Catching up with some Trades

I'll admit it, I'm a horrible trader.  Well at least when it comes to sharing the trades on the blog here.  I know there are several people that I've neglected to spotlight here and I apologize.  I've got so many stacks of cards sitting around that I can't even remember what they are doing there sitting there!  So I'll try to do my best and share a few recent trades that have been completed.

When I first ran across Panini's Cooperstown cards at my local Walmart I liked what I saw.  More specifically the inserts.  I saw a few cards on Mark's Ephemera blog that stood out, specifically a wooden insert called Induction Year.  I shot off an e-mail and a little later I got an envelope from Mark with these inside.

 

Mark also included a Cooperstown High Praise insert of Brooks Robinson and a nifty Griffey Jr. card from what I believe was a Upper Deck NASCAR set.  Now I just need to find something off of Mark's want list to send him in return for these awesome cards.

After I shared my two packs of Topps Silver Slate redemption cards I was hoping to get them into the hands of other collectors while grabbing some Braves cards.  Reader Brian Jarvis e-mailed me and proposed a one for one trade and just happened to have a Heath Bell.  

 

While I may be actively collecting other players more than I am Heath Bell, I was happy to make the one for one swap.

Cynicalbuddha of the Collector's Crack has been a great trader for many many years.  Sometime ago I received a large bubble mailer full of various cards that fit my collecting habits.  Here are just a few:

He went out to San Francisco and literally disappeared

Nobody stands on the sidelines in street clothes holding a clipboard better than Jimmy!

Xfractor goodness!

The year on the back says 2010, but the back is a reproduction as well so I'm guessing it's one of those Cards Your Mom Threw Out Original Backs.

Have I told everyone how much I love 3D cards?!

I love me some wrasslin' cards!

Last, but certainly not least is a trade I completed with the internet famous dayf of Cardboard Junkie.  I was lucky enough to receive a 1/1 genuine Pony card!  I actually opened this card in the car w/ my family and my 3 year old daughter Olivia saw the card from her seat.  She smiled really big and asked if I would show her the card.

If that wasn't cool enough, he also sent me a nice little stack of Chippas!  Man it's weird not seeing him patrolling 3rd base this season.

2012 Panini Cooperstown Want List

I mentioned last week or so ago that I was thinking about tackling the 150 card base set of Panini's new Cooperstown baseball set.  I finally sat down long enough to collate the handful of packs that I had and made a list of what I lack.  I also listed several insert sets on the want list as well, but those aren't a high priority at the moment (may never be if I'm honest).  So if you have any extras you want to get rid of please let me know.  At the moment I don't really have any doubles to offer in trade, but perhaps you'll see something else on my trade lists (baseball / autos, relics & more) that catch your eye.

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.