Food Issue Smorgasboard

Steve from Tridents and Trading Cards hit me up on Twitter recently and asked about doing a trade. His baseball want lists are getting smaller and smaller and he told me he wanted to branch out and pick up some Topps football sets. I just happened to have a complete, hand collated set from 2012. We agreed to swap as he said he could help me with some of the recent food issue sets I had just added to my want lists over on TCDB. While Steve did send me a short video showcasing some of the cards, I was really impressed by the selection once the box arrived. I unpacked the box a few weeks ago and took a quick picture, but this trade deserved it's only dedicated blog post.

While I was able to put a dent into some of the food issue sets, he sent me the entire 1992 and 1993 Post cereal sets. The 1993 set is still shrink wrapped too! I remember these sets as a kid and ate many boxes of Fruity Pebbles trying to get as many of the cards as possible. Excited to be able to knock these off the lists so quickly.

I'm not familiar with the 1995 Post set so I'm glad to experience this set with at least this one card of David Justice. He was my favorite Braves player growing up and by 1995 I had already started to move on from cards as I was getting ready for college. These cards are booklets and open up to reveal a larger full color photo of the player inside.

Sticking with the Post cereal sets, here we have 2002 (left) and 2003 (right). At some point the card companies got involved as Topps handled '02 while Upper Deck handled '03. There is a noticeable difference between the two years as the UD cards are printed on a thicker cardstock and feature a glossy UV coating on the front. I might have had a card from the 2002 set in my Braves collection, but the 2003 UD set is completely new to me. These are the only cards from these sets I currently have so I'm still basically looking to buy or trade for complete sets.

Ah, Denny's Grand Slam holograms. I loved these back in the day. I remember asking my dad if we could specifically eat at Denny's for dinner while on vacation so I could score a few pack of the cards. Since the cards were only given away with the purchase of select meals, I would turn into a "meal nazi" and made sure my family only ordered one of these special meals so I could get another pack! While these cards are prone to scratching and don't photograph easily, I love these. Thankfully the design of the Denny's Grand Slam cards would get better as the years progressed.

I had a few Jimmy Dean cards from 1993, but the 1991 and 1992 cards are completely new to me. Since I received this package I was able to purchase a complete 1991 set for super cheap.

I only found about these 1992 Sargento MooTown Snackers cards from browsing the checklists over at the TCBD. Keeping it in the cheese family, Steve also sent one card from the 1994 Kraft Singles Superstars set...and of course it was of David Justice.

Score would partner with Tombstone Pizza in 1994 to release the Super-Pro Series. in 1995 it appears the two companies went their separate ways leaving Tombstone left to produce their own set. 1994 > 1995 easily.

These 1992 Mr. Turkey Superstar cards are from another set I hadn't heard of before. It looks like Sara Lee had a line of lunch meat in the early 90's under the Mr. Turkey name. Must've been regional because I sure don't remember that. The card's design eats up a lot of the photo, but I've seen worse. I'm still looking to complete this set.

The 1992 French's set is one that I am familiar with, but sadly I didn't have any of the cards prior to receiving these 3. The green boarders remind me a little of the 1992 Fleer set...though I can't tell if that's a good thing or not!

These 1991 Pepsi Superstar cards are new to me as well. I love the glove catching the Pepsi can in the top corner of the card.

The following year Diet Pepsi got the card treatment with it's own set...however the design on both the front and back looks a lot like the 1992 Post cereal set. Coincidence?

When it comes to trading cards at McDonald's I was more familiar with their Hoops and Upper Deck sets, however in 1992 Donruss partnered with the golden arches to release a MVP set. Minus the McD's MVP logo in the top corner and the player's name being printed in a metallic gold ink, these look very similar to the regular 1992 Donruss set.

These are probably 3 of my favorite cards in the box. First we have a 2003 Fleer Pepsi card of Chipper Jones. These are smaller than your standard trading card, but still very nice. The set is 30 cards so I still have a good many of these to track down. The next smaller than normal card is from the 1996 Pizza Hut set. There are only 4 cards in this set and these seem pretty hard to track down on the secondary market. I love the pairing of Griffey and Maddux as both players were on the top of their games in the mid-90's. The last card hails from the 2013 Topps Archives Fan Favorite Autograph set. While Otis Nixon might have struggled with his share of personal demons off the field later in his career, I loved watching him blaze the base paths and patrol center field in Atlanta. I believe this marks my first auto of him too!

At first glance I thought this was a random Fleer Tradition card that Steve sent over. I flipped the card over and noticed it was 3 of 12, then I noticed the Twizzlers logo at the bottom. I knew Twizzlers had some card sets, but I didn't know they collaborated with Fleer.

What?!?! Defux on a food issue trading card?! Yes please!! I'm familiar with Church's Chicken (though I've never ate any of their food), but I didn't now they partnered with Pinnacle in 1994 to release two different sets. These Show Stoppers are beautiful in hand and I must complete this set as fast as I can!

Steve must have peeked at my want lists as he sent over two cards from the awesome 1996 Pinnacle Christie Brinkley Collection. I now have most of the Braves from this set, only leaving me with the Indians players before the set is complete.

We are finally to the end of this post! A huge shout out to Steve for hooking me up with so many great cards. I'm having a fun time working on all of these various food issue sets and you've been a tremendous help with getting me kick started. 

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 5

30 DAY BASEBALL CARD CHALLENGE

DAY 5

A certified autograph card of one of your favorite players

Growing up in Charlotte, NC, the Braves were my grandfather's team. I remember trips down to the old Fulton County Stadium with my grandfather and father and now that both of those great men are gone, those are special memories. Alongside those memories include watching David Justice play for the Braves. 

I remember having a giant poster of Justice on my bedroom door. The guy was a beast and a lot of fun to watch play. While I have amassed a nice collection of his cards, I don't have many autos. I do however own this 2012 Topps Chasing History auto. I still don't care for the giant holographic silver stickers, but hey it's still an autograph, right? This card captures Justice in mid swing, most likely hitting the ball out of the ballpark.

Surprise Christmas Package...That I'm Just Now Getting to Posting About

Right around Christmas I came home from work and was greeted at the door by my lovely wife...although she didn't have that lovely look on her face. Nope, I walked in the door to her stink eye. She was standing there, holding a rather large USPS Priority box.

You see, I have a lot of hobbies and tend to spend too much money at times. Whenever a package shows up she wants the 411 on it and this was one time that I couldn't tell her what was inside...because even I didn't know! I thought the return address looked familiar, but I wasn't sure so I proceeded to open up the package.

To my surprise I found new, sealed Kenner Starting Lineups of Braves players David Justice and Kevin Millwood. There was an empty Pinnacle Inside can featuring Chipper Jones, a Topps Screen Plan tin again featuring Chipper (and the card inside too!), a large tin of Donruss Preferred featuring Carolina Panthers QB Kerry Collins (and some guy named Aikman) and a 100 count box of cards. Inside the box was a slew of Braves and Panthers players, including some nice older cards of Phil Neikro. Inside the Preferred tin were a few more cards. An autographed card of Bruce Chen (of who I share the same exact birthdate), a Stefan Lefors football/jersey card and a very cool Keary Colbert card featuring cut pieces of his helmet mask. Yeah, those players never really lived up to their expectations and did much in the pros, but the cards none the less are very cool.

So, who sent me all of this loot? It was none other than Dennis from Too Many Verlanders. I'm really embarrased that here it is the 10th of February and I'm just now typing up my thank you post. Dennis' gift absolutely came out of left field and I really, really appreciate it. I know I haven't been as active with my blog, reading and commenting on other blogs or trading as I would like. I'm sure there are plenty of other Braves fans that blog so I'm humbled to receive this loot. Looks like it's time for me to Pay It Forward. Thanks again Dennis!

Trade with Finding Time for Cardboard

Andy from Finding Time for Cardboard and I recently helped each other by sending each other some cardboard we wanted. This package from actually came in about a week ago, but I was sitting on the white sand beach of Half Moon Cay last week this time.

Inside the package was a nice mixture of cards from a few want lists such as 2016 Topps, 2015 Allen & Ginter and 2015 Gypsy Queen, plus several cards from various players I collect. Much thanks for the 2016 Topps as I creep closer and closer to finishing series 1.

In the PC stack were a few cards of David Justice, Jeff Francoeur, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. I particularly like the Fleer Sports Illustrated card of Justice. I always loved that set...the great full bleed photography, simple design and glossy thick card stock.

Andy even tossed in one of the Braves cards from the new 2016 Wacky Packages MLB set. I'm actually working on this set so it was nice to get another of this card for my Braves collection.

I appreciate the deal and better yet, I got a new blog to put on my blogroll! Thanks for the cards Andy...let's do this again sometime.

The hardest part is waiting

Cards like this David Justice auto makes it even harder waiting for April 1st to get here.  Funny thing about this card is I didn't even know Justice was part of the Chasing History auto set, let alone he was pictured in a Braves uniform.  Even better the card cost me less than $4 shipped!

David Justice 2004 Topps Series Stitches

While moving my stuff I recently came across this card that I didn't know I had.  Isn't that a great feeling?  The card hails from 2004 Topps Series 2.  I like David Justice.  I like bat cards.  The fact that it's the first two and "from" the World Series makes it even cooler. 

The back reads that Justice has played in 6 World Series and has a record of 2-4.  Of course I remember his time w/ the Braves and correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he also reach the Fall Classic w/ the Indians and Yankees?  I believe this is one of my favorite relic cards I own of Justice.

Cheap Seats

Like a lot of collector's I had a period of time that I just didn't care as much about baseball cards as I do now.  The early 2000's was that time period for me.  Every once in awhile I run across cards from that time period that really stand out for one reason or another.  A few days I found one of those cards that peaked my curiousity - 2001 Skybox EX Cheap Seat Treats.

In addition to the die-cut design that caught my eye I knew there was some sort of gimmick as the player was mostly hidden behind the old style stadium seat.  I thought that maybe the player was a separate piece of cardboard that slid in and out of the card.  Being a David Justice fan I grabbed this card for about a buck since I was so curious.

Once I got the card in hand and looked at the back I could tell that David was part of the card and not a separate piece of cardboard.  Then I noticed a portion on the front of the card that appeared to be a little thicker.

The bottom of the "seat" on the card folds down to reveal the player!  Ok, it's not an earth shattering gimmick or concept, but none the less I like it.  I don't have any plans to chase the other cards in the set, but it's always fun to discover a new old card such as this.

Trades, acquistions and whole lot more

You've probably noticed the lack of posts lately, but that doesn't mean that I don't have anything to share.  Over the last few weeks I've acquired lots of new cards via trades and cheap finds.  Instead of spreading these out over several posts I decided to just combine them all and share them at one time.  Besides, I don't know how much more time I'll have to blog in the coming week.

We'll start with the Braves since well, they're my team.

 
David Justice 
2005 Topps Pristine Refractor #78 (063/549)

Now the question is whether or not to crack this card out of it's sealed case?




Chipper Jones 
2000 Upper Deck HoloGrFX A Piece of the World Series base #PS2

I've wanted one of these World Series base cards for a long time.  I was surprised the seller accepted such a low ball offer too!

Chipper Jones
1996 Leaf Limited Pennant Craze #10 (0911/2500)

I was really hoping we'd pull one of these cards from the last group break I hosted.  The pennant portion of the card is felt.  I love gimmick cards.  I believe that these cards fetched some pretty prices in '96.

Andruw Jones 
2002 Upper Deck Mid-Summer Stars Swatches #MS-AJ

Gotta love free cards!  The seller threw this in with the card below.

Andruw Jones 
2003 Upper Deck Vintage Dropping the Hammer bat #DH-AJ

Another gimmick card if you will.  The first card from this insert set I got was of Lance Berkman.  For the longest time I didn't even know that a Braves player was on the checklist.

Charlie O'Brien 
1999 Skybox Molten Metal #19

I have no idea what this insert is called, but I love the big die-cut Atlanta "A".

Martin Prado 
2011 Topps Heritage SP #486

I HATE short printed cards, thankfully though I was able to snag this SP for a buck fifty.

Tony Gwynn 
2011 Topps Tribute blue parallel #54 (084/199)

This is about as close to Tribute as I'll get this year thanks to the prices being through the roof.  I love how on this blue parallel Tony's shades are the same refractor like blue.

Tony Gwynn 
2002 Topps Reserve bat relic #TRB-TG

I know there are no shortages of sets for Topps, but I wish Reserve would come back.  

Tony Gwynn 
2000 Fleer Ultra Swing Kings

Have I mentioned before on my blog that I love clear acetate cards?  No?  You sure?

Albert Pujols 
2002 Fleer EX Hit & Run base

I couldn't believe I won this card for just over 5 bucks.  This is my first game used card of Pujols.  The fact that it's a base card makes it even better.  I wish Topps would change up the whole relic thing and start using other materials again.

 

Frank Thomas 
1996 Leaf Limited Lumberjacks #4 (1051/5000)

I was so impressed with the quality of these Lumberjacks cards after pulling a Sosa from the group break that I had to have at least one.  I thought about building the set since it's only 10 cards, but a quick scan on eBay and you'll that some of the cards are rather pricey.  So I think I'll stick w/ my $2 Frank Thomas for now.

Ben Sheets 
2001 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Rookie Premiere Materials bat #161 (030/700)

No, I'm not impeding on Cynical Buddha's Brewers.  I got this card for my batting pitchers collection...a collection of which I haven't done much with lately.  This card actually comes courtesy of Matt from Cardboard Conundrum.  I believe we swapped some cards before he claimed the Cubs from my last group break.

Todd Helton 
2005 Fleer Authentix Jersey Authentix #JA-TH

One of the better card designs for Authentix.  I love the gray piece of jersey w/ the angled pin stripe.

Matt Holliday 
2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Ultimate Star jersey #SM-MH

Not the best design in my opinion, but at least the jersey piece has the pin stripe.  That and the card was $.99.

Matt Holliday 
2008 Bowman Sterling bat relic #BS-MH

Love chromed relics.

Matt Holliday 
2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History Timeless Moments jersey #TM-19

Matt Holliday 
2007 Topps All Star Game Stitches #AS-MH

If jersey cards are going to be made then at least the card companies can use something other than the traditional jersey.  This was taken from a All-Star festivities jersey.

Matt Holliday 
2005 Upper Deck SPx autograph #85 (029/225)

Sure it's another sticker auto, but anytime you can score a nice auto of a power hitter and all around swell guy for under $5 why not?

Matt Holliday 
2010 Topps Update Series All-Star Game Workout Jersey #AS-MH

This makes 2 different all-star game jersey cards I have now!


Matt Holliday 
2009 Topps Silk Collection (16/50)

This beauty comes courtesy of the Cards From the Quarry.  I e-mailed Johnny to let him know that I had picked up a Larry Walker Rockies bat relic and asked him if he needed it.  He offered up this Holliday card and the rest was history.

Micah Owings 
2006 Bowman Signs of the Future autograph #SOF-MO

I grabbed just about all of these next few cards of Micah for $.99 or less.

Micah Owings 
2005 Topps Chrome autograph #UH235

Micah Owings 
2006 Bowman Sterling Prospect autograph #BSP-MO

Micah Owings 
2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Rookie Signatures autograph #187 (031/150)

I didn't expect much competition from other bidders on the majority of these autos, but I was kind of surprised that I won this card for the opening bid of $.99.  Beautifully THICK card.

Micah Ownings 
2009 Upper Deck Inkredible autograph #OW

Still looking for the red auto version.

Otis Nixon
1998 Topps Arizona Diamondbacks & Tampa Bay Devil Rays #382

I haven't seen any of these cards in a long long time.  I picked up both versions for my Rey Ordonez PC back in '98, but haven't really come across any the players until recently.

Well, that's about it for now.  I really want to get better at posting my hauls from group breaks I've participated in as well as completed trades.  With any luck I'll have some more things to share soon.  Until then have a great rest of the weekend everyone!