Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager and Yasiel Puig Dual Rise Autographs (#/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

In 2013 I saw this card and wanted it so bad because of Puig's immediate impact on the game and the promise of Seager but of course the demand made this card's price way out of my budget.

In 2014 I still wanted this card and since Puig was still doing decent the price was still too high for my liking.

In 2015 the card was still on my watch list and with Puig's star coming down the price got a little better for me but Seager's rise was keeping the price up. At the same time I had my focus on other Seager cards that were more important to me so this continued to be wanted but not pursued.

Now it's 2016 and I decided I didn't "need" the card as Puig has fallen out of favor for me and even though I wanted all the Seager autographs I could have I felt having Puig's autograph on the card brought the overall beauty of the card down a tad. Of course if he could turn around his career this card becomes a very nice piece to own considering it's print run is just 25 even though its not numbered. Of course my thinking changed one day when I had what I believe was perfect timing.

The Inception is known for its quality issues with the corners being one the most frequent problems when submitting these cards to BGS for grading. This one happens to be lucky as they earned a 9.5. Over the years I have seen this card sell for north of $300 and I want to say if my memory serves me correctly I saw it clear $400 back in 2013 during Puig's incredible run. I could be wrong but prices were ridiculous for his autographs in 2013. I should know as I sold a gem mint Puig auto for a gem mint Trout red ink auto (#/31) AND had money left over. Try doing that today!

There are 5 of these cards that have been graded by Beckett and only 2 of them are 9.5/10. There is another gem mint but that came back with a 9 on autograph. I wasn't specifically looking for this card but when I did one of my Seager searches it popped up as just being listed at a price that was lower than I ever expected to see a graded one go for. The seller did not show the back of the card so I did not know what the auto grade was but a quick check on Beckett revealed that this was 1 of the 2 that earned a 10 autograph. I debated a second if I really wanted to add this to my collection since it has a Puig autograph but the wanting of having another Seager autograph in gem mint condition was too strong for me to resist so I clicked the button and sent over the payment.

Do I regret making the transaction? At any other price I would have to say yes but for what I "paid" to me it was/is a steal considering the gold banner that adorns the case.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Third times a charm as I finally have my very own gem mint base autograph of Corey from the 2013 Inception release.

The first time I acquired this card I bought it in raw form and sent it in to BGS and it came back a disappointing 8.5. Cracked that bad boy open and sold it for what I paid for it so no harm no foul. Still wanted a graded version of this card in at least mint condition so after a few months of looking I found one (which I still have) to my liking and filed it away. Even with that though I still would have loved to add/replace it with a gem mint beauty but I hadn't been able to locate one till now.

I was in the process of readjusting my collection so funds weren't an issue at that moment but I wasn't going to overspend just to have a card. This one popped up on eBay on a BIN auction but thankfully had a best offer option. Sent an offer for more than 40% off his asking price which he promptly rejected but countered with an amount of about 30% off his asking price which in my mind was more than reasonable. I accepted it and had the card in my possession a week later and I now have two graded base autographs of this card and I'm happy as a clam.

Another gold banner for the collection

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph BGS Graded Mint 9.0

While I am fully invested in finishing off my Bowman Chrome rainbow project for Seager I have had another rainbow project going on as well but it has not been as pressing as the BC one. This is due to the fact that it is from the Bowman Inception brand and for those that don't know that is an all autograph set AND notoriously has condition issues. That makes it a pricier and riskier project to invest time in but I continue to look for cards and I came up with this one on a steal.

I owned a blue version but was not satisfied with an 8.5 from BGS (we all know my quirks on at least getting a mint 9) and I have the gold and orange parallels that both scored 9's but even though I have owned this base card before in raw form I never had it in a BGS case till now (mine had semi rounded corners). The card books from $25-50 in ungraded form but I rarely see them on BGS encased so when this one popped up I kept an eye on it. The trend that I see is that people want gem mint or nothing at all so if you look hard enough you can pick up a deal way below book which is what happened here.

Minty Nine

Since I only want/need mint 9's of this card in my collection (and to be honest a 9.5 is an achievement if you can get it as these have all sorts of chipping problems) I had no issue with this card's silver banner. At the end of the auction I won this for below high book and even some raw versions that sold a couple days before and after this card. I am perfectly happy with a mint 9 in hand instead of acquiring another raw one and crossing my fingers for a good return.

Auto Ten

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Trade with a Friend - Franz : 2013 Bowman Inception Corey Seager Base Autograph Red Parallel (9/10)

The handshake

I look at this picture and by no means am I "big" but that Dodger hoodie sure makes me look like I am bigger than I really am. It was a cold December morning when I arrived at Dodger Stadium for a signing event so I decided to wear my thick hoodie. So yeah, that is my explanation on why I look like I have a big ass belly. Now onto the reason of this post, a baseball card of course.

While the Bowman Chrome rainbow project is my main priority when it comes to Corey Seager I am still slowly trying to do the same thing with the Bowman Inception brand but it is a little harder to accomplish as Inceptions are autographs only which means a higher cost to acquire them.

Franz and I have been friends for years but this is our 1st trade for us as our collecting habits are different as I focus more on cards now and he focuses more on IP autographs. One day I noticed that he commented to a IG post and referenced this card which I was still looking to acquire at a good deal. This is the red parallel which has a print run of just 10. A low number like that means a higher dollar amount attached to it. I had only seen 2 on eBay and the 1 that is still active is way too much for my liking but when Franz mentioned he had one I inquired to see of its availability. He wanted to hold onto it but was willing to move it for the "right" price. Woo hoo.

We agreed to a trade/purchase value but I told him if there was anything in my collection that could knock down the out of pocket costs for me please inform me. That started a week of back and forth IG texts as the cards he picked I had already gotten rid of as I changed the direction of my collecting habits. We finally agreed on a Bowman Sterling Seager autograph that he was happy to acquire and with that the trade was final. A Seager autograph and some cash for him and a spiffy red parallel autograph for me.

This red beauty is now ear marked for grading and while I think there is a 50/50 shot it comes back as a 9.5/9 I will be happy with a mint return since the print run is so small and it was a good deal for the both of us. Thank you again to Franz for letting this bad boy go. It's in good hands.

Nine

of

Ten

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Result Number SEVENTEEN - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Gold Parallel Autograph (66/99) Now Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Like yesterdays' Kershaw card that had that "annoying" silver banner I submitted this Seager for a raw review and it came back with this result . .

. . . which meant when I sent it to BGS headquarters it would come back like this . . .

. . . a color coordinated autograph of the present and future shortstop of the Dodgers, one Corey Seager. Unlike the Kershaw from yesterday this Seager card has potential to go up a lot in value over the course of the next 10 years if and when Corey performs to his ability. While I have changed my focus on card collecting I am still hoarding Seager cards and this will be a nice one to have down the road.

Well even though there are still 16 more cards to showcase I am now done with the guaranteed gems as these past 2 were the only ones I was "certain" would come back with a gold banner.

A gold banner for a gold parallel featuring a golden player. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Parallel (66/99) BGS Graded Mint 9.0

My obsession with mint/gem mint BGS cards has struck again as I went and sold a card and reacquired another copy of the same color just so I would have a BGS 9 in my collection instead of an irritating BGS 8.5.

I acquired a raw version of this card and had submitted it to BGS for grading with the hope of it earning a mint 9 at the very least. It was basically a pipe dream of it earning a gem mint grade but when it came back as an 8.5 I was highly disappointed. You can read that recap HERE . Well I wasn't going to add an 8.5 to my collection but at the same time those are harder to sell online so when I saw this mint 9 I cracked open my 8.5 and sold it raw on eBay.

The seller for this card had it on a buy it now auction with a best offer option so once my raw copy was sold and funds were in hand I sent over an offer of more than 45% of his asking price. Didn't expect him to accept but he did counter with on offer of only a few bucks over my offer. I could have countered but I felt that would be pinching pennies and some sellers take offense to that if they already came down far off their original asking price. I accepted and had this mint baby in hand a few days later.

66 of 99

Only .5 from a gem mint grade

Some people think this is way too much hassle just to get a 9 instead of the 8.5 I already have but I am neurotic like that and I enjoy the hustle. So for only a few dollars out of pocket (difference between the sale of the raw card and the accepted offer of this one) I now have a mint 9 instead of an 8.5 and with this card only being half a point from a gem mint grade I might just see if I can get that bump. In my eyes a nice swap.

Auto 10

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Result Number Seven - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Orange Parallel (7/50) Now Graded Mint 9.0

2013 Bowman Inception Orange Seager

And let's make it three of the same card and player but yet another different color. Of the three colors this orange one appears to be in the best shape. As with the other two there is a corner issues but thankfully it is only on one and it is minimal at that. Hard to see with the naked eye so that works in my favor as if Beckett has to see only if its under a magnifier there is a good chance it will receive a 9 sub grade and hopefully the other 3 sub grades get a 9.5. At worst though I expect this will be at least a mint 9.

The disappointing returns are done and that's even with this card earning a 9 which also thankfully is the last non gem mint of the batch.

I hit this one right on the button as I knew the corners would be the issue and they did indeed score an 8.5. I had hoped for a 9 which would have given me a chance at a gem mint card but I was being realistic and a'ok with this beauty coming back as a mint 9. There are only 50 copies of this card and this is the only to have been submitted to be graded so I stand alone in the mint arena.

I have had more bad luck with these Inception cards than I have with Five Star which I find funny. The thicker cards, which I would assume would be more susceptible to quality issues, tend to come back as at least 9's more often than not while my Inceptions come back as 8.5''s. Glad this is not one of them.

The all important 10 grade on the autograph

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Result Number Three - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Blue Parallel (52/75) Now Graded Near Mint 8.5

2013 Bowman Inception Blue Seager

If this batch had to be named it would be the Seager/Urias batch as 9 of the 18 are of them. First up is this Bowman Inception blue parallel. Inception has notorious condition issues with the corners being the worst offenders. I was lucky on the Urias card from a few batches ago but I think since there are two corners here with issues I will not luck out on a gem mint of Seager here. I don't think the corners are bad enough though to knock it down to a NM result so I am looking at a nice minty 9 here.

Two days ago I showcased the gold version of this card and while they both earned the same grade that one was deemed more of a disappointment as I thought that one was in better condition than this one. I knew going in that this one would not earn a gem mint grade but I still held out hope that it would earn a mint 9. No such luck.

This card literally is a twin brother to the gold one as they scored the exact same grades on each of the 4 categories. Which meant that the 8 that the corners earned caused this card to have an overall near mint grade of 8.5. Since it is the gold's brother this blue one is probably going the same route as that one with it being cracked open and sold off to acquire another Seager autograph which has already been graded a gem mint. Once again I rolled the dice hoping for a mint but it wasn't meant to be.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Result Number Two - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Parallel (57/99) Now Graded Near Mint 8.5

2013 Bowman Inception Gold Seager

Same card, same player but different color. As with the blue one this gold one is subject to the same conditioning concerns especially the corners. The reason this one is higher on the list compared to the blue one is that while it also has issues on two corners one of them you can only really see while under a magnifying glass. Again, can it earn a gem mint grade? Sure but I am being more realistic in my thinking and it will probably come back as a mint 9 just like its blue brother. Still a nice card no matter the grade.

Even though there were 3 different colored parallels of this card in the batch and knowing that corners are an issue with Bowman Inception and these had imperfections that I knew of it was still a "disappointing" return.

I thought the corners would at least earn an 8.5 and that the rest of the sub grades would boost it up so I would get an overall mint grade on the card. While the 3 other sub grades in fact earned a 10, 9.5 and 9 the corners came in with a deflating 8 which meant the card earned an overall 8.5. Ugh, so close to a mint but my gamble did not pay off.

I already have my eye set on a couple more autograph Seager cards so this one will probably be cracked open and sold to compensate for a future sale. Yes, I am that picky but I know it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Orange Parallel (7/50)

I have two separate rainbow projects for the Dodgers super prospect Corey Seager and even though this one has less cards to acquire it is harder to complete due to the fact that it only involves autographs which are pricier to pick up.

I am so not a fan of the color orange and as a Dodger fan I am sure you know why but wanting the full rainbow means I was after this colored parallel and with a print run of just 50 there just wasn't that many up for sale on the bay. BIN with best offer auctions are my bread and butter when it comes to acquiring these hard gems and this one was no different as my feedback and patience worked in my favor as the seller was kind enough to give me 1st crack at negotiations as he ignored the other offers. Only took a hour or so and we agreed on a price and I had my next card for the project in a few short days.

Like most Inception cards this one suffers from some chipping on the corner. If it can hold a 9 sub grade I still might get an overall gem mint but at worst I think I now own a future mint Seager autograph rookie card. Can't be mad at that.

7 / 50

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Blue Parallel (52/75)

Another project or maybe not has started with me getting my hands on this blue beauty,

I have my Seager Bowman Chrome rainbow project that is still a work in progress (and will be for a long time) but on a general search for Seager autographs I came across the Bowman Inception brand. I already have the base version that I picked up two years ago but I thought why not try for an autograph rainbow? Even if I never finish it I will at least have added one or two more Seager autographs to the collection and that is not a bad thing.

A seller had this and two other colored parallels up for sale on the same day and while the other two reached a price point that I was not comfortable with this one was still within in reach with a few minutes left in the auction. My bid made the high price only go up a dollar but within the last second two separate bidders tried to snipe the auction but my bid still held and for a $50 card I scored one hell of a deal.

Card came in a few days later and is ear marked for BGS grading. I also own a 2014 Urias Inception autograph which can be seen HERE and that one was graded gem mint by BGS with the corners receiving a 9. Under the magnifying glass the Seager card looks to be in the same condition as the Urias with the same "issue" with corners. Would love to pare the two Dodger super prospects in 9.5 form. As always, crossing my fingers here.

52

of

75

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Parallel (57/99)

Back to my other rainbow project of Dodger super prospect Corey Seager. They are both hard to complete as the Chrome one is all about limited colored non autograph parallels that there are more than 15 to find. This Inception one is "easier" as there are not as many to hunt down BUT they are all autographs though so that makes the cost higher.

The base and the blue are in hand and I was still on the hunt for the other 3 that are "realistic" to acquire. Red, green and this gold one. I basically have given up on hoping these can grade out to gem mint as this brand is notorious for chipping issues and this card is not immune to it. The main thing I want is a nice clear and non streaking autograph which this card has. Book has this valued at $50 which is the same as the blue one I recently acquired but I was able to pick this one up for a couple dollars cheaper than that one.

I am not the biggest fan of gold parallels as the color is not all that attractive to me but wanting to complete rainbow sets requires you to pick up some colors you normally wouldn't. With that said this is another Seager autograph for the collection and that is never a bad thing. Two more to go.

57

of

99

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Cashing In With Alex Of Chavez Ravining

Don't remember when Alex did a post (I'm too lazy to go through his archives) on his excess inventory of autograph cards and that they could be had via trade or if you had any Chavez Points aka his blog's version of currency. Well, well, well...

I didn't have anything of note for trade and normally I wouldn't have gone after the cards BUT I had a massive amount of Chavez points from a trade we had done earlier. I was on top of the leader board with a total way over 1000 points. Well I never knew what I was going to do with them but when he did the post stating that people could use Chavez points to acquire these autographs I thought to myself why not.

Most of the players are fringe players and none fill any of my set needs but I love autograph cards and my thinking is I can use them for trade or even pay it forward on some contest I do. Be kind of funny if Alex wins his card(s) back.

I sent Alex a note I would take any and all that were still left as one other blogger had put a bid in for a few. After that was done I took the rest which was a total of 15. Here are the cards :

Topps Chrome of Adam Eaton and Kyle Gibson. Great condition on the cards and would be candidates for grading if they were Dodgers or big stars. I turned one of Alex's Puig cards into a nice BGS gem mint in the past so I know the good karma would be there.

A foursome of Bowman Sterling.
Roman Quinn, Austin Wilson and Cord Sandberg with some nice on card autographs. But why is Brad Miller a sticker variety? On a "premium" brand I would expect more from Bowman.

Jesse Winker, Andrew Mitchell and Erich Weiss in America's colors the good old red, white and blue. Nice simple Topps cards with on card autographs.

Jaye Chapman and Tony Campana.
Two players I know nothing about and two cards I would never go after under normal circumstances.
Non licensed and sticker autographs.

Another sticker and non licensed card in the form of Derrick Robinson and 2009 Upper Deck card of Alberto Gonzalez.

And to finish the batch up we have a Bowman Inception on card autograph of Daniel Corcino and a Bowman Chrome of Shawon Dunston Jr.

15 autographs
Many Chavez Points
No cash.
How can I not love this transaction?

Thank you again to Alex for first having a point system that I was able to use and also for putting these cards up for trade. If anyone is interested in these cards for trade feel free to contact me. I am still looking for 2014 Topps of Dodgers and I think that would be fair a for an autograph or 2.

BGS Submission Update Two - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Silver Signings Autograph ( 5 / 25 ) Now Graded and Slabbed a Mint 9.0

I have mixed feelings about update two from the BGS submissions. It would have been subject one in the series ( worst to best ) if not for the fact that I expected the 9 grade on the autograph.

Yesterday's Yu grade was unexpected as I did not see a flaw in the autograph but Corey's here I believed it would get the dreaded 9 grade on the autograph but was holding out hope for a pristine 10. Didn't happen. Boo.

I thought though that the 9 grade would be coupled with a gem mint 9.5 for the card but I missed out on that as well when it came back .5 away from that grade. The card received 9.5 on edges and centering and just needed one more 9.5 on either corners or surface to get my gem mint grade but it didn't materialize and I think the autograph came into play here. Since the grade was a 9 and the autograph was separating it probably deducted the surface grade which hurt the overall grade. Oh well. Not as disappointed as I was with the Yu grade but would have loved at least a gem mint grade on the card.

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Silver Signings Autograph ( 5 / 25 )

After two days of so-so cards now we get to the two that were the big prizes and happy to finally have them in hand.

This is yet another Corey Seager card but this was one that I really wanted. As I have stated numerous times I am not a fan of the Inception brand in general BUT the silver signings inset set has a different design and this look I love. I owned the Puig version of this card (since graded and sold for a spiffy BGS 9.5 Trout autograph card) so I for sure wanted the Seager one. I was finally able to lock one down as seen HERE . Now like with yesterday's Seager card I had to sit and wait.

The card finally came in and I couldn't be happier. The silver ink autograph pops against the black background and would have been my favorite card of the 4 if not for 2 things. One the signature seems to separate just a tad but I will still be sending it in for a raw grade once Beckett comes out again to see what they think and two the player/card brand for tomorrow's post trumps Seager.

Even with those two reasons this is a great looking card and I am glad to add this to my collection. I have no intention of letting this one go anytime soon. Hope he rakes once he hits the majors.

5 of 25

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph

If I thought the wait for the Paco card from yesterday was long, tack on two more months as seen in this original post to get my hands on Corey here. I picked up the redemption for this card back in early September of 2013 and it is now almost mid 2014. Way too long Topps, way too long.

Seeing that eBay sales of $11 for these redeemed cards are going for, what I spent for this last year seems to be reasonable. I am still not a fan of these "cloudy" Inception cards but adding another Corey card for a low cost was the goal not to have it look great per se. That goal was left for tomorrow's post.

BGS Raw Grade Update 2 - 2013 Bowman Inception : Hyun-Jin Ryu Now Slabbed a Gem Mint 9.5

Next up on the BGS update posts is Mr. Ryu. The pitcher with a 1-0 record but should be 2-0 as the offense did not show up and support him in San Diego this past Sunday.

Unlike the Puig card I was a little worried about the corners and had to hope the other three sub grades would grade out 9.5 with the thinking that the corners would receive a 9. It played out exactly like I thought it would. The corners did get a 9 as expected and the others received at least a 9.5 with surface getting a 10 to obtain the overall gem mint grade of 9.5.

Ryu is set up to have a great year and this card can only become more valuable. Great addition to my graded card collection.

Like Puig yesterday, 1 of 4 in the world.