Not all that long ago, Brian (from Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary) held a Group Break of sorts. Basically, it was a zero cost upfront fee - all you had to do was send him some cards based on whatever you ended up with from the break. Well, I did quite well so I sent Brian a big bunch of cards (which you can read about on his blog here)!
The break itself consisted of a bunch of boxes from a time when many of us weren't collecting...or at least we weren't collecting everything since there were so many different products on the market. Specifically, the break contained a box of 1996 Pinnacle, 1999 Fleer Ultra, 2002 Topps Gallery, 2002 Fleer Greats, and 2003 Stadium Club. The entire break can be seen here if you are interesting in seeing how it all worked out.
I happened to jump in the break and claimed the Reds (of course). To be honest, I wasn't particularly interested in any of the sets other than the '99 Fleer Ultra (a set that I'm actually trying to collect). I also like the Fleer Greats set but I'm pretty sure I have all the base Reds from that set since I used that box in a group break that I hosted once upon a time. Nonetheless, I actually joined with the hopes of landing some sort of new-to-me Barry Larkin card.
How did I do? Did my dreams of a new Larkin card for my collection come to fruition?
Let's find out together.
My trade package from Brian ended up containing three team bags full of cards. In the order that I opened them...
The first bag actually contained a bunch of 2015 Topps base cards that I needed. While I won't scan those since everyone is sick of 2015 Topps, I will show off one of the three 2003 Topps Heritage cards that were in the team bag to serve as "protection" for the cards!
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The '03 Heritage set is quite nice - and had I been collecting baseball cards actively back then I am sure that I would have tried to finish the set. I like the solid color backgrounds - it makes for a rather striking page in a binder!
The second of the three team bags contained my haul from the 2002 Topps Gallery box which included five Reds (no Larkins though).
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The Topps Gallery cards have an artsty vibe with the painted photos - and of my five cards my favorite was far and away the Frank Robinson! I would have to go back and look to be certain but I don't think I actually owned any of the 2002 Topps Gallery cards!
The second team bag also held the five Reds from the Fleer Greats box. Once again, no Larkin (I don't think he's in that set) but I did get a new insert featuring a Red and a Cardinal.
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I could do without Cardinal stink on my Reds' baseball cards but in this case I'll let it slide. Getting cards of Big Klu is always fun!
The final cards from the second team bag included my four cards from the Stadium Club box. I ended up with a pair of base cards plus a pair of the thicker chunk cards.
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The Griffey Jr. is one of the chunk cards though you probably can't tell from the scan.
That leads us to the final team bag - and still no Larkins to speak of. Let's see what bag #3 holds.
Boom!
That's right - TWO Barry Larkin cards. One from the Fleer Ultra box, the other from the Pinnacle box. Unfortunately for me, I actually already owned both of 'em but that's ok. I was hoping for a Larkin and I got two.
But wait, it actually got a LOT better. One of the final cards that I uncovered in the last of the team bags was this beauty.
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Yeah, that's another Barry Larkin card - the third of the break...and this one is NEW to me! That's the Starburst parallel and it's a brand new addition to my Barry Larkin Collection (I'll feature the card in its own post sometime in the future)! I will say it looks MUCH better in person than it does in that scan...you'll have to trust me on that I guess.
Many thanks for the awesome group break idea Brian! I was hoping to hit a new Larkin and you delivered big time (plus getting the 2015 Topps cards that I needed was much appreciated)! As for anyone else, if you have any Barry Larkin cards for trade - or anything else from my want list - be sure to shoot me an email and hopefully we can work something out!
The break itself consisted of a bunch of boxes from a time when many of us weren't collecting...or at least we weren't collecting everything since there were so many different products on the market. Specifically, the break contained a box of 1996 Pinnacle, 1999 Fleer Ultra, 2002 Topps Gallery, 2002 Fleer Greats, and 2003 Stadium Club. The entire break can be seen here if you are interesting in seeing how it all worked out.
I happened to jump in the break and claimed the Reds (of course). To be honest, I wasn't particularly interested in any of the sets other than the '99 Fleer Ultra (a set that I'm actually trying to collect). I also like the Fleer Greats set but I'm pretty sure I have all the base Reds from that set since I used that box in a group break that I hosted once upon a time. Nonetheless, I actually joined with the hopes of landing some sort of new-to-me Barry Larkin card.
How did I do? Did my dreams of a new Larkin card for my collection come to fruition?
Let's find out together.
My trade package from Brian ended up containing three team bags full of cards. In the order that I opened them...
The first bag actually contained a bunch of 2015 Topps base cards that I needed. While I won't scan those since everyone is sick of 2015 Topps, I will show off one of the three 2003 Topps Heritage cards that were in the team bag to serve as "protection" for the cards!
The '03 Heritage set is quite nice - and had I been collecting baseball cards actively back then I am sure that I would have tried to finish the set. I like the solid color backgrounds - it makes for a rather striking page in a binder!
The second of the three team bags contained my haul from the 2002 Topps Gallery box which included five Reds (no Larkins though).
The Topps Gallery cards have an artsty vibe with the painted photos - and of my five cards my favorite was far and away the Frank Robinson! I would have to go back and look to be certain but I don't think I actually owned any of the 2002 Topps Gallery cards!
The second team bag also held the five Reds from the Fleer Greats box. Once again, no Larkin (I don't think he's in that set) but I did get a new insert featuring a Red and a Cardinal.
I could do without Cardinal stink on my Reds' baseball cards but in this case I'll let it slide. Getting cards of Big Klu is always fun!
The final cards from the second team bag included my four cards from the Stadium Club box. I ended up with a pair of base cards plus a pair of the thicker chunk cards.
The Griffey Jr. is one of the chunk cards though you probably can't tell from the scan.
That leads us to the final team bag - and still no Larkins to speak of. Let's see what bag #3 holds.
Boom!
That's right - TWO Barry Larkin cards. One from the Fleer Ultra box, the other from the Pinnacle box. Unfortunately for me, I actually already owned both of 'em but that's ok. I was hoping for a Larkin and I got two.
But wait, it actually got a LOT better. One of the final cards that I uncovered in the last of the team bags was this beauty.
Yeah, that's another Barry Larkin card - the third of the break...and this one is NEW to me! That's the Starburst parallel and it's a brand new addition to my Barry Larkin Collection (I'll feature the card in its own post sometime in the future)! I will say it looks MUCH better in person than it does in that scan...you'll have to trust me on that I guess.
Many thanks for the awesome group break idea Brian! I was hoping to hit a new Larkin and you delivered big time (plus getting the 2015 Topps cards that I needed was much appreciated)! As for anyone else, if you have any Barry Larkin cards for trade - or anything else from my want list - be sure to shoot me an email and hopefully we can work something out!
Great haul Chris! I loved those Pinnacle Dufex cards back in those days.
ReplyDeleteThat Larkin card was one of my favorites from the break - it found the right home, for sure.
ReplyDelete