Friday, March 31, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Allen Ginter : Mike Trout Mini Frame Autograph Black Parallel (2/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5


Allen Ginter is probably my 2nd favorite brand every year and the mini frame autographs are number 1 within the set for me. This is my 2nd numbered A/G autograph of the Angel's great. I lucked into the red ink parallel from the 2013 set (quick recap on that is I sold a Puig BGS gem to cover the full cost of the Trout AND pocketed some money, try doing that today!!!) and am always on the lookout to add another but most of the time the price is too high for me. Lucky for me when one day eBay was running an eBucks promotion at the same time I saw this and I was ready to part with a few cards to cover it's cost. I did not get the same awesome deal as the Puig/Trout swap but I did get another limited and numbered Trout autograph that has already been certified as gem mint by Beckett at no cost out of pocket. The best kind of transaction.


Two
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Clayton Kershaw Base Sapphire Edition Parallel (#/250) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5


Wanted this but did not expect to snag it so soon and especially not in this spiffy BGS gem mint 9.5 case.

Topps Chrome came out with a special edition (Sapphire) at the end of the baseball year and only came in factory set form. There were only 250 sets produced and even though that number has been confirmed by Topps the actual cards are not numbered to reflect that print run. Tad irritating but it is what it is.

Per the norm I wanted my core 3 (Seager, Trout and Kershaw) from this set but knew that they would be a pain to acquire. Right out the gate the Seager card was going for 2 bennys which was and is still out of my range. The Trout I haven't seen pop up but a couple times but don't really remember the price and then you have Kershaw. It has constantly sold for anywhere between $10ish to a high of $25-30. Not crazy pricey but I wasn't in a hurry to pick it up. Of course that changed when this popped up one day a few minutes after it went live. This was the 1st one I have seen graded and with a BIN price lower than some of the raw sales I saw no need to put off acquiring this CK card.


Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Refractor Parallel (4/50) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5


Gold...Gold.... and even more Gold. Everywhere I look when it comes to this card I see that color and I couldn't be happier.

For this off season there were a few cards on my want list that I really wanted to acquire before the 2017 season began and this was one of them and a major get on my part. I am trying to do the autograph rainbow of Corey from the 2016 Topps Chrome set and this Gold one (50 print run) and the Red (a scant 5 print run) were the last biggies I needed to land. I have the Orange (25), Green (99), Blue (150) and Purple (250) in hand already so these last 2 colors are the last that were needed to be picked up. I probably will never see the Red so this Gold was a necessity for my collection and when it popped up on eBay I put a quick bid on it as it also had a BIN option but I wanted to play the auction game. Many bids later, including a few snipe ones from me and another buyer in the waning seconds of the auction, mine held on and I struck Gold.


Is it possible for me to actually complete the rainbow for this project? Yeah, but not likely as I am sure when and if that red pops up it will go for a pretty penny and probably way out of my price range unless I choose to sell off something of value to acquire it. For the time being I need to snag the base (plentiful) and the base refractor (does it even exists?) which would give me the full rainbow minus the Red which if I can make that happen I would be more than happy with.


Four
of
Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Update : Clayton Kershaw Base Black Parallel (43/65)


Even though I love black parallels and I hunted down all 3 of Corey Seager I wasn't planning (at this moment at least) to snag the Kershaw one but when this one popped up for a bargain price I couldn't not pick it up.

For some reason this books with a range of $20-50 which even as a Clayton fan I know is way too much. The highest I think I saw this go for was in the high teens and that was when it first came out. Prices have dropped since then even with only 65 copies out there. Well one night I was doing my random Kershaw searches and this along with a gold parallel (which is available if anyone wants it) popped up on eBay on a BIN auction at less than $8. Just the black one for that amount would have been a coup but with the gold also included it made the deal sweeter. Now with Seager and Kershaw acquired I guess I need to get that Trout to finish off my needs from this release.


Forty-Three
of
Sixty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Monday, March 27, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Seven From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2016 Topps Corey Seager Acetate Parallel (6/10))


The final write up from my raw review batch from a couple weeks ago and while this is a "disappointing" return if they were all like this I would be happy every day of the week.

So why is this card's return a disappointment? While it did earn a gold banner I honestly thought this had a good chance at earning a pristine 10 which would have made this acquisition even more awesome. I acquired it during this past off season on a steal of deal and with a print run of just 10 I had hoped to really drive up the value of it and possibly flip it with a 10 on it. The card is the acetate parallel aka plastic like the High Tek brand. I had hoped that would help earn a higher grade as they are less susceptible to conditioning issues. While there is no 10 on this grade I am more than happy that it earned a 9.5 and this is my new crown jewel of 2016 rookie cards of Corey. I am curious to know if this was close to a 10 (.5 away) but I will have to wait till early April to find out the results but till then I know I have a very cool piece about to be slabbed for my collection.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Update : Julio Urias Base Photo Variation


Yesterday's black and white parallel of Julio was a great deal in my eyes but then I snagged this from the same seller on eBay for even a bigger bargain.

This card books for $4-10 which makes it not an investment piece but I do love me some photo variations of various Dodgers and after I talked down the seller for the black and white one I turned my attention to this one that he was selling. He had an asking price of $6 which was mid book which was higher than most copies were going for. I sent him an offer of $1.50 and sold him on the fact that he would save on shipping as he could combine it with the other card I won from him. He didn't even put up a fight as he accepted my offer. Not a bad card for 6 quarters.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Update : Julio Urias Base Black and White Photo Negative Parallel


Well I guess I am full on into Urias cards once again. Yes, I decided to collect him again but I was only going to focus on autographs of the young star. Well the deals keep presenting themselves so how can I say no to them when they are just basically calling to me to snag them.

Well this black and white parallel that has a book range of $8-20 was not really on my radar till I was bored and decided to give the seller of this card on eBay a low ball offer that was below low book. He rejected that offer but with his counter it was still reasonable and showed he was willing to negotiate with me. After all was said and done I acquired it for less than low book AND on top of that snagged another great deal better than this one. More on that tomorrow.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Friday, March 24, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Six From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager Orange Parallel (16/25))


And now we get to the final 2 cards from the RCR batch and the 2 that I could not wait a month to found out what they earned as they/are limited and if they did not earn a gold banner then I would have flipped them and pursued replacements but thankfully it did not come to that.

I am trying to do the unthinkable and complete a DOUBLE rainbow of Corey Seager from the 2016 Topps Chrome release. One rainbow of autographs and the other of non autographs. I plan to pursue them minus the superfractors as those are just 1 of 1's and I would never spend the money to acquire them. The other thing is I want/need them all to be in BGS gem mint condition. Yeah, that's a bitch. Well other than the Red parallel (with its 5 print run) the Orange (#/25) is/was the hardest to get. I snagged this from a friend on IG and crossed my fingers that it would gem when I submitted it to BGS for a raw review and thank God it did as I did not want to go searching for another copy.

Most year's this would probably be THE rookie card to have of any given player with it's minimal print run but not for Corey. More on that Monday as that one will close out the RCR results.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps : Clayton Kershaw Future Game Pin Autograph (4/25)


With this being a thick card (potential condition issues) and with a print run of just 25 and it being a year old I didn't expect to pick up a copy at any point even though it was never a priority. But things change as we all know.

I am concentrating on just autographs going forward when it comes to my collecting habits which means less and less stuff to chase after. Knowing that this particular card would have a possible issue earning a gem mint from BGS I just kept an eye out for a quality one that would at least earn a 9 and I believe that is what this one will do.

The main reason (other than being an on card auto) that I wanted this was because it shows Kershaw in a non Dodger uniform as you can it is a USA variety. A rarity nowadays when it comes to Clayton cards. Card is heading to Dallas for the grading treatment as this was the last one to make it to me prior to the event.


Four
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Five From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2016 Topps Now Clayton Kershaw Relic (35/99) Autograph)


The 5th result of the batch and the final Kershaw and autograph overall and one that I wasn't sure how it would grade out even though I was confident of a Gold banner.

I went from not caring/wanting this card when it was first announced the day after Clayton recorded his 1st MLB save to needing it to be in a BGS 9.5 case and now that journey is done.

This is a thick card and they do have a tendency to have condition issues but when I received this back in January I didn't see any major issues with it and I crossed my fingers that it would earn at least a 9.5 and that it did. I am curious what the subs are but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a strong 9.5. This has become one of my favorite Kershaw autograph cards in my collection due to the significance that it depicts.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph


And look at me now. I think I just completed the "realistic" autograph rainbow of Clayton Kershaw from the 2016 High Tek set with the addition of this base version.

I now have what I consider the achievable cards of the set. There is a 1 of 1 black and a red with a print run of 5. I might land that red one at some point but with only 5 copies it will be a stretch but other than those 2 I have all the rest and each one is included in my most recent BGS batch. Crazy how I might have a full rainbow of ungraded parallels and in a few short weeks I could have the full rainbow in gem mint cases. We shall see.

Even though this is the base it was the hardest one to acquire as I set my limit on what I considered to be a good deal but finally I won it at a price I was comfortable with. Welcome home Clayton.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Monday, March 20, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Four From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2015 Topps Supreme Clayton Kershaw Magenta Printing Plate (1/1) Autograph)


I know this picture is a little dark as I took all my RCR results in a hurry due to time constraints but all that matters is that beautiful gold you see glowing at the top of this picture. Another gem mint Kershaw autograph for the collection.

I am trying to the impossible with this 4 card project but with this return I am now officially 1/2 done of completing it. I am trying to get all 4 printing plates of Kershaw from the 2015 Supreme set and on top of that I would like/love them to be in BGS 9.5 condition. I already have the Yellow in said condition and now I have the Magenta one. I still need to locate the Black and Cyan plates which may or may never happen but being 1/2 to completion is better than not even have started the project. Either way this adds another 9.5 to the Kershaw autograph collection and that is a good thing.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Strata : Clayton Kershaw Clearly Authentic Autograph Black Parallel (32/50)


Clayton was pumping out his signature this off season with nearly no break as I received yet another one that was due to me via the Topps redemption program.

This black parallel was one of the freebies that I picked up during the last eBay eBucks quarter and now with the actual card in hand it even feels better that I spent zero dollars to acquire it. I now have the blue parallel and this black one and both are heading to BGS for the grading treatment. I think this one has a better chance at a 9.5 gold banner but I'll cross my fingers that they both earn that distinction.


Thirty-Two
of
Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Five Star : Clayton Kershaw Silver Signatures Autograph Purple Parallel (10/25)


I got a steal on this card when I acquired in redemption form awhile back but the shine of that transaction has dulled a tad with the actual card now in hand.

A Kershaw autograph is a Kershaw autograph and now that I am not getting rid of any that don't reach at least a BGS 9 there is no way this card is leaving my collection. That said it will be a stretch for this card to earn a 9. There is a corner that the paper is coming off the cardboard. I tried my best to fix it but there is no way it won't be seen by the grader. No matter though as I will be submitting this as a RCR and if it does indeed end up less than a 9 then I will just submit it for slabbing so I can store it easier.

I had high hopes for this card but even with that issue it still is a beautiful piece as the silver autograph really looks good against a purple backdrop. Another rung on the ladder to 100 Kershaw autographs.


Ten
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Friday, March 17, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Three From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2012 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Autograph)


Of all the gem mint returns I received from the raw grade review portion of the BGS event this was the biggest and most pleasant surprise of the group. Glad I was wrong when I did my pre grading routine.

To this day I think the 2012 Heritage set is the best looking of the brand and I have/had wanted the Kershaw autograph from this set for years and when The Dutch Card Guy announced he was quitting the Kershaw portion of his collection I was all over this card. Quick transaction as always with him and I had my card in hand shortly. Once it arrived though I saw there was some fraying on the corners and though I was disappointed in it I believed it would at least earn a 9 but instead of just sending it straight to Dallas for grading I decided to give it the RCR treatment. Glad I did as you can see it earned a gold banner and I couldn't be happier.

I am expecting the sub grades to go 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 and then a 9 for corners. Do...not...care! All that matters is that the overall is a 9.5 and that sirs and madams is a good day in my eyes.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Orange Refractor Parallel (16/25)


Tuesday's card was the appetizer while today's is the main course and it's a biggie in great condition.

I am/still trying to finish up the rainbow parallel project I have going for Corey Seager from the 2016 Topps Chrome set and other than the superfractor (which is a 1 of 1) the only 2 colors I needed were the Orange and Red parallels. Orange has a print run of 25 while the Red checks in with the small number of 5. While I believe the Red is a "white whale" that I probably will never acquire the Orange I also thought I could snag at some point even with only 25 copies in the world. I have seen quite a few exchange hands in the past year but I was never able to jump in and pick it up but then one day this was made available on Instagram and I inquired about it immediately and thankfully it was still there for the taking. Now to negotiate a price that was acceptable to the both of us. A few hours later we agreed and the card(s) were on their way to me.

I had already made up mind that I would be RCR'ing this when BGS came back to town as if it did not come back as a 9.5 I would flip it and wait out another Orange copy that would earn a 9.5. Well I don't think (hope) that will be the case as in hand this card looks to be great. I am still going to RCR it but I think/should be happy with the result. Knock on wood.


Sixteen
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number Two From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph)


I was hoping to sneak one past the graders with this Kershaw autograph but they were not having it this day.

I was confident that this would earn a 9.5 and that it did. What I was hoping to also get was a 10 on the autograph but since Kershaw signed it to the edge of the card 99% of the time the graders knock it down to a 9. I was hoping for the 1% this time but I got the majority instead and with that I now have 2 Allen Ginter mini frame autographs of the Dodger great in 9.5/9 condition. Even though I could have just sent this in to get it slabbed as "authentic" I decided to go the full grade route. Hate how they knock the grade down just because it goes to the edge but it is what it is.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Gypsy Queen : Corey Seager Base Autograph


A card popped up on Instagram one day (more on that Thursday) that I really wanted as it was made available by the owner. I approached him about snagging it and inquired about the value he put on it. It was reasonable but at the same time he had this autograph he also wanted to unload. I want(ed) to add to my Seager autograph collection but I didn't want this one at this time. Glad I was "convinced" to take it.

While any Corey autograph is nice to have I know GQ has quality issues but after I decided to take both cards I was pleasantly surprised of the condition of this beauty. I actually think it might earn a 9.5 from Beckett but even if it doesn't at the very worst I believe it back with as a 9. 2 great cards acquired in 1 transaction and I am glad I got them while I could.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Monday, March 13, 2017

Raw Card Review Recap Number One From Submission Batch Done On Saturday March 6th, 2017 (2014 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Yellow (6/30) Autograph)



Twice a year Beckett ventures out to my neck of the woods and once again I attended the event to submit another large batch of cards for my friends but for the bonus of the event is to get some cards raw reviewed to hopefully send off to BGS to get fully slabbed if it passes my expectations. I ended up sending 7 to Dallas and this is the 1st one and the only one that I was trying to cross over from PSA to BGS on a minimum grade review.

When you do a card review you can always request the minimum grade you want and for this PSA 10 I wanted at least a BGS 9.5 and all I had to do is hope that it came back with 2 red stickers which as you can see it did. I am a BGS snob and have all my Kershaw autographs in Beckett cases and now this Yellow parallel will be in one in less than a month.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Orange Magma Diffractor Parallel (11/25)


Another parallel another Kershaw autograph acquisition.

I have always wanted to do an autograph rainbow set and while I have gotten close I am always one or two cards away from completion but I keep trying and this Orange parallel is yet another chance at completing the rainbow from the 2016 High Tek set. At the very worst this adds another autograph to my road of owning 100 Clayton autographs.

With only 25 copies in existence I knew when one of these popped up on a traditional auction I would have to put my attention on it as you never know when another copy would show up. Unlike the Blue sky one this did not have as many bids on it and I ended up the winner of it for a reasonable amount which was covered by other sales. This like all my Kershaw autographs are headed to Beckett in the pursuit of Gold.


Eleven
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Strata : Clayton Kershaw Clearly Authentic Autograph Blue Parallel (71/99)


Why thank you Mr. Clayton Kershaw.

This is the actual card from the redemption that I had won on eBay. Unlike other years Clayton seems to be signing these Stratas pretty quickly and my copy finally made it to me as I have seen plenty pop up on the bay.

While I am still not the biggest relic guy I can not turn away a great deal of an on card autograph for this Dodger legend. Unlike the Strata inserts these are not too thick to grade and I am thinking at the very worst it earns a 9 but I think it has a good chance at a gold banner. We shall see shortly.


Seventy-One
of
Ninety-Nine

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Friday, March 10, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Sky Rainbow Parallel (11/20)


Well look at me. Trying to get all these Asia exclusive cards from the 2016 High Tek set and if I really am going to get an autograph rainbow of Clayton from the series this was (other than the red #/5) the biggest fish to acquire and surprising it wasn't that hard.

Once again I believe that the feeling among most USA based buyers is that they do not want to deal with a transaction that could take a long time to complete. Their loss continues to be my gain. Even with that mentality I still expected a decent amount of traffic for this card and I wasn't wrong. It took 19 bids but mine held on to snag this blue beauty and now it is my stack to get graded by Beckett and considering that it is made of plastic I hope and expect this to earn a gold 9.5 label at the bare minimum.


Eleven
of
Twenty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Card of the Day - 2017 Topps : Corey Seager 1987 Card Design Autograph


I remember back in 1987 ( I  was a wee 13 year old boy then ) and when that year's Topps set came out I hated it with a passion. I did not like light wood in any aspect of my life but I guess I matured and I have started to like wood stuff in everyday life. Well I wasn't planning to get anything this early in the year baseball card wise but when I found out that Corey had ON CARD signed his cards from the new set I wanted 1 for my collection.

This is a big deal actually as most years the flagship brand always has sticker autographs which I despise. There are/were some limited (numbered) ones out there but I wasn't that concerned in getting one of those as I just wanted to add another Seager autograph to the collection. After all the hysteria of the new release had died down the prices became more reasonable and then this one popped up on an eBay eBucks promotion day and with zero hesitation I snagged it. Sending it to BGS to get graded and I'd say it has a 50/50 of gemming. We shall see.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Strata : Clayton Kershaw Clearly Authentic Autograph Blue Parallel (#/99)


I am not one to look turn away from a great deal if I stumble across one and that is exactly what I did when I found this on one of many searches.

eBay was running another one of their eBucks promotions and I had comic sales ending a day later when I came across this on a BIN auction. I was not going to use any out of pocket funds so I had to wait a day for my own auctions to end. I was the 1st to put this on their watch list and by the time I came back to it to "purchase" it I was now 1 of 15 to be watching it. Kind of surprised it was still available to me but I didn't hesitate anymore once I had the appropriate funds in hand.

Knowing that Clayton has been signing these already I knew this would be in hand shortly so I will have it for the next BGS submission batch that I am doing.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Gold Label : Julio Urias Framed Autograph Black Parallel (9/50)


Another redemption filled in a timely matter and I half way expected it to as Julio has always been a considerate signer in person so my thought process was that it wouldn't change when it came to doing these cards.

From afar this looks like a sticker autograph and I actually reached out to a few other collectors of this card (they had theirs in hand before me) and asked about it and they said no it was an on card autograph. That was a relief. I have always loved metal framed cards and this one is no different. This looks great in hand and I expect it to earn a gold label from Beckett when it goes in for grading as corners "can't" be an issue and everything else checks out.

My slow process getting back into the Julio collecting club continues and this is a fine addition to it.


Nine
of
Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Monday, March 6, 2017

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Blue Dots Parallel (3/5)


By the time this post sees the light it day it will be late 2016 or it might possibly be the beginning of 2017 but this rare autograph of Dodger great Clayton Kershaw was the first card acquired after the Dodgers were eliminated by the Cubs in NLCS. Maybe that is why I felt at that time and still do think that it was a steal of a deal.

Always on the look out for autographs in general of Clayton but rare ones are always a priority when I come upon one and when this one popped up I crossed my fingers that I could win it even though I knew it would be hard to. One project that is open across all card brands is to complete an autograph rainbow of Clayton and/or Corey Seager but knowing that most have a low numbered parallel makes it a pipe dream most of the time as when they do show up everyone seems to want it. Well this blue dots parallel is the lowest print run (5) in the 2014 High Tek release and with my incredible luck of acquiring the black and white (15 copies) and the red (10 copies) at an unreal cost this one was the last one of the rares ones I needed. I still need the base and higher numbered ones but I know I can pick those up somewhere down the road. This is only the 2nd time I have ever seen a blue dots pop up and what I chalk up to God doing me a solid I picked this up with little hassle.

Now if I can get this whole 2014 High Tek autograph set in gem mint 9.5's from BGS that would be the ultimate cherry on top and under a loop this looks to be a lock for that gold banner. Only some slight fuzziness around a corner which should at worst knock that sub grade down to a 9.


Three
of
only
Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Five Star : Corey Seager Base Autograph Rainbow Parallel (23/25)


Unlike Clayton Kershaw I knew Corey would fulfill his redemption cards in a prompt manner and I was not disappointed.

When I acquired the place holder for this card I found out when it was in route that Mr. Seager had already signed the actual cards so I knew the minute I put the code in that I would have the real card show up pretty quickly and that it did.

The turnaround from acquisition to inputting the code to Topps sending me this card was probably about 3 weeks. That is a good time frame and wish more players put that much effort into their commitments. I am hoping this gems when I submit it to BGS and my feeling is that it has a 50/50 chance as a couple of the corners are "soft". Hopefully not too much to hurt the overall grade.


Twenty-Three
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Tribute : Clayton Kershaw Ageless Accolades Autograph (32/50)


Perfect.....timing and possibly a perfect card.

I wasn't looking specifically for this but I am always looking out for new Kershaw autographs to acquire and one day in early January after a weekend of book sales I had some extra moola. Saw this and was intrigued by it as it was reasonably priced but I was holding out on another card that I wanted but late in the day eBay did a flash promotion and offered a coupon of $15 off a purchase but the transaction had to be done within the next 4 hours. Well considering that this was on a BIN and the other was on an auction that did not end for a few days I decided to snag this for nothing out of pocket.

Since the seller was from California it only took 2 days to get from his hands to mine and as most of my cards this was already earmarked to be sent to BGS for grading before I even received it. Well once in hand I think this card has a very good chance at a pristine 10 grade as since it is an acetate card the corners are usually better on these types of cards and this one under the loop shows no issues. Everything else looks great and hoping to add another perfect card to the collection.


Thirty-Two
of
Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Friday, March 3, 2017

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Corey Seager Base Green Refractor Parallel


... and here we/ I go again with crossed fingers and hopeful wishes and dreams of a gold banner from BGS. Will it happen this time? Time will tell or more specifically on March 4th I'll know.

It is well documented that I am trying to have the entire rainbow of cards from the 2013 Bowman Chrome set of Corey Seager in gem mint condition. There are 16 cards (sans the super) and 14 of mine are in 9.5 condition. Only the X-Fractor and the Green have eluded the gold banner. I will continue till I have all of them in those gold cases and here is my next entry into that hunt.

I snagged this on a 1 bid auction on eBay and since I already have another Green one that one's sale will cover this one's purchase. Looking at this on the computer screen I hoped that the corners, edges and surface are/were good as from left to right this looks centered but from top to bottom it is a tad off. Centering will probably earn a 9 (better not get an 8.5) so I need the other 3 categories to hold their own at 9.5 to get me my Green gem. I will not be waiting a whole month to know the answer as I will be submitting this as a RCR and if it doesn't gem (God forbid) I will sell it and wait for another Green to show up. If it does then I will be one step away from a full gold banner rainbow. Crossing my fingers.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Card of the Day - 2015 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Red Orbit Parallel (3/5)


I guess red is my color when it comes to certain cards. Topps and their High Tek brand have released 3 Red orbit autograph parallels in the years 2014-2016. I already own the 2014 version which is earmarked for BGS and now I was able to lock down this 2015 for a steal. Guess I need the 2016 one to complete the "project".

The 2014 version is numbered out of 10 but this 2015 and the 2016 ones are numbered out of only 5. That makes finding one let alone acquiring one a true feat as most probably never see the light of day. To my surprise this one popped up one day and I was all over it as it slots into a lot of different projects I have going. While there were a lot of bids for the card surprisingly the amount of them did not drive up the price that much. In the end I won it for a lot less than the 2014 version and when I compare the print runs between the 2 this 2015 is much better bargain.

The cards looks good enough to earn a 9.5 from Beckett but will put that to the test in March when it goes to Dallas to get slabbed.


Three
of
Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Series 2 : Corey Seager Team Glove "Leather" Insert Autograph (16/25)


A token bid win on an eBay auction are always the BEST.

This faux leather glove autograph of the Dodgers Corey Seager is not the most visually appealing of his signed cards but an autograph is an autograph and I want to build up my collection of his autographs. This thick card was released in the 2nd series of 2016 Topps and while I had seen other copies on eBay I had not pursued one as of yet. When this particular one popped up I put it on my watch list just to see where it would end price wise with no intention of bidding. Last 10 minutes of the auction had this card's high price way below low book ($150 high with a $60 low) so with a a few seconds left I made the decision to put in a very low bid and to my surprise I was declared the winner shortly after.

Nothing like winning a low print (25 copies) at a cheap price and one that looks to be in great condition that I will be submitting to BGS for what I believe will be at least a 9 return.


Sixteen
of
Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin