I'm back with the second part of my end of a trade with Matt over at Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits. Last time, I showed off the full-sized cards that Matt sent my way. Today, we shift our attention to the minis!
In addition to the Joey Votto gold parallel you see above, Matt sent me mini cards from TEN different mini sets (including one set which he sent me the final card that I needed). I thought it'd be fun to show off the cards while ranking the mini sets based only on the cards sent along from Matt.
#10: US Mayors (2016)
Back in 2016, I was fairly tired of politics. Now that it is 2019, I'm completely sick of politics and I'd be happy if Topps didn't include another politically themed insert set in Allen & Ginter for at least another decade. On the bright side, while Matt didn't quite complete this set for me he did send me three of the five remaining cards that I needed. The set is certainly now within striking range of being finished off via either trade or a COMC purchase later this year.
#9: Indigenous Heroes (2018)
The Indigenous Heroes inset set is actually quite nice - but it suffers from being the "common" mini set in the 2018 edition of Ginter. That is, if you happen to find a few mini inserts in a box or blaster, there's almost a 100% chance that at least one of those minis will belong to this set. There's a much, much smaller chance of getting a mini from one of the other sets that might be of more interest to a person (such as the Flags of Lost Nations set which I loved)! That said, despite the set being fairly common I'm still missing a ton of cards from the set: MIH- 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24.
#8: Folio of Fears (2018)
Unlike the Indigenous Heroes set, the Folio of Fears mini set has proven to be quite elusive to me this year. The set is much, much smaller in terms of number of cards but I'm missing almost as many as I am missing from the larger Heroes set: MFF- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. I also find that Claustrophobia picture to be weirdly unsettling - mostly I guess because of the blurry image used.
#7: Subways & Streetcars (2016)
Remember, this countdown is only based on the card(s) that Matt sent me from each set. With that said, the Subways & Streetcars set as a whole is pretty cool - but this particular card of a motorcycle doesn't do as much for me personally. Then again, I just read an article the other day about how millenials are killing Harley Davidson and motorcycles in general and so perhaps this card doesn't do it for anyone of my generation!
#6: A Healthy Mind (2015)
One of my 2019 resolutions is to read more books than I have in the past few years - so this card is basically right up my alley as compared to the motorcycle card. That said, a baseball card about reading a book isn't exactly the most exciting thing to see depicted on cardboard! The good news for me is that the Healthy Mind cards are tough pulls - so having one sent my way by Matt is definitely appreciated!
#5: Bust a Move (2017)
Here's the second set that Matt helped me complete in this trade package (the other being the 2018 base Ginter set which I showed off yesterday). The Bust a Move set is kind of cool - and while I cannot dance, perhaps if I studied the card backs where they depict the dance moves there might yet be hope for me. On second thought, I don't think so. Still, I am quite pleased to be able to knock a full set off of my want list (another 2019 Blog Resolution of mine)!
#4: Exotic Sports (2018)
I mean, it's a card about Beer Pong. How often do you get to see that? Seriously though, if you ever wonder why I love Allen & Ginter, just scroll up and down this trade post. Simply look at the HUGE array of sets and subjects that A&G covers. It's all in good fun (even the political stuff)!
#3: World's Hottest Peppers (2018)
Another great mini set from this past year's A&G set. I enjoy cooking a lot so to see a card set all about food means I'm going to be all-in so to speak. Unfortunately, these little hot pepper cards are tough to find in the wild meaning I'm still missing a peck or so of them: WHP- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15.
#2: Flags of Lost Nations (2018)
My favorite mini set from 2018 - for some reason I love the flag sets throughout A&G's history. East Germany was the communist side of Germany up through the end of the 1980s before it was dissolved. From my couple of visits to Germany, you can still see remnants and influences of the old communist state throughout the country.
#1: World's Deadliest Snakes (2007)
And with that, we arrive at the #1 set on the list - the rather rare 2007 Deadliest Snakes insert set. This was an unannounced mini set back in the day and at only five cards in size has remained elusive throughout the entire decade. In fact, I now own two of the five snakes - the missing three being S1, S3, and S5.
Many, many thanks to Matt for all the goodies! Getting able to finish a pair of sets was awesome - but making progress (to varying degrees) on ten different mini sets was amazing. I seriously hope to do lots of damage to my want list over the span of 2019 - Matt certainly got the ball rolling!
Now it's your turn - if you'd like to help me out, check out my want list and make an offer!
In addition to the Joey Votto gold parallel you see above, Matt sent me mini cards from TEN different mini sets (including one set which he sent me the final card that I needed). I thought it'd be fun to show off the cards while ranking the mini sets based only on the cards sent along from Matt.
#10: US Mayors (2016)
Back in 2016, I was fairly tired of politics. Now that it is 2019, I'm completely sick of politics and I'd be happy if Topps didn't include another politically themed insert set in Allen & Ginter for at least another decade. On the bright side, while Matt didn't quite complete this set for me he did send me three of the five remaining cards that I needed. The set is certainly now within striking range of being finished off via either trade or a COMC purchase later this year.
#9: Indigenous Heroes (2018)
The Indigenous Heroes inset set is actually quite nice - but it suffers from being the "common" mini set in the 2018 edition of Ginter. That is, if you happen to find a few mini inserts in a box or blaster, there's almost a 100% chance that at least one of those minis will belong to this set. There's a much, much smaller chance of getting a mini from one of the other sets that might be of more interest to a person (such as the Flags of Lost Nations set which I loved)! That said, despite the set being fairly common I'm still missing a ton of cards from the set: MIH- 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24.
#8: Folio of Fears (2018)
Unlike the Indigenous Heroes set, the Folio of Fears mini set has proven to be quite elusive to me this year. The set is much, much smaller in terms of number of cards but I'm missing almost as many as I am missing from the larger Heroes set: MFF- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. I also find that Claustrophobia picture to be weirdly unsettling - mostly I guess because of the blurry image used.
#7: Subways & Streetcars (2016)
Remember, this countdown is only based on the card(s) that Matt sent me from each set. With that said, the Subways & Streetcars set as a whole is pretty cool - but this particular card of a motorcycle doesn't do as much for me personally. Then again, I just read an article the other day about how millenials are killing Harley Davidson and motorcycles in general and so perhaps this card doesn't do it for anyone of my generation!
#6: A Healthy Mind (2015)
One of my 2019 resolutions is to read more books than I have in the past few years - so this card is basically right up my alley as compared to the motorcycle card. That said, a baseball card about reading a book isn't exactly the most exciting thing to see depicted on cardboard! The good news for me is that the Healthy Mind cards are tough pulls - so having one sent my way by Matt is definitely appreciated!
#5: Bust a Move (2017)
Here's the second set that Matt helped me complete in this trade package (the other being the 2018 base Ginter set which I showed off yesterday). The Bust a Move set is kind of cool - and while I cannot dance, perhaps if I studied the card backs where they depict the dance moves there might yet be hope for me. On second thought, I don't think so. Still, I am quite pleased to be able to knock a full set off of my want list (another 2019 Blog Resolution of mine)!
#4: Exotic Sports (2018)
I mean, it's a card about Beer Pong. How often do you get to see that? Seriously though, if you ever wonder why I love Allen & Ginter, just scroll up and down this trade post. Simply look at the HUGE array of sets and subjects that A&G covers. It's all in good fun (even the political stuff)!
#3: World's Hottest Peppers (2018)
Another great mini set from this past year's A&G set. I enjoy cooking a lot so to see a card set all about food means I'm going to be all-in so to speak. Unfortunately, these little hot pepper cards are tough to find in the wild meaning I'm still missing a peck or so of them: WHP- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15.
#2: Flags of Lost Nations (2018)
My favorite mini set from 2018 - for some reason I love the flag sets throughout A&G's history. East Germany was the communist side of Germany up through the end of the 1980s before it was dissolved. From my couple of visits to Germany, you can still see remnants and influences of the old communist state throughout the country.
#1: World's Deadliest Snakes (2007)
And with that, we arrive at the #1 set on the list - the rather rare 2007 Deadliest Snakes insert set. This was an unannounced mini set back in the day and at only five cards in size has remained elusive throughout the entire decade. In fact, I now own two of the five snakes - the missing three being S1, S3, and S5.
Many, many thanks to Matt for all the goodies! Getting able to finish a pair of sets was awesome - but making progress (to varying degrees) on ten different mini sets was amazing. I seriously hope to do lots of damage to my want list over the span of 2019 - Matt certainly got the ball rolling!
Now it's your turn - if you'd like to help me out, check out my want list and make an offer!
Always look forward to seeing what Topps is going to do with their A&G Mini Insert set. Based on these sets, I'd rank my three favorites as:
ReplyDelete#1: Flags of Lost Nations
#2: Indigenous Heroes
#3: Exotic Sports
The Exotic Sports set from this year is so so cool. I've greatly appreciated trying to complete that. Hope you didn't mind the wait!
ReplyDeleteTotally worth the wait! I am enjoying the Exotic Sports set a lot as well.
ReplyDelete