Two posts in the same week? I am back, baby! Okay, not really. But I did manage to find a couple of cards I needed for my non-sports tobacco card collection.
This is the final card I needed to complete my 25 card 1889 Kinney N230 Famous English Running Horses set. It is diamond cut and a bit short side-to-side. I don't know if it has been trimmed, but I am not trying to put together a high grade set, so it doesn't really matter. I am mainly looking for affordable eye appeal and this has it. Now I need to get serious about N229 (Famous American Running Horses) and N231 (Great American Trotters.) I have exactly 3 and 1 from these sets, respectively. They seem much harder to come by. eBay searches turn up a lot of N230; considerably fewer of the other two. But, that is what the chase is for, no?
This my 10th card from the 1890 Allen & Ginter N18 Parasol Drill set. It is a 50 card set, so I have a long way to go.
What I am listening to: The Saint of Lost Causes by Justin Townes Earle
This encapsulates, for me anyways, what is infuriating about the modern trading card hobby. This card is a framed original buyback from the 2019 Topps Allen &Ginter set. It is a 1/1. What makes me mad about it? Let me count the ways:
Artificial scarcity. Don't get me wrong, I am not unilaterally opposed to scarcity. Chase cards make collecting fun. But, in an era where player (or team) collecting is common, it gets to a point where scarcity devolves into a vehicle for separating people from their money. When I see some of the prices rare modern cards go for, particularly for the player du jour or the current hot prospect, I have to shake my head because it is most likely going to be a depreciable asset.
There is a reason players like Mike Trout are known as generational talents. Joe Shlabotnick, who hit .325 in A ball, maybe hot in this years Bowman, but he still is unlikely to make it to the majors. Let's not even talk about the odds of having a yeoman's career. And make the Hall of Fame? Forget about it. Go ahead and spend $1000s on that 1/1 and feel free to brag about it on the Blowout forum. When Joe washes out after a mediocre season with the AA Chattanooga Lookouts two years hence, you can probably use that card to level out a wobbly end table.
Making old new. I am mainly a set collector. But, I do have two player collections: Paul Blair and Johnny Antonelli. When I look at the cards listed on the Trading Card Database, I see that I have well over half of the listed cards for these two men. I don't expect I'd ever get to 100% because some of the cards listed were regional issues that are extremely rare. But, there is another things stopping me from getting there: vintage cards that Topps bought back, stamped it with some silver foil and sold it again in modern products. I just don't get Buybacks.
Similarly, the card above is over 130 years old. It is spectacular on it's own. Is there really a significant population of modern collectors who think taking it and encasing it in a cardboard frame and stamping it 1/1 makes it even more valuable? I guess there is. Just don't count me amongst them.
Prices. This is probably less a standalone issue as it is the manif estation of the two previous points. While I won't pretend to being the most knowledgeable person about the 19th Century A&G issues, I can state that the card above is no more or less rare than any of the other cards in the 50 card Fans of the Period set. And, in the condition shown, I would probably be willing to pay between $12 and $15 delivered. So, what justifies the asking price? Is the seller just showing off and not actually wanting to sell? Does he think he'll actually get that price? Is there anyone who would actually pay it?
I've stopped buying from COMC as the prices being asked for cards I need for my vintage sets are out of line with what I can pay at in-person shows. But, I did see another "raw" Fans card on the site which is more in line with the current market. See for yourself:
There is no way I'd spend over 10 times what the card is worth just because Topps put a frame around it and stamped it as a 1/1. If you want to, have at it. But, I will judge you harshly. Okay, rant over. I've said this before, but I'll be glad when all the Johnny-come-lately investor/collectors move on to the next big thing.
What I am listening to: It's the End of the World As We Know It by R.E.M.
A while back, I posted about winning an auction that included an Allen & Ginter Fans of the Period (N7) card that I really liked. Since then, I've picked up a more of those cards, mostly in low grade condition. So, I actually was up to 17 unique cards from the 50 card Fans set.
In a recent auction, I saw a lot that was titled as eight higher grade Fans cards. Since most of my current cards were lower grade, I figured I would bid because, even if there was cards in the lot that duplicated what I already had, they would still be upgrades. And, I ended up winning the auction.
Fast forward to the cards arriving and, as I open the envelope and look at them, they don't look anything remotely like the typical Fans card. So, I flip then over and what do I see?
That's right. These aren't Allen & Ginter Fans of the Period, they are from the A&G set designated N18 - Parasol Drill.
Figuring that the auction house shipped me the wrong lot, I went back and double checked the auction. Alas, the lot I won was mistitled, but the underlying description was correct and, if I had bothered to look at the images closely, I would probably have noticed that the subjects weren't actually holding fans.
But, I didn't and I should have darn well known better. So, this is all on me.
Ah well, I guess I am collecting this set now too. That, or maybe I'll just consider this an early entry into a future N-series Type card collection. Either way, let this be a cautionary tale, boys and girls. Always, always, always read the full description.
One day after stating the blog would return to being silent for a while, I am back with another post. I am on fire!
What could be the catalyst? An envelope from Night Owl! What did I get?
This is the 8th card I have received from the 15 card Mares and Stallions insert set in 2019 Allen & Ginter.
The cards were wrapped in paper inside the envelope. The first thing I saw as I unfolded the paper was the name "Clayton Kershaw" and I was confused. Why would he send me a Kershaw card? Once I completely exposed the card, it all came back to me. A while back he showed this card on his blog and, in what I thought was a throwaway comment, said that if he ever came across another, I'd happily trade for it. I had completely forgotten until this showed up and I cannot express how happy this makes me. It has been added to my binder of horse themed cards.
On a separate, but related note, I have to express my admiration for Night Owl. I have been told I am a good writer, but it is in the context of business communication. My boss tells me that my executive updates never have to be corrected for spelling, grammar, or to increase clarity. But, when it comes to creative writing, I am a complete failure. Some people have what it takes to write creatively. Others don't. I don't, but NO does. How he writes for his work, and then cranks out multiple blog posts a week for years on end is nothing short of amazing.
And I think he may have included a little of that magic in this envelope. As I re-sleeved the partial 1973 Topps football set I bought over the weekend, a tiny little spark crossed between two synapses in the over-ripe melon I call a head. And I actually have an idea for a blog post that is more than just showing off what I got at the most recent show. I have already started the research, but there is much more to do. I hope to have it out by this coming weekend. I m pretty excited about it. Stay tuned.
What I am listening to: "Why Not Me?" by The Judds
Has it really been two months since I last posted? Yes. Yes, it has. In my defense, I haven't really been all that active in the hobby lately. Not by choice, mind you, but by necessity. I've picked up a few commons for my vintage sets, but that is about it. I did get a nice package in the mail recently that I'll talk about in a bit. Feel free to skip ahead if you would like.
My wife and I don't have children, but we do seem to collect animals. And animals can be expensive. Take Missy:
Missy is our senior pup. Very senior. We don't know how old she is, but we believe she is at least 16 years old. Missy came to live with us in the summer of 2007. She actually belonged to a family that lived about a half mile away, but they really didn't pay much attention to her. I patted her on the head once when she was hanging out at the convenience store/bait shop across the street and she followed me home. Without getting in to the whole timeline of events, suffice it to say that we would take her home to her family and she was usually back the next day. Sometimes, she'd be back in a few hours.
Finally, the other folks told us that we didn't need to keep bringing her back, because she would do so on her own when she got hungry. Fair enough. Except that she didn't. She camped out on our front porch. We made sure she had water (it was summer in Oklahoma) but that was it. The next day she was still there. Another day passed and she hadn't left. After the third day of her constant presence, we finally figured out that she had chosen to live with us and was just waiting on us to abide by her decision. So, we did.
We have had a wild and wonderful history with Missy, but fast forward to last year when she started having small seizures. They only lasted 3 to 5 seconds, but they were serious enough to cause her to fall over. The vet thought they might relate to her extremely low heart rate. We tried several treatments to help, but none offered more than a temporary relief. The vet suggested she be evaluated for a pacemaker. (You see where this is going, right?) Again, leaving out a lot of detail, she was actually quite healthy, other than her cardiac issue. Surprisingly so, for a dog of her advanced years. So, she got a pacemaker.
Alas, a month later, we found a growth on her hip which ended up being a mast cell tumor. Luckily it was highly localized and had not metastasized, so we had it removed. Some latent back issues have re-asserted themselves and we are treating those with therapy and non-narcotic pain medicine. She isn't the fireball she used to be, and has good days and bad, but she is still a happy girl and is still engaged in our family life. So, I will continue to honor the trust she put in us over 12 years ago.
So, that is why I haven't been doing much collecting of late, since I have been investing a lot of time and much of my spare money in my sweet, old girl. You probably think I am crazy. You are right. I admit it and am not embarrassed in the least. But, given that we all collect small bits of cardboard, a certain level of WTF is already baked into our lives.
Anyways, let's move on to the card stuff. A package arrived a few weeks ago from Night Owl, right before I left for my annual Ohio trip, so I've been remiss in posting this, N.O. was apparently one of the three people that read my previous post about the blaster of Allen & Ginter I bought, where I professed my love for the Mares & Stallions and History of Flight insert sets.
These cards did not seem problematic to me like the Appaloosa card did. So, props to Topps for not screwing them up. With these six, I am now up to seven cards from the 15 card insert set.I had tried to set up a trade with another blogger for more of the Mares & Stallions back in September, but I had a total of zero cards from his want list.
And, with these three, I now have four out of the 15 card History of Flight insert set. I'm probably going to start dipping my toes in the hobby water here again soon. There was actually a card show in OKC this weekend, but I decided to skip it in order to catch up on my honey-dos around the farm while the weather is nice. My plan at the moment is to drive down to Dallas for a card show on my birthday weekend in November. Hopefully, I'll find something to fill out my end of the aforementioned trade, plus hopefully get closer to completing my 1968 and 1970 Topps sets. Anyways, catch ya later. What I am listening to: Methademic by Black Sabbath
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
If the baseball card blogosphere is to be believed, one of the most anticipated Topps releases each year is the quirky Allen & Ginter set. As most of you know Allen and Ginter was a 19th Century American tobacco company that issued a large number of trading card sets during it's short life from 1872 until 1890, when it was part of the multi-company merger that formed the American Tobacco Company.
According to the American Tobacco Cards Price Guide and Checklist book, A&G produced card series N1 through N68, with 5 designations in that series unused. What follows are cards from the N32 series, The World's Racers, that was issued in 1888.
These cards are on a nice heavy stock and are all in good shape considering that they are 131 years old. The backs show a checklist of the subjects of the 50 card series. Each of the 5 cards above show some level of minor paper loss indicating that they may have been mounted at one time.
Up next: A slightly younger (only 114 years old!) British issue
What I am listening to: Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler
