The Best of the Month: January

As anyone who reads my blog with any regularity can attest to, I'm a sucker for blog series.  Maybe it's because I'm not a great writer (and the series helps to give me so-called ideas) or perhaps it's simply a manifestation of my wanting to organize things, even blog posts.  As of now, I have ongoing series such as:

The Trade Stack.

My Barry Larkin Collection.

My Complete Set Chronicles.

I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that I have either begun or added to within the last few days.  Despite the plethora of series, I've decided that I'd like to start another one - my "best of" post which I hope to do once per month.  

Here's January 2011 - "Best of".

Best Purchased card:

(Tie)

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter:
National Heroes:
NH19.  Vasil Lavski
NH27.  Alfonso Ugarte

I didn't buy a single pack of cards in January (though I did pre-order a jumbo case of Topps 2011 Series 1...unfortunately, it looks like I got ripped off by the seller, who despite 1400+ feedback appears to be a deadbeat now and won't return anyone's emails - as per Blowout forums as well as my own experience).  As such, the only other eligible purchase was from my lone order from Check Out My Cards.  Looking over that order, my best purchased card of January was a tie between the last two National Heroes minis I needed from the 2009 Allen & Ginter set.

Best Post

Tie

Complete Set Chronicles:  1981 Fleer complete

and

Debate:  Why the 1989 Randy Johnson Card is a Top 60 Card

Once again, I'm going to make this a tie.  My personal favorite post was my first entry into my Complete Set Chronicles, a post on my 1981 Fleer set.  Although only Night Owl had anything to say about the set, I'm looking forward to showing off some of my other complete sets (both large and small).  I'd also be interested in seeing other people's complete sets - perhaps my posts will inspire others to try to collect their own version of a posted set!

The other post that I'm adding as a favorite was the post that generated the most feedback (which wasn't all that much compared to other people's blogs, but hey, I was happy to see some comments).  The post wasn't particularly well-written (I wrote it much too late at night), but the essence of the post still holds true in my book.  Each person collects cards for his or her own reason.  Admittedly, the majority of collectors probably collect for two or three main reasons (investment, link to youth, and favorite team or player).  However, there are other reasons why people collect - and thus, there are multiple reasons why someone may like (or not like) any given card.  I read a lot of hatred on the inclusion of the '89 Randy Johnson card, but only I (to the best of my knowledge) came to the defense of the card.  And for speaking out for a small (mostly silent) minority, I'm awarding that post a tie for the best of.