The Year in Review

Is 2012 really coming to an end already?!  In some ways this year has seemed to fly by while at other times it seems to have dragged.  It's been a great year overall.  Although the frequency of my posting has dropped since the end of the baseball season, it doesn't mean that I'm not collecting or just as excited about trading cards as I was 12 months ago.

I may have not been able to pick up as many key cards as I had wanted to, but I was thrilled to make this nice 2012 Topps Gold Rush auto Tim Hudson my first auto of the year.  To this day I still haven't seen many of this card made available online so I'm especially happy to have grabbed it when I had the opportunity.

 As the year progressed I was able to add a few other autos of Huddy to my PC.  Still haven't grabbed any of his 2012 Triple Threads autos yet...perhaps that will be a goal going into 2013.

One segment of my collection that doesn't always get as much attention as other segments is my NC State collection.  Back in the spring I was thrilled to see the Pack headed to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.  It's been awhile since there has been an NC State player to make a big impact in the majors, but that doesn't stop me from rooting on my favorite collegiate team.

Of all the great things that came out of 2012, one announcement wasn't so great - especially if you were a Braves fan.  After a very long and successful career with the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones announced his retirement before the season would begin.  What a awesome final season it was too - for both Chipper and the Braves.  I still have a bitter taste in my mouth for how the season ended in the stupid one game playoff against the Cardinals.  At any rate thanks Chipper for all the great memories!

Another loss the blogging community suffered was the Sewing Machine Guy withdrawing from collecting.  In my few short years of blogging and trading I came to really respect the SMG.  I completely understand why he (and JABO) left the community so no hard feelings there.  Before the SMG guy left, he was kind enough to send me this awesome low serial numbered jersey card of Panthers WR, Steve Smith.  Thanks buddy for all of your support!

 

Not all of my purchases were of baseball players.  Don't ask me why I was so eager to pick up an auto of TV's Super Nanny, but this is my favorite non-baseball card of the year.

Of course I can't do a year in review post without mentioning another great year of hosting my monthly Affordable Group Breaks.  2012 saw a lot of great product ripped spanning nearly 20 years.  The breaks may have slowed down in the last few months (it's a lot a work you know!) I do have a great break on taps to kick of 2013.  Sign-ups have already been posted so check out the top right corner of the blog for all the info.  A big thank you to all the participants and vendors that supplied the boxes.  It was a lot of fun and I hope to carry on the tradition of Affordable Group Breaks again in 2013.

The last thank you I want to make is to all of you - the readers.  There are no shortages of great blogs and bloggers out there now so I appreciate all the support I've received throughout the year.  Here's to a great 2013 here at Cardboard Collections.  Don't forget to like us on Facebook as well as I do post exclusive content there from time to time.

Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:16-20

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New International Version

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

My family would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.  Hope it is everything you expect and want it to be this year.

Pack Break: 2012 Panini Cooperstown

It's been awhile since I've featured a Pack Break here so why not take a quick look at Panini's newest baseball offering - 2012 Cooperstown.

The base set is comprised of 150 cards plus another 20 short printed "color tint" cards.  I actually don't care for the way the tinted SP cards look so if I decide to chase the set I'll just stick with 1-150.  In typical Panini fashion there is at least one sequentially numbered parallel set - Crystal Collection.

Inserts are many and most of them look really sharp.  Bronze History, Cooperstown Signatures (on card autos!), Induction, Famous Moments, Famous Moments Signatures, High Praise, Field Generals, Museum Pieces, Hall History, Ballparks, The Village, Credentials, With Honors (a cool military salute), Voices of Summer, Ty Cobb Georgia Peach (1 card) and Ty Cobb Iron Horse (1 card).  I should mention these are cards that can be found in retail packs like the one I've sampled.  I believe there are retail blaster exclusive cards as well as the stand hobby exclusive stuff.

The card fronts are nice looking and have that throwback look.  With the black and white photos there isn't a lot of color splash, but I kinda prefer that.  At the top of the card you have the year the player was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The card back gives you some info on the player, but not much in the stats department.  I'm guessing most collector's already know the stats for these guys so Panini just opted to highlight one particular year of their career.

It appears the inserts are inserted one per pack.  Part of me likes this as it keeps me coming back for more packs, while the other half of me realizes it'll take longer to put this set together without having a trading partner.

The insert in this pack is from the Famous Moments set.  While it may not be my favorite insert set it still has a very nice design.  The words in black just above the bat states this is the bat used by Willie Mays on April 30, 1961 when he hit 4 home runs in a single game.

Flip the card over and you're treated to more information and career highlights of the player, in this case of the "Say Hey Kid".

Thus far I've bought a few retail packs and I've gotta say I really like what Panini has done here.  I've quickly been losing interest in building sets (thanks in part to 2012 Topps and their shenanigans), but this is a set I could see building...well at least #1-150.  I do hate SP cards when they are numbered as part of the base set, but I guess that is something I should get used to in this day and age of collecting.

If you have bought any of these cards or if you want to trade shoot me an e-mail.  I'll probably get a want list and trade list posted soon.

Sunday Verse

Luke 1:26-28

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New International Version

[The Birth of Jesus Foretold] In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Christmas is fast approaching...and my wife and kids are all sick.  I guess the bright side is we can get this crud out of the way before the big day arrives.  Remember to love on your family as the nation still mourns the tragic loss of life in CT earlier this week.

One baseball card note before I'm out.  Sign-ups are still going on for next month's Affordable Group Break featuring 2 jumbo boxes of 2013 Topps Series 1.  I can't believe the Yankees, Rangers, Angels (among other teams) are still sitting there unclaimed!  See the top right corner of the blog for the link to sign-up. 

2012 Topps WWE Heritage - Need help!

I decided to fore go purchasing a hobby box of the new 2012 Topps WWE Heritage and just stick to retail.  As you may have noticed from an earlier post, I've had great success thus far by pulling a John Cena auto.  I'm really close to finishing the base set, but I still need a few cards.  I also still need lots of the various inserts to round out my set.  I'm not really focusing on the relics at this moment, but if you have opened any of this stuff and want to work out a trade please let me know.


Here is my want list showing what I still lack...

Here is my trade list of what I have to offer in trade...

I would also entertain the idea of buying the cards I need...

Sunday Verse

John 15:5, 8

New International Version “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Affordable Group Break - 2013 Topps x2 Hobby Jumbo Boxes!

It's not too early to be thinking about baseball in 2013.  Last year I ordered a hobby jumbo box of 2012 Topps Series 1 for a group break and it seemed like everyone was happy with the outcome.  So why not do it again for 2013, but let's double it this time around!  We'll be opening 2 hobby jumbo boxes of 2013 Topps Series 1.  This should net us 1,000 base cards, 2 autos, 4 relics and 2 commemorative relic cards and a whole bunch of inserts.

Instead of taking the pick one team and get a 2nd team randomized approach, I'll be making each team available.  I realize that not all the teams will likely sell so this is what I intend on doing:

Each team will cost $12.50 + $5.50 shipping = $18.00 total.  That is still less than the cost of a blaster!  If all 29 teams are claimed, then everyone will get a $6.00 refund (essentially making each team $6.50 before shipping).  Sound fair?  In order to make this a reality I'll need to place the order ASAP to lock in the pre-order price so claim your team(s) today.

TO CLAIM A TEAM:

- Leave a comment with the team of your choice

- Please e-mail me your screen name, real name & address, PayPal e-mail address and your team (cardboardcollections at yahoo.com)

- Send your payment via PayPal to the same e-mail address.

- If you wish to send a check or well concealed cash please let me know up front.

Angels - Hcb Sportscards.com (PAID)
Astros - 
Athletics -
Blue Jays - D a V e (PAID)
Braves - Cardboard Collections (PAID)
Brewers - cynicalbuddha (PAID)
Cardinals - madding (PAID)
Cubs - 
Diamondbacks - Farrell Quinlan (PAID)
Dodgers - nightowl (PAID)
Giants - arpsmith (PAID)
Indians - 
Mariners - 
Marlins -
Mets - 
Nationals - CaptKirk42 (PAID)
Orioles - Ryan H (PAID)
Padres - TheUnderdog Card Collector (PAID)
Phillies - Dan (PAID)
Pirates - NY Hitman (PAID)
Rangers - Hcb Sportscards.com (PAID)
Red Sox - 
Reds - 
Rockies - Rosenort (PAID)
Royals -
Tigers - SueFitz (PAID)
Twins - 
White Sox - 
Yankees - NY Hitman (PAID)

How to store/protect/display autographed cards?

As I've been trying to utilize some down time and get a lot of my cards scanned, cataloged and put away I've been thinking about the best way to protect my autographed cards.  The autos in my team and player collections will most likely go into UltraPro pages, but will they hold up over time?

Should I place the cards in penny sleeves before putting them in pages?  Or is that an unnecessary step?  Should autos sitting in stacks waiting to be cataloged be in penny sleeves too?

Has anyone noticed any of your autos smudging or smearing since you bought/pulled them?  I noticed the ink on my Jason Heyward Topps Chrome RC looked a little odd when I went to scan it the other day.  I highly doubt many of my autos will ever really be "worth" anything, but being a Tim Hudson super collector a lot of my autos are low numbered so I'd hate for anything to happen to the autos themselves.

So what I'm asking you as the reader is to chime in and tell me how you store/protect/display your autos in your collection.  Do you page & binder them?  Do you just use the screw down or magnetic holders?  Penny sleeves or no sleeves?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Byron Mullens monster dunk

The Charlotte Bobcats got off to a great start, but are now struggling.  The 'Cats lost a 18 point 4th quarter lead last night to the Portland Trailblazers, but early in the game Byron Mullens looked like Air Jordan...well, kind of.

Byron took a 3 early in the game and missed, but he stayed with his shot.  Take a look:

It may have not been the most graceful dunk, but a dunk is a dunk.  I just hope the 'Cats can shake this 3 game losing streak and regain the same composure they showed at the beginning of the season.  No matter the outcome of the game however, the team has been fun to watch...couldn't say that about last year's 7 win team.

Sunday Verse

John 1:1-2, 14

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New International Version

[The Word Became Flesh] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

As I get ready to settle in for another Carolina Panthers football game, my prayers go out to the family of the Kansas City linebacker and the family of his girlfriend that were killed yesterday.  News reports said the couple have a 2 month old baby.  I can't even begin to imagine what both families are going through this weekend.

Jackpot pull from 2012 Topps WWE

You can probably tell from the lack of new posts here that I've been taking a break from cards in general.  It's the off season for baseball and my evenings have been full watching the NBA's Bobcats and of course football on the weekend.  However that doesn't mean that I don't still browse the card aisle at Target or Walmart from time to time.  Today on a quick trip to Walmart to grab some stamps for work I noticed they had the new 2012 Topps WWE Heritage cards.  Ever since I saw them online several months ago I knew that was a set I wanted to build, so I grabbed two rack packs to see what the cards looked like in hand.  The first rack pack I opened, bottom section contained this card just a few cards in:

Jackpot!  Now I'm not the biggest John Cena fan, but this is a pretty cool pull.  In retail rack packs the autographs are seeded 1:120 packs.  The odds of pulling one of the best autos in the series - who knows.  Earlier this year I bought a hobby box of the 2012 WWE flagship and I didn't even get a auto so this is sweet justice. 

And in case you were wondering if I'm keeping the card or not, it's already up on eBay.  Far too many times have I held onto cards for too long and I didn't want to make that mistake again.