Trade with the Collector's Crack

Mark from the Collector's Crack had a stack of Braves and Carolina Panthers building for me for some time and recently sent over some good stuff. I had shipped him earlier some Brewers and Packers stuff I had been sitting on for him as well.

I received four team set bags full of cards plus a few others. The bulk of the cards of course were Atlanta Braves, many that I'm pretty sure I didn't have already.

A few of the highlights include some HOF players like Dale Murphy, John Smoltz (which by the way this TSC card features a great picture!) and this numbered Chipper.

Always nice getting cards of players that wore the Braves jersey for only a brief time, or just don't have cards made very often. I think this makes maybe the 2nd or 3rd card I have of Robert Fick in a Braves uni and the first of Shane Reynolds and Horacio Ramirez.

I don't have a lot of Braves minor league cards in my collection, but this shiny foil Pro Debut card of Jason Heyward is a welcome addition.

Last of the Braves highlights is this 2018 National Baseball Card Day of Ozzie Albies. The only LCS close to me didn't participate in the program, but thankfully Mark's awesome local shop did and he tossed this Albies card in my stack.

I don't feature too much football on my blog, but Mark is one of the few baseball card collectors that I know also dabbles in football. Here we have a look at the original rookie Panthers QB and the current Panthers QB. Love those older Pacific football cards.

Rounding out the Panthers were two jersey card, one of draft pick bust Joe Adams (though still a beautiful card) and fan favorite RB DeAngelo Williams.

The perfect ending to the trade is a healthy addition of new Ben Sheets cards for my PC of his. Shy of hitting up COMC or SportsLots I don't often get too many new cards of Ben so I'm very grateful to this Brewers fan to these. I'm hoping the Brewers can stave off elimination in tonight's NLCS game against the Dodgers. Thanks again for the trade Mark!

New goodies from the Collector's Crack (just in time for MNF)

When the colder weather starts to set in it usually brings with it some illness and that illness found me last week. For the most part Friday was pretty good, but shortly after I went to bed it hit me. Let's just say that for most of the weekend I spent hovering the porcelain throne...two ways. It was not the best weekend I've had.

Right before I fell ill, I did receive a little package in the mail all the way from Alaska. In it was filled with new Braves goodies from my good friend Mark who runs the Collector's Crack. I had inquired about a Freddie Freeman card he posted several months back so I knew he had sent that, but I had no idea what else he had included.

I don't really have a good card shop locally anymore so I missed out on the National Baseball Card Day promotion, luckily Mark set aside this Freddie Freeman for me. I also got a shiney Freshman Flash RC of Dansby Swanson from this year's Topps Chrome set. The Saber Stars card of Andrelton Simmons I'm not familiar with, but I'll take it!

I don't buy much of any Bowman product these days so I didn't have any of these Bowman Platinum cards. Of course its always good to pick up a new Freeman I don't have, but I was glad to see the Dansby RC. Max Fried was pick up in a deal w/ San Diego a few seasons ago and while he hasn't made a huge impact on the Braves pitching staff yet, I do hear that there are good things to come from him.

There were many other Braves cards in the bubble mailer, but here are 3 of them that I grabbed to scan. I haven't had much luck pulling those Rediscover Topps cards, but now I've got one. Brandon Beachy was a guy I really enjoyed watching, then he messed up his elbow, was shipped off to the Dodgers and then just disappeared sadly. None the less, this is one of those Power Players redemption cards and not an easy card to come across. Speaking of fun players to watch, Furcal was amazing in the infield w/ the leather. I've got a few nice cards of his and I'll always take a new relic.

Mark is also one of the few baseball card bloggers that I know that buys/collects football cards too so I can't say I was completely surprised to find a few Carolina Panthers cards in the stack. Couple of Cam Newtons, jersey card of the now free agent DeAngelo Williams and a few others that I didn't have time to scan.

I really appreciate the kind gesture Mark and I plan to return the favor soon. Now I need to get off this computer and finish packing as I'm headed up to Charlotte today for a 2 day self storage sonference (sounds riviting, doesn't it?!). At least I get to go to the Monday Night Football game tonight with the Panthers vs. the Dolphins.

Trade with Plaschke

Continuing my catching up on trade posts, next up is a fantastic trade that was in the works for quite a while.  Back during all that Peyton Manning hoop-la I decided to let go of several Manning and Drew Brees RCs that I essentially forgot I had.  Greg from Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle expressed interest in them so I said just send me something of "equal value" from the teams or players I collect.  Boy did he ever do a good job picking out some cards.  Take a look...

1966 Topps

I don't normally do vintage, but there is a certain charm about these old cards.  This has to be the oldest Braves card in my collection now.

2002 Playoff A Piece of the Game

2002 Topps Gold Label

I loved the Gold Label set and these relic cards are equally as nice.  I wish all relic cards could be as thin as this one.

2002 Topps 206

I love these framed mini cards.  I don't think I have anything from '02 Topps 206 so this was a pleasant surprise!

2010 Topps Magic RC

One of the best looking Tebow RCs in my opinion.

2010 Panini Crown Royale auto (099/199)

Us Carolina fans are expecting good things out of David Gettis as well as the rest of the WR core in 2012.

2011 Bowman Sterling Veteran Relic

I still don't get the red jersey swatch...

2006 Topps  RC BCCG 10 Mint

I only have 2 other graded cards in my various collections - not something I've really pursued.  However these slabs of plastic are still pretty cool.

Greg really out did himself with this trade.  He selected some fantastic cards and I couldn't be happier.

Super Bowl Countdown - Carolina Panthers Patch Edition Day #5

Party plans have been made.  The wing fryer will be set up in the kitchen manned by my father-in-law.  Can't wait!  While we do wait however how about another DeAngelo Williams patch?

2006 Playoff #02/50

Super Bowl Countdown - Carolina Panthers Patch Edition Day #4

Continuing the countdown to this weekend I bring you another nice patch card of DeAngelo Williams.

2010 Panini Rookie & Stars #17/25

Super Bowl Countdown - Carolina Panthers Patch Edition

In preparation for the Super Bowl this weekend that my team isn't a part of I thought I'd share some nice Carolina Panthers patch cards in my collection.  We'll kick off the feature with DeAngelo Williams.

2010 Panini Epix #37/50

Life and Baseball Cards...on top of a refrigerator

Early in December I got an e-mail from Life and Baseball Cards that he had a bubble mailer full of cards to send to me...but he misplaced it and only recently found it on top of his fridge!

When the package finally arrived a week or so ago I was surprised at just how much he was able to cram into a single bubble mailer.  The cards inside just about covered all of my collecting spectrum.  Baseball, football, a few basketball, wrestling and even some Marvel Comics cards!  I won't bore everyone with all the cards, but here are a few that jumped out at me.

I'm slowly working on this nice looking foil insert set from 2008 Topps.

  

Delhomme was fun to watch because you never knew if he was going to throw for 4 TDs or 4 picks.  He had a "connection" with Steve Smith (not to mention their Bojangles commercials!) when he played for the Panthers.

LeFors was another NFL QB bust, but I'll still add these jersey cards to the Panthers collection.

I don't normally bother with the collegiate stuff unless it's NC State, but I really like DeAngelo Williams so these were a nice surprise.



Since I don't buy a lot of football packs I don't have a lot of cards of either Carson Palmer or Kurt Warner.  I especially like the Gridiron Kings Warner card.

Love me some old school basketball cards - especially old Charlotte Hornets cards.  I went to many games at the Hornets old arena affectionately nicknamed the Hive.  Burrell was a great small forward out of UConn I believe. The fact that this is a sticker card gets bonus points!



If the sheer amount of cards weren't enough this Marvel Comics sketch card was also included in the stack.  I wasn't sure at first glance it this was a genuine 1/1 at first.  I have a good knowledge of the Marvel Universe, but I can't quite identify this character.  Any one care to help me?

I need to get busy and pull some cards to send back to show my gratitude.  Thanks for helping me end 2011 on such a great note!

2011 Panini Timeless Treasures

Panini continues to impress me with their NFL license.  These two beautiful cards fell into my lap from the new 2011 Timeless Treasures set.

Kealoha Pilares is a rookie wide receiver out of the University of Hawaii.  While the Panthers haven't utilized him much in that role he has had a few bright spots recently in the role of kick and punt returner.  The Panthers finally have some depth at WR with Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell and David Gettis so I don't anticipate Kealoha getting many catches.  The return gave however has been abysmal for the Panthers for many many years.  I think the last time we had a good returner on special teams was when Michael Bates was still playing!  Anyhow onto the card.  Not only does Kealoha have an interesting looking autograph the blue ink used really pops on the white leather.  The card is serially numbered 034/299.

The DeAngelo Williams card doesn't stand out as much as the Pilares auto, but it's still a nice looking card.  For starters the base design for Timeless Treasures is really nice looking.  I like the stitched leather look on the bottom corners.  I would've been nice if the card featured a different design, but since it's nice looking I can let it slide.  The plain black jersey swatch is nicely embedded in the card.  It's serially numbered 073/250.

Is it really time for the pigskin? Can it co-exist w/ the lumber & rawhide?

Wow, this is the last weekend of no NFL football for quite a while. Is it really time for the 2010 NFL football season? Where has the time gone? I swear it feels just like yesterday when I was watching the hometown Carolina Panthers struggle through the season only to win the last few games. Well 2010 football product is now landing on retail shelves so I had to try my luck at a few packs looking for Panthers and this year's rookie crop. I reviewed 2010 Score over @ APTBNL, but here are a few singles I picked up recently.

Brandon LaFell Hot Rookies #17

With Mushin Muhammad departing in the offseason and Dewayne Jarrett's inability to learn the playbook I can tell you there will be high expectations for LaFell to perform. Nice card, I've always enjoyed Score's Hot Rookie inserts.


DeAngelo Williams Franchise Red Zone #6 (092/100)

No, that's not blood splattered on the card...



There seems to be so many tiers to this year's inserts. Glossy, autograph, Red Zone, Gold Zone and more.


Franchise Gold Zone #6 (207/299)

So now not only do I have the conflict of what sport I spend my money on I also have to decide who to watch? Braves or Panthers? Well to be honest I'm not expecting much out of the Panthers this year so as long as the Braves can make a strong run to the post season I won't be turning my back on America's past time any time soon!

My first eTopps haul arrived!

I'm a little late posting this as my first shipment from eTopps arrived sometime last week. I took advantage of the shipping sale Topps was running and finally shipped some of the cards I've had in my portfolio since I started buying in 2002! I am really impressed with these cards even though they aren't desirable.

Let's start w/ the Braves lot:

2009 Jordan Schafer RC, 2005 & 2006 Jeff Francoeur & 2006 Bobby Cox

2002 DeShaun Foster & Chris Weinke, 2004 Keary Colbert, 05 Stephan LeFors, Julius Peppers & Eric Shelton, 2006 Steve Smith & DeAngelo Williams

I got a few Panthers team cards that I didn't bother scanning. I've learned however that I ought to hold off buying some of these players when they are first released as the prices drop rather quickly on eBay. I paid full price for all of these and now could be had for a buck or less. Oh well, live and learn I suppose.