Card of the Day - 2007 Allen and Ginter : Miguel Cabrera Mini Frame Autograph (#/100) BGS Graded Mint 9.0

A partial thank you has to go out to Matthew of Bob Walk The Plank fame as I looked for a card like this the day after he commented on my other autograph post of Miguel Cabrera and stated he hasn't been able to lock in one of Miguel in a Tiger's uniform but did have one of him in a Marlins uni. Hmm.... Yup, yet another mini project but one that thankfully only took one auction and one bid to finish.

I decided awhile ago to try to pick up some more Cabrera autographs but Matthew (great name by the way) got me to thinking I wanted one of him in the only other uniform he has worn which meant I had to look for an older card. The hunt was on but it only took about 5 minutes to zero in on this and I expected to acquire it at a deal and that is what I did.

Using my "proven" theory that a lot of buyers steer clear of non gem mint BGS I didn't expect too much a hassle on this card's auction. It was perfect for me I thought. It has Miguel in Marlin colors, it was in BGS case and graded mint which was fine by me, it's from Allen Ginter which is a brand I adore and it has an announced print run of just 100 though it is not numbered stating that fact. Once again armed with some eBay sales I looked to pick this up at no money out of pocket and with a low book value of $75 I was highly surprised I won it for more than 30% off of that. Man do I love deals on future Hall of Fame members. My second Cabrera autograph and first and probably only one of him in a Marlin uniform is welcomed into my collection with open arms. Thank you again to Matthew for "turning" on the idea light bulb in my head to pursue this.

Solid nine with a print run of only 100

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Result Number THIRTY-ONE - 2014 Topps Five Star : Miguel Cabrera Base Autograph (1/50) Now Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2014 Topps Five Star Miguel Cabrera Autograph /50

Miguel here was another one of the cards I was going to do a raw review and if it came back as a 9 or God forbid a 8.5 I would not submit it for full slabbing but with the massive discount the group is getting I decided to send it in for a full slabbing treatment. The issue I know that this card will have are the corners. As most Five Star cards are subject to that this one has not the sharpest corners. As long as they come back with a 8.5 on that sub grade I am confident everything else will grade out to at least a 9 if not 9.5 for an overall 9 return, If the corners come back as an 8 then I will be irritated and probably will crack it open and try again with another Cabrera card.

We have reached the final week of BGS submission results and even though it is not a full week as there are only 3 left they are biggies (or at least in my eyes they are) and with that we reach the last of the gem mint 9.5's. Yup, guess what the next 2 will be? = ) More on that in the next 2 days but for now we come to a future Hall of Fame inductee, one Miguel Cabrera.

Even though I had the mini metal Puig card pegged one more slot below Cabrera here, Miguel's result is the biggest surprise considering the brand that the card comes from, Topps Five Star. I like many people love the thickness of these (and other brands) but conditioning can and is always an issue and even though I have had my fair share of great returns from BGS when it comes to Five Star I have also have had my disappointments and I was all prepared to not have a smile when the results came back for this card. To my great surprise though this beauty of a former Triple Crown winner actually came back as a gem mint 9.5.

I was correct in my thinking that the corners were going to be the issue and they indeed earned a 9 but that was actually higher than what I thought they would earn. I prepared myself that they would come back with an 8.5 but the other subs would garner 9.5's which would make it a solid 9. Well instead of a solid 9 I now own a "weak" 9.5. I'll take that any day of the week.

It might be "weak" but it's still a gem mint card

A perfect 10 on autograph

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

30 Cards Submitted to Beckett For Full Grading at South Bay Sportscards on October 3rd, 2015

That twice yearly time is upon me/us once again as Beckett was back in town this weekend for a Raw Card Review event which I always attend as there are discounts that you only see at these. This time though there was more to be had as my friends from the Twitter and Blogosphere Derek and Frankie had me submit cards on their behalf which dropped the costs for all of us. Win win for everyone. I wish them great luck on having many great returns on their cards as I am sure they hope the same for me.

With their involvement in this batch I myself am submitting my biggest amount of cards yet to take advantage of the discount. I sold a couple of cards and a batch of paperbacks on eBay to cover the costs which makes any and all gem mint returns all the sweeter. Usually at these events I submit some cards for review and if I like their results then I submit them for slabbing but instead of "paying" twice I decided I am going to just send them all in for full grading and crossed my fingers. Of course with that mentality I KNOW there will be some results I won't like per se as there will be mint 9's which normally I wouldn't even bother sending in the first place but I can't resist not using the discount factor. I "might" be using the review portion of their event to see if I can get some bumps on some already graded cards and if I do I will do a separate post on that. (edit: see yesterday's post)

Well let's get to the cards. Like usual I will predict what grades they will receive from "worst" to best with thoughts on why that is my thinking for that particular card. Knocking on wood for great results.

2013 Topps Five Star Ernie Banks Autograph /50

No way no how. That is the chance that this card has in earning a gem mint 9.5 from BGS. 30/70 is the chance in my opinion that it comes back as a 9 as I am looking at a possible 8.5 from Beckett with this great looking Banks card but maybe the hobby Gods will be on my side and give me a 9 which I will be more than happy to receive. This was going to be a raw review card but it got bumped into the full submission stack once the volume got higher and higher. There are two corners that have issues and I am hoping that they are minor enough that they can earn an 8.5 so the card can achieve an overall 9 but there is a possibility they earn an 8 which I am hoping I am wrong.

2014 Allen Ginter Yasiel Puig Mini Metal /10?

Here is another card that could go either way and one that was going to go the raw review route first before I changed my mind. Metal cards have a history of having surface issues which obviously affect grades from BGS and since I haven't seen any of these Ginter cards in person other than this one I have none to reference when it comes to the surface. I think there is nothing wrong with it nor anything else on the card for that matter but I am not going to hold my breath. I think it could and should be a gem mint card but at the same time BGS can come back and say no and slap an 8.5 on it. Well here's hoping for the former and not the latter.

2014 Topps Five Star Miguel Cabrera Autograph /50

Miguel here was another one of the cards I was going to do a raw review and if it came back as a 9 or God forbid a 8.5 I would not submit it for full slabbing but the massive discount the group is getting I decided to send it in for a full slabbing treatment. The issue I know that this card will have are the corners. As most Five Star cards are subject to that this one has not the sharpest corners. As long as they come back with a 8.5 on that sub grade I am confident everything else will grade out to at least a 9 if not 9.5 for an overall 9 return, If the corners come back as an 8 then I will be irritated and probably will crack it open and try again with another Cabrera card.

2013 Topps Five Star Bryce Harper Autograph /25

I'm hoping with Frankie being in this group submission that his presence will give me good luck on this card but I am not holding my breath. I acquired this from Frankie awhile back with every intention to send it to BGS for grading and once in hand it looks great to me except for one corner. Always the problem with Topps Five Star. Just like the Cabrera if it can hold to a 9 I think everything else will come out to a 9.5 for an overall 9.5 but at the very worst I will getting a mint 9 card back from BGS of this likely 2015 NL MVP.

2012 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw / Matt Kemp / Dee Gordon Autograph /18

Yet another card that was going to go the raw review route till the discounts kept piling up. As many of you know I despise sticker autographs and the only reason I acquired this one was that I made a trade when Joc was hot and my rationale was that even though it's a sticker it's still a Kershaw autograph which trumps a Joc autograph any day of the week. The other reason that I was not going to do a full submission is that Clayton's autograph comes ever so close to the bottom of the sticker and if BGS deems it does then they will knock it down to a 9 instead of the desired 10. Also one of the corners is slightly frayed. So while I would love a 9.5 on this card if I was to get a 9 overall with a 10 autograph I would be content. Please surprise me Beckett and give me a gem mint.

2013 Topps Musem Hanley Ramirez / Adrian Gonzalez Autograph /15

The return grade on this one will be surprise to me in some way as I have no idea since past returns on Topps Museum have not been kind to me. I have submitted a dual autograph in the past and came back a 9 when I thought it would get a 9.5. I submitted a Kershaw autograph expecting a 9 but it came back an 8.5. So while I see nothing wrong with this card as centering and surface looks good. Corners while not pointy sharp are still pretty good in my opinion. Almost any other card I would "expect" a 9.5 back but if it comes back a 9 I will be more than happy to take it. Considering I paid nothing for it all this is gravy anyways.

1999 SP Adrian Beltre Autograph

I am actually submitting two copies of this Beltre card as I picked one up on trade (actually my card being reacquired) and one from eBay when I was void of Beltre autographs. This is the oldest (16 years) card I have ever submitted and while they both look exactly the same condition wise I don't know what years of being passed around does for my chances to have at least one of these if not both come back as gem mints. At the very least I think they come back as strong mint 9's.

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager X-Fractor 

These next two are place holders for my collection and normally I wouldn't be sending either in to get slabbed but considering the amount of cards going it is too good a deal not to. I am getting ever so close to completing my rainbow project for Corey and I want all of them to be at least in certified mint condition. I know this card has no chance at gem mint as the centering is off enough that it will probably earn an 8.5 but even with that I believe the overall will still be a mint 9. I will gladly put that into my collection till I get my hands on a gem mint at some point down the road.

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Refractor

Just like the X-Fractor of this card I am only getting this slabbed due to discount on this batch. I also believe that do to the centering that this card will also earn an overall grade of a mint 9 just like its X-Fractor brother. And just like that one this one is a place holder till I get my hands on a gem mint copy at some point down the road.

2013 Topps Tribute Buster Posey Autograph /25

This is another border line card in my mind on whether it will receive a 9 or a 9.5. The autograph is crisp so I see no issue there but where I have pause on it earning a gem mint grade is the top left hand corner is slightly frayed. With the naked eye you can't see anything but under the loop you can see the "damage". My belief is if the corners hold to a sub grade of 9 then it earns a gem mint overall grade as I see nothing else wrong with the card.

2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Flag Back /25

Allen Ginter has always been boon or bust for me so I always submit them with a grain of salt and with this batch that means I have a lot of salt to send as I have plenty of Ginters. As per the norm nowadays I want all my limited/numbered Kershaws to be graded and slabbed and I believe this has a good chance for a gem mint return. Everything looks great except that on the lower right hand corner there is a slight speck that I don't know if it belongs there or not. We shall see but hopefully at worst surface comes back as a 9 and everything else is a 9.5.

2014 Allen Ginter EXT Mini

Another Ginter, another Kershaw and another expected return of the bare minimum of mint 9 but if push came to shove I would say this is border line gem mint. I see nothing wrong with surfaces and edges so they should earn 9.5's but the corners and centering might just be a tad off on both that they both earn a 9 which would make it an overall 9. Hoping one if not both can garner a 9.5 so I can have another gem mint mini Kershaw in my collection.

2015 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Mini Red Border /40

Another Ginter but one that I hope just a little higher hope that it will grade to gem mint compared to the flag back Kershaw. The only issue I see that might arise is that it is not perfectly centered but its not too bad. Corners look good and surface seems fine other than the fact that there seems to be some blotches but I have seen that on a lot of these so I'm thinking it's part of the process. Here's hoping I am right.

2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Red Border /40

Just like the Trout I see nothing wrong with this Kershaw red border mini and I am looking to score yet another gem mint limited Kershaw for my collection. Corners even look better on this one that they do on Trout but I still believe they should both earn 9.5's but at the very worst it should be a strong mint 9 but to be honest if it does receive that I will be disappointed. Don't disappoint me BGS.

2013 Allen Ginter Sandy Koufax EXT Mini

My one and only Koufax of the batch as I still don't have a lot of the man in my collection but the ones I do have are all limited in some way or another. This is the EXT mini parallel that could only be found in rip cards and I picked this up in a trade that was in my favor or at least I believe it was. As now just like then I believe this is a solid candidate for gem mint status as everything seems to check out. Corners are sharp, no surface issues and centering looks spot on. Hoping and semi expecting another gold banner here.

2014 Bowman Draft Alex Verdugo Silver Wave /25

First of two Verdugos in this batch and even though I rank this lower on the list of earning a gem mint return I still think it has a very good chance of doing just that. Everything looks good from my point of view on this rainbow card and hoping to keep the streak alive on Verdugo graded cards in my collection as all of them are gem mint as of now. Come on BGS, no silver banner here please.

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Gold Refractor /50

When I first acquired this card I thought it had a great chance to earn a 9.5 grade and once I took it out of it's plastic holder to clean up the surface (dust, fingerprints, etc) I still come away with the thinking. The card might be ever so slightly off centered but not enough to knock it down. Corners are crisp so I hope to add yet another gem mint card to my Seager rainbow project.

2014 Bowman Chrome Clatyon Kershaw Bubbles Refractor /99

Bubbles, bubbles, give me more bubbles. This is basically a throw in for the batch. Having it come back as a gem mint (as expected) doesn't really add any resale value to the card other than to hardcore Kershaw collectors but since it is numbered and limited why not have another gold banner of Kershaw to file away? This is not the prettiest of cards but I still want it slabbed and this is the perfect time to do just that.

2015 Bowman Chrome Alex Verdugo Twitter Refractor /10

Going back to back on these Twitter parallels Alex here gets the 2nd spot (edit: I took out the other one as I sold it for a premium that I couldn't pass up) as he is further out from the big leagues but he did quite well in Rancho Cucamonga so he might make it sooner than I and others think. Condition wise this cards looks to be in fine form and say there is more than a 50/50 chance that it earns a 9.5. Only the centering on the front gives me a little concern but everything else should prop it up.

2015 Topps Heritage Yasiel Puig Black Refractor /66

The first of two black refractors from this year's Topps Heritage brand. Though this one is ever so slightly better centered than the other the reason Puig is up first is because the other one is Trout. Puig is good (when healthy) but Trout is great and even when hurt is still better than Puig when healthy. That said I still think Puig can and will have a very good career and I believe this is a gem mint card ready to happen and would love a gold banner atop Puig's smiling face.

2015 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Black Refractor /66

Another Trout card for the submission and one of the ones that I think has a better than not chance earning a gem mint grade. I picked this up "basically" for free and would love to turn it into yet another gold banner Trout card for my collection. Being numbered out of only 66 and highly sought after makes this the only real chance I have at that grade as I won't be looking to replace it if it comes back with a mint 9. With that said I don't really see an issue other than it's not 50/50 on the front but in my opinion not bad enough to knock down the overall grade.

2015 Topps Chrome Mike Trout Photo Variation

The Trouts keep on coming for this batch and after 3 years of tracking down a photo variation of Mr. AL MVP I have high hopes that it will come back as a gem mint beauty. Chrome is usually good to me in these submission but the last one I had a 2014 Chrome of Mike and it came back as a disappointing mint 9. The only thing I see that could possibly give this card a problem is that one of the corners is not the sharpest but you can only see that under a loop so we shall see what Beckett thinks.

2015 Topps Series 1 Yasiel Puig Framed /20

Thee Puigs in this batch and two happen to be metal based. Go figure. Unlike the Ginter mini though I am confident that this one will come back as a 9.5. I hope the combination of my past history with Puig and these metal framed cards will translate into yet another gold banner card. Puig is low in the hobby right now but if and when he comes roaring back this is a nice little card to flip for something I really want and if it's a 9.5 I might be able to get something really nice. We shall see.

2015 Topps Series 1 Mike Trout Framed /20

Same as the Puig before this one. I believe all of these framed (metal) cards from Topps should come back from BGS with 9.5's but I have seen (not my cards) that is not the case as. Edges and corners are metal and are "sharp" and clean with the surfaced cleaned up with a tissue. I hope to par this with my other gem mint Trout from Series 1.

2015 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph /25

Oh yeah. Time again for another potential gem mint Kershaw autograph to be added to the collection. This card really becomes a deal if/when it comes back with a gold banner as the original "purchase" was a steal and once it made to my grubby little hands I could see no flaws but from past history mini frames at times have cause me problems. The autograph is perfectly centered as well as the card itself and I don't see anything else to worry myself over but I am still crossing my fingers.

2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw EXT

We come to the last Clayton of the batch and the one that I am most confident will return to me in gem mint form and I think it actually has an outside chance of a pristine 10. If it does come back that way it would be the second card that came from Asia that received a 10 and to me that is amazing considering it being handled by multiple people and going through customs, etc. I see nothing wrong with this card and anything less than a gold banner would be a major disappointment.  

2014 Topps Tribute Pedro Martinez Autograph /99

Here is a card that falls under the "I'm pretty damn sure it should be graded gem mint" category. I first thought there was a surface issue but after some research I found out all of these Tribute cards have this attribute so no worries there. Corners are a non issue as there are no corners that need to be sharp as they are rounded. Autograph is perfect so I am hoping/expecting that my one and only Pedro autograph will come back with a gold banner.

2015 Topps Series 2 Clayton Kershaw Framed MVP /20

Is it wrong for me to expect a pristine return? Well if it is I then say I expect a solid gem mint then as I see nothing wrong with this card. With the Trout framed card there is the smallest of surface issue that I saw but with this Kershaw one I see absolutely nothing. Half way expect a pristine but will be happy with a 9.5 to par with my other Kershaw framed cards.

2013 Allen Ginter Josh Hamilton Mini Frame Autograph Red /10

Normally I would never put an Allen Ginter card this close to the top of the stack on an expected gem mint return from BGS BUT since I actually owned this card once before and submitted to Beckett and it came back from them with a 9.5 I am expecting it once again. Yes, this is the same card I submitted once before but I traded it and that person cracked it open but kept it in its sleeve so it was never handled so I am expecting another 9.5. To say I would be disappointed if it didn't come back with that would be an understatement.

2015 Topps Series 2 Clayton Kershaw CY Young /20

Yeah... I'm just gonna copy and paste here from the previous Kershaw card :

Is it wrong for me to expect a pristine return? Well if it is I then say I expect a solid gem mint then as I see nothing wrong with this card. With the Trout framed card there is the smallest of surface issue that I saw but with this Kershaw one I see absolutely nothing. Half way expect a pristine but will be happy with a 9.5 to par with my other Kershaw framed cards.

Different card same mentality. The only reason this one gets a higher rung on the ladder to greatness is I like this picture better.
=)

And there we go. The biggest batch I have ever sent in for grading. Bigger batch means more of a chance of less than 9.5's but at least this time I am expecting that result on some of the cards so I won't be overly disappointed. when I see those silver banners unless it is on a card I expected a gold one though.

I always say that I am close to being done with submitting cards to Beckett but 6 months in between these events is a lot of time to pick up more to grade. With that said if Topps fulfills my redemptions by the next time BGS rolls into town I can already ear mark another 4 for grading. So I guess I will be back here in March talking about my next batch. Ha Ha.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Five Star : Miguel Cabrera Base Autograph (1/50)

Other than Mike Trout there aren't any non Dodgers that I currently pursue multiple autograph cards for the collection but Miguel I think is going to be an exception albeit probably a minor one.

I already have 1 Cabrera autograph in my collection and funny enough it is also a Five Star card but it is the 2013 variety. I believed myself done with Cabrera autographs but the more and more I watch him and seeing the trajectory his career is going I thought I should pick up another one or two here or there. His card prices are a little on the high side which will be a deterrent to picking up many more copies but they don't touch Trout prices so that is a good thing.

There are not many on card choices and the ones that are out there are limited (like this one to 50) so they only pop up on eBay from time to time. This one showed up one day and was probably only the 5th or 6th one to make it to eBay at the time and I put it on my watch list just to see how high it would go. Final day arrived and to me it was still under valued so with literally a second left I put in a bid at exactly a dollar higher than the current high bid (more like a token bid) and was surprised to see that I won the card. Happy but shocked. Card arrived shortly and looks to be in pretty good condition. As you can see it is a redeemed card from Topps so I will leave it in its case as this card has joined the future BGS submission stack. My 2013 Five Star came back a 9 so here's hoping I can finally score that elusive gem mint 9.5 Cabrera autograph with this beauty.

Numero Uno

of

Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 2 - 2013 Topps Five Star Miguel Cabrera Base Autograph Rainbow Parallel

Original pictures and thoughts :

Ungraded form.

Unlike the Yu card there is nothing wrong with Miguel's autograph but his card here is only .5 from earning a gem mint grade. Now common knowledge is that corners are hard to bump up to another grade on a resubmission but I am going to take that risk. The good thing about this card is if it comes back as a 9 again I will end up selling it and using those funds to buy another Cabrera autograph in gem mint form at no extra charge. 

Of the two resubmitted cards (Yu Darvish being the other) Miguel here is the one I really wanted to get that bump to a higher grade. But it was not meant to be as just like Yu, Miguel came back with the "exact" same grade as it went in with. 

It's probably the same exact grade as unlike when cards get the full submission treatment, raw grading only gives you the final grade not all the sub grades. Either way this card came back with an overall 9 which irks me but at the same time I knew that getting bumps on cards are more miss than hit.  

The question is now, do I sell it or keep it? My original thought was to sell it but I may just keep it and for now that is what I am doing. Unlike most of the other cards I did not send this one back to Dallas to get fully slabbed (again) and it will stay in this form for the time being. 

I probably will never do the resubmit routine again as these were the 1st 2 I ever did and both came back with unwanted results. Of course that could change in the future but as of today this was the 1st and last time I do this. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Submission Update Four - 2013 Topps Five Star : Miguel Cabrera Base Rainbow Parallel Autograph ( 19 / 25 ) Now Graded and Slabbed a Mint 9

Original Submission Post
Beckett Book Value : $150

I guess this card could qualify as the biggest disappointment of the batch considering I had it as a lock for gem mint and I had it second on my original post. Having Kershaw's card come back as NM made sure this wasn't the biggest and the corners of the 5 star brand has always been an issue and I suspected that if any sub grade was going to give me a problem it would have been that one. I just didn't think it was going to be that big of a problem.

Surface actually earned a 10 while edges and centering received 9.5. Autograph as expected was a 10 as well. All I needed was the corners to get a measly 9 and gem mint would be mine. Beckett said no and gave the corners a 8.5 which dragged the overall to "just" a mint 9. I was so sure this was gem mint but it is one strong 9 instead.

Well we are 4 cards in with 9 more remaining and I can thankfully say there are no more "disappointments" left.

Only .5 from a gem mint. UGH !!!

13 Cards Submitted To Beckett Grading Submissions (BGS) At Frank and Sons On August 20, 2014

My stack of cards that I wanted to get graded was piling up and I knew it would soon be time to submit them to get slabbed. As always I have the option to drop them off at Frank and Sons and wait two weeks to get the full grade treatment but I found out that South Bay Sports Cards is holding yet another in store BGS raw grade event at the end of September. What to do? With a few more cards coming in the mail from eBay auctions and Topps in the next couple of weeks I decided to submit 3/4 of my stack to Frank and Sons and the rest I will hold off till the raw grading event. Now I had to decide which cards I wanted to submit first. I went with my gut and research on which ones I think might possibly grade out gem mint and all my Kershaw autograph cards even though I know only one has a possibility to earn gem mint status. The ones I held off for the raw grade event are of less importance and ones I think might only grade out to mint 9.0's. I will have results in hand on September 4th and cards in hand on the 6th when I go back and pick them up and meet Joc Pederson for his autograph appearance. With that said here are the cards in the order of the possibility of earning a gem mint grade (if applicable) Any and all well wishes are appreciated as always.

2009 Topps T-206

I have decided to get all my autograph and SP ( photo variations / limited parallels ) Kershaw cards graded as even though I want a high grade I really just want them in a nice case for storage. I expect all the cards I submitted to at least earn a mint grade and this one is no exception. While the centering is good as I can tell it is off centered a tad and the corners while sharp are not gem mint crisp. I think it will earn a mint grade and I am OK with that.

2014 Bowman Inception Blue Parallel

Up next is the young man many are deeming the next "Fernando". That's a lot to put on a young man but from what I have seen in person and in the box scores he is capable of doing something special when he does make the big leagues. This blue parallel while not my prize piece of Urias cards ( that one is in route to me via Topps ) was one I wanted to get graded at some point and even though the odds of it earning gem mint status is minimal I believe mint is well within reach.

2009 Topps

The least favorite of all my Kershaw autograph cards. Design is not visually appealing to me and the autograph is of the sticker variety. The fun thing about going back through your cards is to see if their value went up or down. When I acquired this card back in 2013 as seen HERE I only spent $13 for it and the book value was $30. How times have changed. It now books for $80 and eBay sales have for the most part been north of $50. I am almost 100% sure this will not get a 9.5 but I think a mint 9 is well within reason.

2012 Bowman Sterling

The Dodgers future at SS/3B and even though he is only 20 he might be up to the big league team as a September call up next year. I have been trying to acquire as many Seager autographs before that happens and with him no longer on the Quakes team IP autographs won't be happening anytime soon. I picked this up and a twin in an eBay auction and while they both look at least NM this one looks to be a mint or at least in my eyes. Everything looks good other than the corners as they seem just a tad less than pointy sharp. I see mint in its future with an outside chance of gem mint if the other 3 sub grades come back 9.5.

2012 Allen and Ginter

Back and forth we go with Kershaw autographs. I picked this up on a steal of a deal a few weeks ago and that is probably because it is off centered. Everything else looks good but with my history with Allen and Ginter cards I don't expect anything more than a mint 9 grade for this card and I would be more than happy with that result. This card will look great in a BGS case.

2013 Allen and Ginter Red Ink Variant

Trying my luck with another red ink variant from the Allen and Ginter brand. This is my second submission (Ryan Braun was the first) and I am hoping for a better result but I am not sure how this will fare as there is "blemish" on the surface per se. Centering is good and the corners are crisp but next to the 9/10 there is a small red blotch that is probably from Josh's finger. Not sure how this will affect the overall grade of the card. I am hoping for a 9 on surface and 9.5 on everything else but would not be surprised nor overly disappointed in a mint 9 overall grade.

2007 Bowman Sterling Refractor

Long time readers might recognize this card as I was the lucky winner of a contest that was held by fellow blogger The Dutch Card Guy . A quick recap on that. I had to put a comment on every single blog entry he had published (400+) and then I had to be lucky enough to be randomized as the top pick out of a group of 4 that posted comments. Thank you again for holding the contest. This card has only gone up in value since I won it and I knew I would submit it someday. I don't know what grade to expect so I will be happy with a mint 9. I say that because clearly to me it is off centered on the front but I have seen the same card slabbed and graded by BGS with the same "issue" and the sub grade for centering was a gem mint. Everything else looks fine to me so it will be interesting to see what it earns.

2013 Topps Five Star Rainbow Parallel

Well hopefully Bo knows gem mint. These final 6 cards starting with Bo here I expect to grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Bo though is the only one I am worried about as one corner seems a little rounded but everything else looks perfect so I still think it grades out to a 9.5 overall. Knocking on wood and hoping I can keep my Five Star luck going.

2014 Topps Museum

A beautiful card with my lucky marriage number (7) attached to it. A card that doesn't need to be encased in a BGS holder but one I think will look even better in one. This is my favorite and most limited Adrian autograph and to me it looks gem mint. No streaks in the autograph, well centered, corners are perfect. We shall see but anything less than a gem mint grade will be disappointing.

2013 Bowman Chrome Mini Black Parallel

The second and last Seager in the batch and other than my autographs of Corey this is my favorite card of his. I love Bowman Chrome, I love minis, I love black and when you combine all that you come out with this great looking card. Another great steal for me on eBay for this card as it wasn't described in the auction with the other cards in the auction. Woo Hoo. The card is ever so off centered but everything else is perfect and I wouldn't be surprised if all sub grades come back 9.5. Only 25 in existence and this would be the second gem mint. Hoping and wishing.

2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Blue Parallel

With no luck on the blue parallel of Puig from the regular issue of Bowman Chrome I am not trying my luck with this blue beauty from the Draft Pick set. It is more limited (99 to 250) than its base twin so if and when this comes back as gem mint it will help me swallow the bitter pill I took when I forgot to look on the back of the other blue one and didn't see that it was so off centered that it dragged the grade from a 9.5 to a 9. This card looks to be void of any major defects and I expect it to come back as a gem mint.

2013 Topps Five Star Rainbow Parallel

Second to last submission and we have a sure hall of famer in the form of Miguel Cabrera. When I laid my eyes on this card and as it looked perfect on the computer screen it looks even better in person and I knew I had to have it. Had to replace my Cabrera autograph baseball and this was the perfect card to do that. I knew when it came in I would eventually submit to BGS and now was the time. Anything less than a gem mint grade will be a major disappointment. Don't make me sad Beckett.

2013 Topps Tribute

And I finish off the biggest submission ever with the best pitcher on the planet. Clayton makes his 5th appearance in this batch with what I believe to be his best conditioned card. Though not as visually appealing as the Allen and Ginter card it is a very nice on card autograph of the Dodger great. When I bought it on the low end price-wise last year I thought it had a very good chance to grade out to gem mint and that belief still holds. Hopefully that comes true at the end of next week.

Well that does it. 13 cards with at least 6 with a very good chance to acquire a golden banner grade. I will still be doing the Beckett raw grade event at the end of September but with those I am not as confident of them earning a gem mint grade but I am still curious on what grade they do earn.

Thank you all for taking your time to read this if you gotten to the end of this long post. Have a good one.