12 Days of Christmas 2022 Countdown: Day 4 - Top 4 Barry Larkin eBay Buys!

Welcome to this year's edition of my 12 Days of Christmas.  This theme will run through Christmas Eve with each day's topic somehow related to the number of days remaining until Christmas itself!  

I'm back with another 12 Days of Christmas countdown post, this time it's for the Top 4 Barry Larkin cards from a pair of recent eBay purchases (from the same seller).

Top 4 Recent Barry Larkin Purchases from eBay:

#4:  2003 Fleer Ultra - #41 - Gold Medallion Die-Cut

I'm a sucker for die-cut cards though this one is barely a die-cut card (pretty lazy design if I'm being honest).  I'm also a sucker for most years of the Ultra line.  Put all that together and this was a card that I was bound to seek out sooner than later - and now I own it!  

#3:  1996 Leaf - #122 - Press Proof Bronze

The Bronze Press Proof cards were limited to only 2000 copies so they are rather rare (especially for the era in which the cards were released).  To my eye, the only thing that differentiates this card from the regular 1996 Leaf base card is the color of the foil stamp on the card front.  I don't see any markings of "Press Proof" anywhere which is kind of odd.  

#2:  2000 Topps - #85 (Limited & Home Team Advantage)

Am I cheating on my own countdown by including two cards for a single slot?  Of course I am!  That being said, these cards are virtually identical other than the stamp (and the card stock).  The Topps Limited set was apparently limited to "only" 4000 copies, somehow twice the number as the 1996 Leaf Bronze Press Proof cards.  That being said, I love the image on this particular Larkin card so getting a pair of parallels of the same card is appreciated for my collection!

#1:  1996 Sportflix - #1 - Double Take

Tilt this card in one direction and you'll see Barry Larkin, tilt it in a different direction and you'll see Cal Ripken, Jr. instead.  Sportflix cards were gimmicky to start with and this insert set adds to the gimmick by including two different players on one card (and such that you can only see one player at a time).  Couple all that with the fact that card is basically transparent and you've got yourself a pretty cool, pretty unique insert from the mid-90s.  

That does it for this round of purchases - nothing mind-bendingly awesome or rare but still nice to plug in some more holes in my Barry Larkin Collection binders!