeks and most everything is still in boxes. Dennis, in his awesomeness, sent some “Christmas Cards” to folks he traded with this year (which is an awesome idea) and I was one of those lucky people. Our original trade was awesome enough, but Dennis went out of his way to spread a little Christmas cheer.
A beautiful red Ginter relic of Clay Buchholz, one of my favorite pitchers. Thank you so much Dennis! I know it’s terribly late to say that, but it was incredibly nice and very much appreciated. It, and the scanner, just got lost in the shuffle for a little while. If any of you haven’t traded with Dennis before, I highly recommend it.
Thanks again!
by Matt | Jan 20, 2015 | Cards
What does that even mean? I have no idea. All I know is that the collection has gone from “pretty complete” to “woah, you’ve got issues”. There is so much Brock, including some ultra-rare goodies.
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by Matt | Jan 20, 2015 | Cards
I’ve had this tidbit floating around in the back of my head for a while now, and I don’t think I ever actually stated it publicly. Here goes.
If you’re using Sharpies, you’re doing it wrong.
Phew, there, that feels better. I came to this realization a while back and actually bothered to do a little research on it. Turns out that nearly the entire card industry doesn’t use Sharpie brand pens for autographs. I know for a fact, and it’s confirmed by mutliple photos on their twitter account, that Panini uses these:
Staedtler Lumocolor
The size depends on the card. I’m assuming minis and small signing areas use the #313 (or Small/Fine) while the normal cards use the #317 (Medium). Usually in blue.
Don’t believe me?
Check out Panini’s twitter feed. Here’s a couple examples.
That’s Chris Paul, signing last week.
Here’s Michael Young of the Rangers.
See those black pens with blue caps? Yeah, those are Staedtlers. I also believe Topps uses them as well. Here’s an example, not directly from Topps, but from Bowman’s twitter feed, of a prospect signing his Bowman Chrome cards…
I added the image of the pen next to it for comparison.
I’ve always used Staedtler products for art projects, mainly their pencils and Mars erasers, but when I started noticing a trend with the pens I went out and picked some up. They are awesome.
They dry instantly, there’s zero worry about them smudging. They write on just about anything, including Chrome and super glossy cards! They’re also certified by the ACMI which means they’re most likely acid free and fairly archival.
So, just as a PSA for all you autograph chasers, go hit up your local art supply store and pick a few of these up. Even if you’re not chasing players for their John Hancock, they’re just nice pens to use on a daily basis.
by Matt | Dec 17, 2014 | Cards
The checklist gods have been exceptionally merciful this year. Red Sox cards are actually down to somewhat normal levels. A short print here, a hard to find auto there, but for the most part team sets were absolutely the way to go. Since that’s the bulk of my collecting, I suppose I should get around to talking about them at some point. It’s also nearly the end of the year, which means just about everything has already been released, so it’s a good time to go back a month or so and look at some team set picks ups from the Fall and Winter.
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