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July is One of My Favorite Months!

July is one of my favorite months of the year for a variety of reasons.  I enjoy the festivities of July 4th, I enjoy being out on a lake or river when it's hot, and I enjoy grilling dinner using fresh garden produce!

There's another reason why July is great though and it's because July is the month of Ginter.

That's right.

Topps Allen & Ginter's set is released every July - and since Ginter is my all-time favorite set (so much so that I'm even collecting one of the original 1889 Ginter sets) - July instantly becomes one of the best months of the year!

This year's Ginter set looks to be just as interesting as years past...and I'm trying to figure out if 1) I am going to take a stab at running an Allen & Ginter group break and 2) if I am going to purchase a full case for myself this year!

While I'm not sure about either of the above options at the moment, I am sure that I love all things Ginter - and that's where today's blog post is going.  You see, I recently completed a swap with Matt over at Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits which was very much Ginter heavy!

Matt helped me out a bit with a number of Ginter needs, though unfortunately I still have many more Ginter needs remaining (see here for what I'm still looking for).  However, I won't dwell on what I still need for now, instead let's take a gander at what I can now cross off of my want list!

First up, a lone 2009 Ginter mini card.

There are a couple of different years that I decided it would be a good idea to try and chase the entire regular back mini set.  For whatever reason, 2009 was one such year.  This Pence is the final short printed mini card that I needed which is certainly nice to say!

Moving forward to 2012, Matt sent me five regular back mini cards for my set.

That's right, I also decided to go after the 2012 regular back mini set.  Again, I don't have any great reason for making such a decision but it is what it is!  In this batch, only the Logan Morrison was a short print - but if I recall correctly, it's actually easier to find a short printed regular back mini than it is a non-short print mini in 2012.  Topps is weird sometimes.

Speaking of weird, let's move on to 2014 where Matt hit up some more of my wants.

First up, the weirdest of the bunch - the elusive "binder mini cards."  You could only get the final card in a few of the 2014 mini insert sets by buying one of the Allen & Ginter binders directly from Topps.  I actually wanted to buy one of the binders but they were horribly overpriced so I never bit the bullet.  Luckily, Matt somehow acquired some extra of the elusive minis and so he sent me three of the six hard-to-find minis!

The first hard to find minis is Ned Kelly from the Outlaws, Bandits, and Al-Around Ne'Er Do Wells set.

It's a long insert name but it's a cool card (even if I can't quite figure out what's going on in the drawing).  Seriously, does Ned have some sort of Gumbi-esque arm that's holding some sort of pistol in a weird way?  And does Ned's horse have eyes that are looking backwards?  And what's with the giant tail on the animal?  So many questions - but at least I can say the card is now mine!

The next tough-to-find mini is of Jan Vermeer from the Where Nature Ends set.

I never quite undersood the "Where Nature Ends" name for a set of artists but I'm assuming there's a reason for it...I'm just not smart enough to know what it is.  That Vermeer picture is enough to give you nightmares though so I wouldn't advise staring deeply into his eyes.

The final hard-to-find mini is of Pocahontas.

This isn't your Disney version of Pocahontas (the back of the card states that the married Pocahontas died at age 22).  Even so, it's a nice card - and the image is definitely the least creepy of the three binder cards!

As if that weren't enough, Matt also hooked me up with a pair of Larger than Life mini cards.

These are your regular old mini cards, nothing super rare about them - but I didn't have them prior to this trade so they are just as special to me!  Even better, these two cards mean I can finally knock the entire Larger than Life mini set off my want list!  It feels great to actually complete a set once in a while!!

The final Ginter card from Matt is yet another mini - this time from the Into the Unknown set.

That's Lewis and Clark - and it's the final card (other than the hard-to-get Hernan Cortes card from the set).  I'm now tantalizingly close to completing another mini set...and that makes for a great start to July!

Thanks for the trade Matt!  And, as always, if anyone else would like to trade - check out my want list and make an offer!

Comments

  1. There is a quote attributed to artist Marc Chagall that says, "Great art picks up where nature ends," so I guess that is the reference being made in the Where Nature Ends set name. I had wondered that as well, and your post motivated me to finally look it up.

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  2. Ah, thanks! I had no idea (and obviously was too lazy to look it up myself)! At least the name makes sense now...and kudos to Topps for making me learn something (even if it took almost a year).

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  3. Ned also looks like he's wearing a paper shopping bag on his head... so many questions indeed. Also, with railroading being another love of mine, that Casey Jones card is pretty nifty.

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  4. Mr. Nachos, you are quite correct that July is awesome.

    Also, you appear to study Mathematics. How is that going?

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