Card of the Day - 2014 Topps High Tek : Yasiel Puig Low Tek Diffractor Autograph (11/15) BGS Raw Graded Gem Mint 9.5

My collection is sorely lacking in Puig autographs and that can be attributed to the high price usually attached to certified autographs. I have his Bowman Chrome rookie and a great looking sweet spot baseball but nothing else up till now.

The High Tek brand is new to me but the 2014 issue is it's return to the hobby after years of Topps not producing this brand. When they did I was not in the hobby so I didn't know what to expect. This is my second autograph from the collection and after the 1st (Valenzuela) was in hand I wasn't that big of a fan. I find it an intriguing brand with its multiple non color parallels such as clouds, dots and the like but I decided it wasn't for me so I moved on from the brand but a Puig search brought me back.

I wanted another Puig autograph but I also wanted it already graded. I would have accepted a nice mint 9 but then the search presented this beauty. Unlike the other autograph parallels this one looks more like a traditional one albeit the back as these cards are "see though". This card is just one step from being in a gem mint case as it has already been raw graded gem mint which is good enough for me. With only 15 copies of this card in existence if you know how to look you can figure out the transaction history of this card if it was sold on eBay previously. I saw that this card was originally sold "raw" so that means that buyer went and got it pre graded with BGS and was now selling it back on eBay. Saw the price of the previous transaction so I knew where my ceiling was give or take.

Surprisingly the final day of the auction arrived and the high bid sat at 50% less than the selling price when it sold "raw". Could I really score a deal on a card that got better than the first time it was on eBay? Oh yeah I could as after 22 different bids I came out on top with the final total 30% less than what it sold for raw a month or so prior to this auction. Can't beat that and now I have my second on card gem mint autograph of the Dodger's wild horse.

If I get one a year that will be fine for me so this should hold me till 2016, unless a great deal comes up prior to then.

=)

11 of 15

The unique back of the High Tek brand

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin