Modern Mistake

I got back into sports card collecting in 2011 and, like most folks new to modern collecting, jumped in wholeheartedly. I was putting together vintage sets and opening up a lot of contemporary issues.  However, I became quickly disillusioned with modern collecting.  The plastic stock of cards like Topps flagship didn't appeal to me. I loved Heritage, but the artificial scarcity of the high number series quickly angered me.  As I struggled to finish 2011 Heritage, I was paying more for high number commons than I was paying for vintage.  I finally gave up in disgust.

Now, I still will add modern single cards to my collection and will occasionally build a modern set that catches my fancy.  But for the most part, I am a vintage set builder.

Yesterday, I got the bug and bought myself a blaster of 2019 Allen and Ginter.  For the most, part it didn't really interest me, although two subsets seemed like something I'd add to my collection.

The first was The History of Flight

The second, as any of you who have been around my blog over time (and there are at least 3 or 4 of you), was Mares and Stallions. I the Andalusian in the blaster and liked it so much, I decided to put that subset together and went online to see what the rest of the cards looked like.

And I saw this:

That, my friends, is not an Appaloosa horse.  That is a Paint Horse / Pinto with a tobiano color scheme.    Appaloosa color patterns generally include spots. Small spots.  Should you be interested, you can see examples and read more about Appaloosa color patterns here  and Paint color patterns here.  Seriously, that image doesn't even match Topps own description on the back.

I suppose I shouldn't expect better from Topps and just let it go. But, I cannot explain how much this ticks me off.  Get your shit together, Topps!

Anyways, if you have any cards from these two subsets and want to trade, hit me up.

What I am listening to: He's my Baby by Donna Hightower

2014 Year in Review

That pretty much says it all about my 2014 as a collector.  There were a two main reasons for this.  First, I was busy as all get-out at work.  The first nine months were a great time to be in the Oil and Gas industry and I was consumed at the office.  Second, was my self-imposed insistence that I only work on one major set at a time. Sure I work others in the margin, but when it comes to flagship sets, I have only worked one at a time.  Alas, now that I am getting into the sets that were issued in series, thus having to deal with rare high numbers, the time it takes to complete a set is elongated (as you will see.)

So, what is the 4-1-1 on my year?

Sets I wanted to complete:

1. 1960 Fleer - Nope.  Although I only need one more card to complete it (26 - Bob Feller)
2. 1973 Topps - Nope.  When I reviewed my years goals, I got disgusted with my lack of accomplishment.  As luck would have it, someone was advertising a lot of 1973 high numbers for sale on Net54Baseball.  I contacted him and was able to strike a deal for all of the remaining base cards I needed, high number or not.  Alas, the package is still in transit as of New Years. Additionally, I still need 18 of the 24 unnumbered team checklists. Added note:  1973 was also on my 2013 list of sets I wanted to complete.
3. 1975 Topps - Nope. I did start it though. I had taken some birthday money to a local card shop and had started pawing through boxes of commons, when I came across a box of a near complete set of NM 1975 commons.  I stopped my painstaking search and struck a deal with the owner for that box.  As it stands, I am 43 cards (most stars and minor stars) away from completing this set
4. 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game - Nope. I am chosing to ignore the blue parallels, auto cards, and Yankee Clippings insert set, and so only had 4 cards to go from the Forever insert set to call this one complete.  I managed to snag two of them. I still have Fernando Valenzuela and Ryne Sandberg still to go.

Sets to work on:

1. 1961 Fleer - Barely. I picked up a few cards here and there, but still am sitting at about 2/3 complete.
2. 1972 Topps - Nope
3. 2009 Obak - Picked up a few cards, mainly T212 minis. I think I knocked off only 1 of the 10 short prints I needed.

Other distractions:

1. 1963 Fleer Autograph Project - My one success this year. I wanted to get to the half-way point (33 autographed cards) and I made it to 35.  And I still haven't done any TTMs after The Lost Collector sent me a list of addresses for players featured in the '63 Fleer set.
2. 1955 and 1956 Topps - Nothing on 1955, but I did find a source for high quality (EX or better) 1956 commons for $4 each.  I managed to get up to the 46% complete level before some other collector bought all of the dealers '56 commons out from under me.  Jerk.

I am hopeful to get back to semi-regular blogging this year.  But, 2015 is going to be another busy year at work (although for different reasons), so I am not making any promises.

So, to recap, my 2014 as a hobbyist:

 
 

Great Moments in Herp-a-Derp.......

.....or The Derpiest Cards in My Collection, Part 1.

Herp a derp!