Delivery Time! Community Gum Die-Cuts!

A little while back, Jon from the Community Gum blog posted a trade bait page full of die-cut Topps cards from the 2012 online giveaway set.  Luckily, I had enough cards that Jon wanted that I was able to pry away four of the die-cuts (this is extra cool because I didn't buy any Topps products last year to get any of the codes - and even if I had I probably wouldn't have won a die-cut card...especially one of a player I like)!

Jon had two Reds available plus two non-Reds available.  We'll begin with non-Reds.

Shin-Soo Choo

Choo was a great addition for the Reds in 2013.  Unfortunately, it certainly appears that he won't be returning to the Queen City for the 2014 season.  I'll certainly miss his ability to get on base (even if it means taking a fastball to the arm which he does quite often).

Ken Grifey Jr.

When Griffey Jr. was traded to the Reds, I hoped that he'd A) remain a Red for life and B) have such a great career in Cincinnati that he'd always be remembered as a Red rather than a Mariner.  Unfortunately, neither thing happened so the best I can do now is scoop up Griffey cards showing him as a Mariner.

I should note that each of the die-cut cards comes with a clear plastic covering.  In the scans, the plastic covering looks like garbage (it looks pretty much like garbage in hand as well).  However, I'm a bit too OCD to remove the plastic protection, at least for the moment.

And now, the two Reds:

Frank Robinson

I think this is my favorite of the four die-cuts (though I like the final player better).  For some reason, this card simply "works" for me - I guess it's the photo...maybe the uniform...maybe the grin...  I don't really know, but I like it a lot!

Johnny Bench

Unlike the Robinson, I don't think this card works nearly as well.  It looks like Bench is getting up off the couch after eating three bags worth of Taco Bell...and we all know that doesn't end well for anyone (not even a professional athlete).

Jon also threw in a few surprise goodies which happened to include three Barry Larkin cards...and if I'm not mistaken, all three were new to my collection!

You better believe I'll something to say about this card when it gets featured in my Barry Larkin Collection series of posts.

More early 90s goodness here - and a definite Saved by the Bell vibe happening.

And finally, a card from Pinnacle Zenith - a set that I opened up in a recent group break and managed to get exactly ZERO of these Larkin base cards (despite getting three or four of a lot of other base cards).  Thankfully, Jon has righted that wrong for me!

I'd encourage you to check out Jon's trade bait list as it appears he still has some die-cuts available for trade (no more Reds though since I scooped 'em all up)!  As always, thanks for the trade Jon - and I hope the cards I sent you have made their way to your house by now.  Finally, if anyone else would like to trade - check out my want list and make an offer!

Friendly Reminder: The 2013 Blogger Bracket Challenge!

The 2013 edition of the Blogger Bracket Challenge is down to the final vote.  Make sure you check out the two posts (see below) and then vote for your favorite using the poll on the side of my blog.  I'm sure both finalists would also love it if you left them a message on their post (even if it's something as simple as "congrats for making the finals").

The Finalists:

The Junior Junkie (entry) vs. Comatoad (entry)

My Cardboard Mistress: The Threesome of Trade Posts is Complete!

It's time to dip back into the trade envelope from My Cardboard Mistress.  If you missed it, I've already published part 1 and part 2 of the trade.  Now, it's time for part 3 - the final part of the trade!

The first two parts of the trade were all box toppers from this year's Allen & Ginter's set.  Now, let's take a look at the other goodies that Adam sent me.

First up, some of the regular sized inserts.

Adam sent me the last two Civilizations of Ages Past cards that I needed.

Of the two, I think I like the image for the Mesopotamians card a bit better.  On the other hand, the description for the Hittites is much more amusing since it contains this little gem:  the Hittites kingdom "grew for 800-900 years despite the fact that they were almost constantly riding their chariots into battle, often against the Egyptians."

Nothing like a bunch of old-school war mongers, right?

Adam also helped me complete my One Little Corner set from this year's edition of Ginter.

I think the One Little Corner set wins the award for my favorite insert set of the year (though the Gallery of Heroes cards from Topps Archives this year are really, really nice too).

So far, Adam helped me out with a bunch of box toppers plus he completed two of my regular sized insert sets.

Could there be even more goodies in the trade package?

Of course!

Next up - some Reds minis.

I decided I would NOT go after any of the mini parallel sets in full.  Instead, I hope to use my wealth of available 2013 Ginter cards to procure just the Reds minis from the three "easy" mini sets (regular, A&G back, and black border).  Adam helped me out quite a bit with this haul but I still need a lot of Reds minis!

Finally, Adam also was able to pick at some of the other mini insert sets that I'm still working on.

First up, one of the final two Codes, Ciphers, & Cryptographs that I needed:  The Dorabella Cipher.

At this point, I am now only missing the Beale Ciphers card and I'll have this insert set complete as well.  That's exciting for me since I love Ginter stuff - AND I'd love to be able to remove some more sets from my expansive want list.

Next, an Inquiring Minds card of Rene Descartes.

I love this card since I'm a mathematician just like Descartes (the key difference being he was incredibly skilled at mathematics while I am not...).  Descartes is known for the line "I think, therefore I am" which you've probably heard before.  There's also an interesting story about him and the Folium of Descartes but this isn't the proper venue for such a tale.

The final three cards of the (awesome) trade with Adam consisted of three Peacemakers cards.

For some reason, the Peacemakers have been been hard to come by for me.  It's only a ten card set (and all the mini cards were seeded at the same ratio) so you'd expect a 10 card set to be much easier to complete than a 20+ card set (such as Heavy Hangs the Head).  Nonetheless, I'm finally within striking distance - in fact, thanks to Mandella, Addams, and Tubman now safely tucked into my binder, I'm only in need of one more Peacemaker for the set (Gandhi).

Thanks for the great trade Adam - and for anyone else, if you'd like to trade be sure to check out my want list and make an offer!

Trade Stack 55: Can I Get to 100 Trades in 2013?!

Here is how this works:

Every so often (i.e. whenever I feel like it), I will add a card to a "Trade Stack".  Whenever the stack becomes appealing enough to someone, that person needs to comment on the post saying they'd like to claim the stack AND tell me which card they are sending off of my want list.  That's all you have to do - trade me ONE card (or more, of course) card from my want list for the entire stack of cards that I'm offering.  Each time, it will be first come, first serve...so act quickly (unless of course you are a gambler and hope to wait it out until there are 10+ cards in the stack that you want in exchange for a single 2004 UD Vintage card that I am looking for)!

The Trade Stack:

Last update:  12/5/13

By my count, I've mailed out 76 different trade packages thus far in 2013.  While that total is probably a fairly large number compared to many bloggers, it certainly pales in comparison to other bloggers - and, more importantly to me, it pales in comparison to my trading output from previous years.  In fact, here's how my trading has broken down since I started keeping track:

• 2010:  122 trades
• 2011:  166 trades
• 2012:  107 trades
• 2013:  76 trades (and counting)

As you can see, I've been on a bit of a slide in terms of raw number of trades.  I did send out one more package today (which is what bumped my current total to 76) but otherwise it's been pretty quiet on the trade front these days.  

Of course, that leads me to the natural question of "why?"  If I had to guess, I would attribute it to the fact that in 2011 I was all-in on tons of different sets but since then I've had to drastically cut back on the number of new sets that I collect.  In addition, my want list is mostly comprised of cards that I need for my sets - and many of those are inserts or short prints which can be hard for others to track down (or, in some cases, part with).  

However, despite all that I still have hopes that I can hit 100 trades on the year.  Of course, to do so I'll have to offer up some trade bait (and you can find lots more trade bait here by the way).  Let's keep adding to the current trade stack - maybe that will spur some swaps!

As always, you get the entire stack in exchange for any one card off my want list)!  

2008 Topps Stadium Club:
55.  Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox

1999 Pacific Aurora:
102.  Jose Valentin - Brewers

1991 Donruss:
655.  Jimmy Poole - Dodgers

1993 Upper Deck:
4.  Willie Greene - Reds

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter:
207.  Yuniesky Betancourt - Mariners

1989 Donruss:
 Diamond King Puzzle:
Warren Spahn - Braves
Pieces 7, 8, & 9

Want the card(s) in the stack?  Act fast - tell me which card you will send me off my want list in the comments below!  You must leave a comment on the trade stack post in order to claim the card - no more claims via email!  If no one claims this card within a reasonable amount of time (a few hours up to a few days, depending) - I'll add another card to the stack and the process will start again!

Previously Claimed Trade Stacks:

Stack 01:  2 cards by dayf
Stack 02:  8 cards by Justin
Stack 03:  17 cards by Cam
Stack 04:  4 cards by Cam
Stack 05:  9 cards by Daily Dimwit
Stack 06:  4 cards by The Lost Collector
Stack 07:  1 card by Baseball Dad
Stack 08:  1 card by M. Spiegel
Stack 09:  6 cards by bwsmith25
Stack 10:  6 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 11:  1 card by Patrick
Stack 12:  5 cards by Matt B.
Stack 13:  4 cards by Steve G.
Stack 14:  3 cards by ShaneK
Stack 15:  7 cards by Ryan G
Stack 16:  1 card by longlivethewho
Stack 17:  4 cards by hiflew
Stack 18:  4 cards by Potch
Stack 19:  2 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 20:  5 cards by by Play at the Plate
Stack 21:  5 cards by BA Benny
Stack 22:  1 card by IkesCards
Stack 23:  8 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 24:  1 card by BA Benny
Stack 25:  2 cards by Jeff P.
Stack 26:  10 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 27:  1 card by BA Benny
Stack 28:  7 cards by ThingsAreFunnerHere
Stack 29:  3 cards by TheBrooklynMet
Stack 30:  4 cards by Adam C.
Stack 31:  10 cards by Play at the Plate
Stack 32:  8 cards by Josh D.
Stack 33:  6 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 34:  1 card by Potch
Stack 35:  9 cards by Cool Breeze
Stack 36:  11 cards by Kev 
Stack 37:  6 cards by Tunguska
Stack 38:  12 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 39:  8 cards by Spiegel83
Stack 40:  1 card by Kyle4KC
Stack 41:  4 cards by dayf
Stack 42:  1 card by AdamE
Stack 43:  1 card by madding
Stack 44:  10 cards by Commishbob
Stack 45:  1 (almost complete) puzzle by Baseball Dad
Stack 46:  8 cards by buckstorecards
Stack 47:  5 cards by The Junior Junkie
Stack 48:  4 cards by dayf
Stack 49:  9 cards by Swing and a Pop-Up
Stack 50:  9 cards by Commishbob
Stack 51:  3 cards by Need More Cardboard
Stack 52:  1 card by Play at the Plate
Stack 53:  12 cards by buckstorecards
Stack 54:  4 cards by The Junior Junkie
Stack 55:  ?? by ??

My Cardboard Mistress Encourages My Affair With Ginter

Yesterday, I posted part 1 of a recent trade with Adam over at the always excellent My Cardboard Mistress.  It's now time to take a look at part 2 of the swap.

This past summer, I opened up a case of Ginter which was a lot of fun (despite not getting a rip card for the third time in four years in my case - a fact that Topps has refused to do anything about this time around).  Anyhow, one of the perks of opening up a case of hobby boxes is that you get a bunch of box loaders - and some years Allen & Ginter has some great goodies for collectors.

Unfortunately, this year's crop of box toppers wasn't nearly as good as some years - but I did like the theme of "Wonders of the World" quite a bit so I knew I'd be trying to put together that set for sure.  Adam helped me out by sending me two of the cabinet cards that I needed.

First up, this wonderful Colossus of Rhodes.

When Topps chose an appropriate image, the cabinet cards look quite stunning.  I don't really know much about the Colossus of Rhodes (other than the fact that it is one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World).

The other cabinet card that Adam sent my way was one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.  This time it's Mount Everest.

I can't say this image is nearly as good for the card (which is strange seeing as how there are probably a million different images of Everest that Topps could have used...or they could have even sent one of their own photographers out to get an image if they had to).

Despite my criticism of the image, I will say that these two cards are two of my favorites in the set (so far at least - I'm still missing 14 of the 21 cards so I have a long way to go!

Thanks for the trade Adam (though there's still more from this trade envelope coming up in a future post)!  As always, if anyone else wants to trade - check out my want list and make an offer.  I have only one more day of "regular work" on Friday (last day of teaching for the semester), then I give finals two days next week.  After that, it's vacation - and with vacation comes much more time for blogging (and trading)!