Holiday for Judge swap

 So sometime late last year, I was picking through a dollar box at the local show.  And I found a Topps Chrome Aaron Judge.  Not usually a buy for a dollar, but as many of you know, you can take Topps Chrome cards of last year's MVPs in to local card shops for a $20 in store credit.  There were only a few days left until that offer expired, so I made a rare card shop trip.

The shop was a nightmare.  I doubt I will be back for a long time.  Over half of it was Pokemon, when it used to all be sports cards.  Tons of old smelly guys with annoyed looks on their faces pushing through crowded spaces.  Bummer.

But I found Topps Holiday Mega Boxes, which usually sell for $40+ for only $29.99.  And with my Judge to trade in, I got it for $10.  A fun rip, which for $10 seems like a holiday miracle for me.  Anyway, here is what I got in my box.

Variations and a 'hit'

Seems like the Judge Santa hat was a good trade for the Chrome Judge straight up.  But I got lots more!  Bichette had a brutal year last year, but I still believe in him.

Rookies.  Seems like I got most of the sought after ones.  Can't complain.  

And believe it or not, that's all the scans I took, back when this box actually got ripped.  So whatever other interesting cards were in there, you'll just have to use your imagination!

A few incoming

 I've been ungrateful.  Over the last while, a bunch of cards have made their way from various parts of the country.  Time to show some off!

First up, gcrl shot me some stuff for no reason, much appreciated!  Early Finest are sweet, and any McGwire that I don't already have is a rare treat!

Johnny sent me a prize win from his blog, this Carter RC.  I hadn't had a copy of that card since back in the 80s, very cool.  He also included the Doby from 2001 Archives Reserve, a set I have been slowly accumulating for years.  Not the last of those in this post!

Tom from The Angels in Order had a freebies post where I grabbed these.  Well loved vintage especially, is always welcome!

More Johnny.  Yep, you guessed it.  Another envelope chock full of Archives Reserve and Finest!!  Johnny doesn't play around.

Rod from my neck of the woods threw a big old package of Mariners my way.  This scan is by no means all of what he sent!!

More Johnny.  Johnny must have dug deep, because the Archives Reserve just kept coming!!

And more....

Well that's it for now.  I gotta thank all the amazing bloggers who keep the postal service busy.  Thanks guys!

Zoo time

Been a while since I posted.  That seems like a common phrase on this blog, and on many blogs in the card collecting community.  My main excuse this time that my computer died.  I ended up rebuilding it on my own, which took a long time due to my laziness, and needing to send back a part that was delivered to me broken.

But I do have a few posts mostly ready to go, so hopefully for the next 4-6 weeks, I should be posting somewhat regularly.

Since I don't have any other content for today, lets do a silly giveaway!

I've seen these Oregon Zoo x-ray cards from 2024 Allen & Ginter on a few blogs.  At a recent card show, I was able to grab some of them cheap.    Here is what I have:

Claim away in the comments!  Claim one card, claim multiple cards, no real rules.  PWE delivery...

Thanks!

Tom Silardi? A show recap.

 The recent card show produced some pretty fun stuff.  Here's a sampling:

1 Beltre refractor, #d /660.  This kind of card I would take all day long.

2 Teddy Ballgame numbered pinky card.  I'd prefer a playing days Ted, but this was surprisingly cheap.

3 Black and White Ohtani.  baseballcardpedia.com estimates 90 copies of the Black and White were made.  I got one!!

4 1998 Diamond Kings insert #d/10000.  I totally love these. I want more!

5 Playing days Mantle!!!!!!!  It's hammered, with some damage on back.  But still!

6 1997 Pacific Die-cut of the Big Hurt.  Definitely love these.

7 Weird card.  It's a 'Topps Spotlight', Grayscale Filter parallel, numbered /49.  I always loved the original of this card, so it is very welcome!

8 Numbered Nolan.  It's ok, bit falls short of the rest of the cards in this scan.

9 I've wanted this Bregman Photo Variation SP since I first saw it on one of your blogs.  Now it is mine!

I got this for $4.  I bet most folks don't even really know who Woo is, but he's pretty good, and this is numbered /25.

I don't know where I got this card.  When I got home and went through the cards from the show, this was in the stack.  I don't even remember it from the show.  Anyway, it isn't my cup of tea, and as you can see, the auto is a bit fuzzy.  So I am offering it up in a PWE to the first claimer in the comments.

Pretty great show!

Bad Mail

I haven't been having the best luck with the mail lately.  Incoming mail has been wonky for a few reasons.  First, my address has changed, and a few friends have sent me cards to the old address.  Unfortunately, they never made it to me.  I don't feel good about that, sorry to anyone who has gone to the trouble of sending me stuff that didn't make it.

But then, I got a couple of my giveaway mailings sent back to me.  One was to Elliptical Man, using the same address I had always used.  It came back as undeliverable.  Oh well, I am reaching out to Brendan to verify that address.

But the one that confuses me was a PWE I sent to The Angels in Order over a month ago.  That one showed up in my mailbox yesterday looking like this:

The stamp is perfectly good, and I have never had an issue with insufficient postage on even larger PWEs in the past.  But evidently this can happen sometimes.  Annoying!

So Tom, I didn't forget about you.  I will resend tomorrow, and hopefully the cards make it this time!

And since I don't want a post without a card in it, here is a quick Ichiro from my collection:

Hall Bound indeed!

Skenes and a puppy

 Another pick 'em for my loyal readers.  If you want one, claim in the comments!  One per commenter, PWE delivery....

Row 1 card 1 - taken, card 2 taken, card 3 taken
Row 2 card 1 - taken, card 2 taken, card 3 taken
Row 3 card 1 - taken

Last show of the year

 Happy New Year!  I'm a bit late, but that's not unusual for me.

The last card show of the year brought me mostly new stuff, meaning almost all stuff from the last couple of years.  Shiny stuff and die cut stuff, both of which I love, but not much outside the 2020s.  Here's a sampling...

2024 Topps Pristine Bo Bichette #/75.  This Pristine design isn't great.

2017 Chrome Freddie Freeman refractor.  I love refractors of stars that are a little older.

2023 Pristine 'Gold Pristine Pulsar Refractor' Lou Gehrig #/50.  Both this card and the Pristine Judge appear to me to have been liberated from those 'uncirculated' slabs.  Fine by me!

2024 Finest Blue Checkerboard refractor Vlad Jr.
2023 Pristine 'Pristine Pulsar Refractor' Aaron Judge.  Nice card.

1999 Topps Power Brokers Mike Piazza.  The oldest of the bunch, love old die-cuts.

2024 Topps Cosmic Chrome Launched into Orbit Julio Rodriguez.  Shiny!

2024 Pristine 'Oh Snap' Juan Soto.  Weird card.  I guess I love newer die-cuts too!

2024 Pristine 'Squeaky Clean' Bobby Witt Jr.  Another kind of strange concept.  Go Pristine!

I also lucked into a huge Puka Nacua thing.  I guess it is a box topper or something.  The graded Kemp was a gift from a buddy at the show, and shows just how huge the Nacua is.

Perhaps the most interesting card I picked up was this 'case hit' from 2018 Donruss.  I guess they are pretty rare.

I'm not a huge Bellinger fan, so I guess I'd be up for trading this if anyone is interested.