By nature, I am a pessimist. But, over the years I have done my best fight that tendency and work too see the positive. I try, in this blog, to keep things light. I don't always succeed, but I do try. Today, I am not even going to try. This effort to update my player collection have and need lists has brought me to a point of reckoning. And recognition.
TCDB is a great tool in that it has helped me identify cards that I need for me player collections. And I have discovered that I am the top collector on TCDB for both Paul Blair and Johnny Antonelli. But, somewhere along the line I began to measure those player collections by the percent completion. And that was at the root of my recent annoyance at the new entries I found. To be sure, anything I said about those new entries in recent posts was true but, in the end, it was about more than what was considered a card and what wasn't. It was about what those "non-cards" represented in terms of my percent completion of Paul Blair items. When I realized that was my unstated goal,, it caused a sea change in my thinking. It had been less about the fun of collecting and more about the percentage.
Here is what made me realize this.
This is one of the new entries I found for Paul Blair on TCDB. It is a 2012 Historic Autographs Champions 1978 Yankees cut auto of Paul Blair. Take a look at it and take a look at the back:
It probably isn't obvious what caught my eye, so let me cut right to the chase:
The PSA label indicates that this is serialized as #20 of 20. However, there is nowhere on the card itself that shows this serial designation. That tells me that it was slabbed by PSA right when it was created. Maybe not at the end of the production line, but it was created to be entombing it in plastic before distribution.
Take a look at the upper corners of the back. Do you see something? Here is a close-up.
See it now? This isn't a card. It is an envelope. I was ambivalent enough about cut autos when they were inserted into card stock. But, in a paper envelope? Ambivalence becomes loathing. And with that, my interest in maximizing my Paul Blair percent completion died. I won't be pursuing any more of these Historic Autograph items. And any other card that doesn't catch my interest.
But, in an attempt to cleanse this blog of that negativity, let me share a recent auction win.
It is the packaging from a 1956 Big League Statue of Johnny Antonelli. Just the packaging, but I am tickled beyond belief to have won this. I might even try to find one of the statues. Note that it isn't on TCDB. Certainly not the packaging, but not even the statue itself. Yet another reason to not put any thought to TCDB rankings. If you want to see what the original packaging and statues look like read here.
What I am listening to: Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace
Man, that is one weird card. Or non-card. I suppose the idea of a card that's in the form of an envelope is kind of interesting. But I don't like the idea of a card being graded before distribution (I don't collect graded cards) and I really am not OK with PSA listing a serial number that isn't actually on the card. Yeesh.
To be clear, I lived and died by the 1978 Yankees. Collecting a set of autographs from the players on that team does have it's appeal. But, the way it was done is a real turn-off and I have plenty of other things to spend my hobby funds on.
Personally... collecting has to be more fun than being a chore. I love trying to add new cards to my Largent collection in hopes of reclaiming the #1 spot. But I won't go out of my way to add stuff that's not desirable... or items that are too rare or expensive. As soon as I add other player collections and team collections... I'll apply the same rules.
That envelope thing would have been better if they had used a 1978 New York skyline. That photo is probably modern, certainly no earlier than 1981 when the Pan Am Building became the Met Life Building (Met Life logo on the building on the far right)
It seems like a lot of people, especially bloggers, are now collecting by TCDB's standards and not their own. And everyone is so fixated with being #1 on the site for whatever it is that they're forgetting that collecting is supposed to be fun, and not a competition. This is a problem that I thankfully don't have be worried about, as I'm not overly keen on that site, or a lot of it's people.
Man, that is one weird card. Or non-card. I suppose the idea of a card that's in the form of an envelope is kind of interesting. But I don't like the idea of a card being graded before distribution (I don't collect graded cards) and I really am not OK with PSA listing a serial number that isn't actually on the card. Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, I lived and died by the 1978 Yankees. Collecting a set of autographs from the players on that team does have it's appeal. But, the way it was done is a real turn-off and I have plenty of other things to spend my hobby funds on.
DeleteNot a player collector so can't really relate, but yeah, it's easy for me to disregard anything that's graded that's not a separate card on its own.
ReplyDeletePersonally... collecting has to be more fun than being a chore. I love trying to add new cards to my Largent collection in hopes of reclaiming the #1 spot. But I won't go out of my way to add stuff that's not desirable... or items that are too rare or expensive. As soon as I add other player collections and team collections... I'll apply the same rules.
ReplyDeleteThat envelope thing would have been better if they had used a 1978 New York skyline. That photo is probably modern, certainly no earlier than 1981 when the Pan Am Building became the Met Life Building (Met Life logo on the building on the far right)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a lot of people, especially bloggers, are now collecting by TCDB's standards and not their own. And everyone is so fixated with being #1 on the site for whatever it is that they're forgetting that collecting is supposed to be fun, and not a competition. This is a problem that I thankfully don't have be worried about, as I'm not overly keen on that site, or a lot of it's people.
ReplyDelete