Trade with Fellow Blogger : Kyle of Nolan's Dugout

I love how my presence online is getting just a little bigger each month as fellow bloggers and/or Twitter friends are reaching out to me for trades. I guess my trade bait list actually was a good thing when I spent a day making it up as Kyle contacted me about some cards on the list that he was interested in.

Kyle runs Nolan's Dugout and though I have never dealt with him before I was more than happy to meet a new internet friend and do a trade. He picked out a few Yankee cards that he desired and asked what I would like back. I wasn't that picky and I ended up with 3 cards for the batch I sent him.

Kyle ended up with a Ruth "relic" card so I ended up with a Kershaw "relic" card.

I have actually owned this card in the past and now I am an owner of it once again. It really doesn't fit anywhere in my collection so it is available for trade if anyone is interested in it. You might ask why would I take something that I had no "use" for? Because I wasn't attached to the cards I traded and I want to help others when and if I can.

The second of three cards I received is a blue beauty.

2011 Bowman Chrome Base Blue Parallel

130 of 150

I do love me some horizontal cards and Kershaw's wingspan is on full display here on this great looking card. Even though Kershaw is my main player to collect now the following card was my main get out of the trade.

Kyle (like Luis a couple months ago) must have read my mind as they both seemed to know that I am trying to collect the rainbow set for Corey and I had not come across this card in my eBay searches for a reasonable price. Acquiring this card via trade is so much better anyways. I can tell this card is a little off centered but everything else looks good so when I submit it to Beckett for a raw grade review when they are back in my area in a few months I think it will come back with a bare minimum of a mint 9 grade and that is all I ask.

That is the all from my side of the trade and Kyle may or may not blog about the trade but thanks go out to him again for contacting me and completing our first trade together. Hopefully it is not out last. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

6 More Cards In Addition To All Of The Raw Reviewed Cards Submitted To BGS On March 7th, 2015

The past 3 weeks I have posted my results from the raw grading event that was held in my area on March 7th. Monday through Friday for 15 days those results were posted but on the weekends between those days you may have noticed I blogged about 6 other cards. Well the reason I did those at that time was because I included them in the submission batch that went to Beckett with all the raw graded cards. The only difference was that I bypassed the raw grade and went straight for the full grade review. So this post is a recap of those 6 and per the norm my thoughts on which will grade out to gem mint from least to best chance.

2013 Topps Museum Dual Autograph of Al Kaline / Prince Fielder

In hindsight I probably shouldn't have submitted this for grading since it was such a bargain I couldn't resist considering the "rarity" of the card. I think Prince is going to have bonce back year and this is a great card with a Tiger HOF as well. Even with that I look back and think that I know the corners are not the best and probably won't get better than a 9. Hopefully everything holds up enough to get an overall 9 but the idea of another limited numbered gem mint card for the collection is pretty much gone.

2010 Allen and Ginter McCutchen Mini Frame Autograph

Well with the iffy card of the batch out of the way we come to the couple that are borderline in the thinking of gem mint status but leaning more than not. This will probably be my one and only McCutchen autograph in my collection so it would be nice if it would come back with a gold banner. I don't see anything wrong with it other than one corner slightly not sharper but its not bent so my thinking is if anything the corner sub grade gets a 9.

2009 Allen and Ginter Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph

Now I am just being down right greedy. I already have one of these Kershaws in a gem mint grade so why submit another? Why because 2 is better than 1. Ha Ha. Unlike the McCutchen mini this one seems to be devoid of corner issues so I hope to earn my 2nd gem mint 2009 A/G mini of Kershaw for the collection. Nothing like a little trade bait for the future as well.

2015 Topps Silver Frame Kershaw

It is hard to see how any metal framed cards get anything less than a gem mint grade but I have seen them. I (knock on wood this one won't be the case) have not had that issue and hope it does not start here even though I don't think it will. The card is clean and edges and corners are "sharp" so a nice limited Kershaw gem mint card would be nice here.

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Green Parallel

Yeah, so now we come to the "uh, duh" cards of the batch which are also the last of said batch. These were acquired pre-graded as gem mint and so that is what I expect back (the uh, duh comment once again) and the pursuit of mint/gem mint rookie cards of Seager continues.

2014 Topps High Tek Puig Autograph

Just like Seager, uh duh.

So that is it. 6 more cards were added to the BGS submission pile and when I get the results later this week and the actual cards back next week it will be interesting to see the sub grades from all the cards that either gem minted or pristined.  

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Museum : Al Kaline / Prince Fielder Dual Autograph (12/15)

Believe or not I found this card because I was looking for an autograph of Prince and not of Hall of Fame member Al. I came away with a great looking signed card of both for a lot less than it's worth.

I have always enjoyed watching Prince swing the bat and I think he will have a bounce back year in 2015 with the Rangers. His power from the left side will love that short porch in right. I have been looking to reacquire Prince's autograph for some time now but could never find the right deal. Everyone had his cards set at high prices or the actual autograph was of poor quality. So the search continued till I found this on the bay. Al was always on my list to acquire at some point in the future but not a priority. Well if I could get this card for a steal I could knock off two birds with one stone and in the end boy did I.

Starting bid was $10 and when I found it the price had been driven up to $15 with a day left. There is no book value due to its scarcity (15 copies) so I had to bid to what I felt was right to me. Glancing at past sales history on eBay I found that others sold for $34, $50 and $75. Two days after I picked this one up another sold for $56. So the median price was give or take $50 and if I was real lucky I could snag it around $34 the lowest price it has sold for. Well I guess people took at day off when I won the card as I ended up with it in the mid 20's. Lucky day for the Penguin.

I finally picked up an autograph I had been searching for and another that I wanted somewhere down the road for less than I sold the Fielder signed ball back during the ball purge. Always a little worried when I score that good of a deal on a card that possibly the card is damaged or not as described. It arrived a week later with no problems whatsoever.

Kaline's auto

Prince's auto

12 / 15

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

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

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

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

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

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

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

=)

11 of 15

The unique back of the High Tek brand

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 15 - 2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Base Autograph

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Bowman Chrome

The one of the six that I think are border line but the one most likely to pull out a 9.5 overall grade. I picked this up on a trade/purchase with my good friend Jesse with the intention of submitting it and getting a gem mint card of the supposed next Cub's superstar. As I told Jesse there is only one "issue" that I saw with the card but unlike the Five Star and Stratas the one corner in question is not as blatant. Thinking here is that it grades out to a 9.5 but keeping my expectations tempered.

Result and thoughts :

BAM !!!

A pristine 10 of a super prospect. You just can't ask for more. 

As stated up above I picked this up on a trade/purchase with my friend Jesse back in Dec./Jan. as I wanted an autograph card of this Cubs prospect. When in hand I expected it to grade out to a gem mint as I saw one corner under the magnifier that gave me a slight pause to anything higher. Well BGS says here that there is no flaw and gave it a perfect 10 with the same grade on the autograph (which I wasn't really worried about). 

Sales of this card have gone over $600 and my wife who calls these 10's minty fresh or winter fresh wants me to sell it. Guess she wants a new purse. Lol. I have no intention at this moment to unload this even though it is tempting with that 10 attached to it but I am going to roll with it and see how he does when/if he gets called up this year. There is not a shortage of these as this one will be at least number 62 in the pristine club but the demand is big enough to continue to drive this card's price higher and higher. Now if this comes back a black label pristine 10 then I might really have to think about selling it but I shall see when and if that time comes.

Well, that's it of the submission batch and starting sometime next month I will be posting the final update on each card that got shipped to BGS for slabbing. I already have at least 15 more cards ready for the next raw grading event and can't wait. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 14 - 2011 Allen and Ginter Clayton Kershaw Bazooka Mini

Original pic and thoughts :

2011 Allen and Ginter Bazooka Mini

Now for the six cards that I just "know" will grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Of course I've said that before and some have come back lower but on the other hand I have thought some cards would crap out on me but they received a 9.5 instead so you just never know.

This Bazooka card is numbered out of 25 and I so love these low numbered cards to earn 9.5's as if you have one chances are they can't all be perfect so you could have one of only a handful. This being Kershaw just wants me to have gold banner even more. 

Result and thoughts :

I wanted a gold banner for this card and basically expected it. It earning a 10 though was not on my mind but I am not gonna turn it down.

With this card being numbered to only 25 I made the decision to include it into this batch as I usually want all my numbered Kershaws to be graded. As with yesterday's Urias card I am more than happy that it came back with a perfect 10 and now the only question is did it earn a black label 10 or an old plain 10? Either way it doesn't matter to me (yes I would prefer black label) as anytime you can add a 10 to your collection, especially one that you didn't expect, it is a good day. 

So with this being number 14 in the 15 card batch what possibly could keep a Kershaw card from the top spot? Check in tomorrow.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 13 - 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Julio Urias Base Black Refractor Parallel

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Bowman Chrome Draft Black Parallel

As with Seager I have taken on the project of acquiring the 1st year Bowman Chrome cards of Urias in rainbow form and hopefully have them all in gem mint form. Realistically that probably won't happen and 9's will be fine but with that said I see no flaws on this card other than maybe it is slightly off centered but that shouldn't stop it from a 9.5. 

Result and thoughts :

So we come to submission result 13 which means we have 2 more after today. Is that a PRISTINE 10 up there? Oh hell yeah it is. And obviously if I am going from least to worst on these result posts then that means the last two are also PRISTINE. YES !!!

Prior to this batch I only had 1 card come back as a 10. Now with this batch that number has grown to 4. Now the question is does this Urias or the other 2 come back as a "black label" pristine 10? For those that don't know there are two types of pristine 10's. One is if 3 sub grades are 10's and the other is a 9.5, which is what my Puig is, then there is the new black label where all 4 sub grades are 10's. We shall see what my 3 earned when the results are posted in a month. A black parallel of Urias in a black label? Yes please.

I actually thought the blue parallel of Urias from this same batch was in better condition than this card and in fact earned gem mint status but BGS thought this card was perfect and I am not one to argue with them. This is one fine addition to my ever growing Urias collection. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Contest Winnings From A . . . Credit Card ???

This is a first for me but I am sure it will happen again and probably has happened to a lot of you. I entered a contest late last year and totally forgot that I did. Mastercard sent out a Tweet that if you retweeted that Tweet you would be entered into a Dodger specific prized contest. I also guess it was only for season ticket holders as this is what I received yesterday from them :

Whaaaat ???
I won some Dodger cash to be used for parking, tickets or merchandise. Well I'll take that any day of the week. I totally forgot what the prizes were so I had to look up what the first place prize was and the overall grand prize. 1st place won $100 worth of Dodger cash which isn't too much more than what I won so no biggie but the grand prize would have been grand indeed as if you were lucky enough to have your named pulled for that you would have won $1000 in Dodger cash. That would have been nice but I am not complaining as I have won/been given $75 in free money to be used at Dodger stadium. I might pare it up with my season ticket holder discount and buy a jersey or maybe just buy the wife a couple of rum beverages so she can tolerate the team when we are there. LOL.

A $5

A $10

Another $10

and so on.

Since I don't really have anyone specific I can say thank you to I guess I will say thanks to the Dodger and Mastercard corporations for partnering up on a contest that I was fortunate enough to win. The money will be used wisely. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 12 - 2011 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph w/Relic

Original pic and thoughts :

2011 Gypsy Queen

Now we get the 6 cards that could go either way. I expect each of them to have at least 2 9.5 sub grades if not 3 but there is one thing or another that might drop that last sub grade to an 8.5. First up is this sweet pick up I showed off earlier in the week. At 1st glance when you look at this card there is hardly a flaw you can see with the naked eye but if you slant it a certain way you can see some surface blemishes on the plastic coating. The question isn't if that sub grade doesn't earn a 9.5 but whether it can hold and earn a 9 so the other 3 can get 9.5's so the overall grade is a 9.5.  

Result and thoughts :

There were 6 cards that were in my opinion borderline from being a mint 9 or a gem mint 9.5. This was the one of the 6 I really wanted to earn that 9.5. Even though I would like them all to have a 9.5 banner this one being limited to only 25 and with it being inserted into packs as a redemption card means probably not all have or will be redeemed. This is the only copy to surface on eBay in the past year and I am the 3rd owner of the card. This would become my new crown jewel of Kershaw autographs that is not his rookie card if it could squeeze out a 9.5.

When I picked up my order there were a lot of gold tops staring at me and I searched for this one and then I saw it. GEM MINT. Woo Hoo. I was worried that those surface scratches might hinder the end grade but thankfully it did not. The sub grade held to at least a 9 and I now own the only and possibly the only one that will ever grade this high. I might even put it up on eBay with one hell of a reserve just to see how high it would go but of course with no intention of selling. 

Yet ANOTHER gem mint autograph of Kershaw for the collection. Keep them coming.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Trade With Twitter / Autograph Hound Friend - Gabriel

As stated in yesterday's post when I was on my way to acquire Paul Lo Duca's autograph once again I made a quick pit stop in Whittier to start/continue a trade with fellow Dodger friend/autograph seeker Gabriel. We have met each other before as we run in some of the same circles but have yet to do a trade. That changed as I finally got my hands on an item that I have been hunting down for a year.

The Box

Last year the Dodgers had a giveaway at the stadium which was of a replica of Vin Suclly's microphone. I couldn't attend the game nor could any of my friends or family so I ended up selling my tickets. I still wanted the microphone though and had seen it numerous times on eBay but with an attached price of at least $50. Wanted it, just not that bad. I assumed someday I would get my hands on it.

Well, Gabriel posted one day on a Facebook group that specializes in Dodger trading that he had one his was trying to unload for $40. Reasonable but I still had other things I wanted more than this. The following day he posted a question if anyone was selling one of their MVP card's for this upcoming year (they give you access to the stadium one hour prior to general public, discounts etc.). As a season ticket holder I receive four a year and just need one for the wife and I. That means I have two left. Seeing past sales of these cards on eBay I contacted Gabriel to see if he would do the microphone with an additional $40 via Paypal. A discount of the MVP card for him and a discount of the microphone for me. He agreed to the deal and he trusted me (would never screw anyone over on a trade) enough to hand over the microphone prior to getting the card (Dodgers are supposed to release them this week).

The Mic

We met up at a public parking place and completed one part of the trade with the remaining part to hopefully be completed in the next day or two at the latest. No money out of pocket for me and a discounted card for him which should score him more autographs and the such. A win win for the both of us. Thank you once again to Gabriel for the smooth trade and hopefully we can do more in the future.

From 1950 . . .

. . . to 2014 (and beyond)

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Player Appearance / Signing Recap - Paul Lo Duca @ Dr. Liu's Optometry On March 21, 2015

This past Saturday Dr. Liu was hosting yet another former Dodger for a in store appearance at his practice and I knew I would make my way over there. Paul Lo Duca was the player and even though I met him at Harry's Dugout about 20 months ago as seen HERE that was when I acquired all my autographs on baseballs. Well that was then and this is now and I no longer had that ball and needed to pick up Paul's autograph on an 8x10. Also since I was heading out there I swung by Whittier to complete a trade which I will post about tomorrow so this trip was made to accomplish two things.

The signing was scheduled to start at 3 in the afternoon and even though I knew I wouldn't be there early I wanted to be there by 3:15-3:20. That did not happen as every single freeway from the 405,105,60 and 91 were backed up. Where was everyone going? After the trade was completed (which I was a little late to as well) it was already 3:20. I did not arrive to Dr. Liu's until 3:52 and when I got out of the car I noticed a line of about 15 people. It was busy. Good for Alex. I walked up to the door and said I wanted to speak to the Dr. and got in and chit chatted with him and he said that Paul would accommodate everyone. Paul always has been fan friendly and it shows once again. I picked a photo to my liking and hopped in line.

Closer view

Approached Paul and he took notice of the shirt that I was wearing and said he believes UCLA has a chance. We shall see on that but that is more proof that Paul is a good guy. He initiated the conversation not me. Placed the photo down for him to sign and then asked for a picture with him which he obliged.

Another autograph reacquired for my collection has been obtained. Thank you again to Paul for coming out and signing for the fans and thank you as always to Alex Liu for hosting the event and having it run so smoothly just like all past events. Season is about to begin and can't wait for more in store autograph events.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 11 - 2014 Topps Five Star Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Topps Five Star

Second of the two Kershaw autos in the submission and just like the other I am hoping for the best here. The "issue" with this one is that I can tell one corner is slightly not razor sharp. Question is will that at least earn a 9 so the other sub grades hopefully earn a 9.5 so I can yet have another gem mint Kershaw autograph in my collection? Hope so.

Result and thoughts :

We arrive to the 3rd and final week with the results from the final 5 cards from the recent BGS raw grade event that was held on March 7th. Let the good times commence as this is a great week card wise.

The Five Star brand is my love/hate relationship in the hobby. These are just beautiful cards that I can't get enough of but they are a bitch when it comes to grading. The thickness of the cards causes a lot of corner issues and I have had my fair share of them. Even when everything else looks good they can drag the whole overall grade down. I have been lucky with Frank Thomas, Sandy Koufax and a couple others but then more than a handful others have been less than gem mint. I have never gotten a Kershaw Five Star in a 9.5 grade ... until now. 

I was really worried about one corner but thankfully it scored at least a 9. Signature is perfect as that earned a 10 and I am curious of what the other subs are going to come back as. All I know though is I have added another gem mint Kershaw autograph to the collection.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Corey Seager Base Green Refractor Parallel (37/75) BGS Raw Graded Gem Mint 9.5

I wonder if this will grade out to a gold label gem mint grade?
Ha Ha. Of course it will.

I have decided that I will try to collect the rainbow parallels of Bowman Chromes of Julio Urias and Corey Seager. I had given up trying to do that for all Dodger cards but I thought this would be a nice little side project to do if I just stuck to two players. What better ones than the two super phenoms in the Dodger minor leagues. Both might be up with the big league club this year but Urias would be first in my opinion.

Of course if I was to start a new collection I wanted the best possible condition cards (aka gem mints) so that adds a "fun" wrinkle to the pursuit. The acquisition of this card is as close to a BGS gem mint card you can get without actually being gem mint. I have submitted my fair share of cards to get a raw grade from BGS but this is the first time I have actually acquired one from the bay. There are many colors to collect so I have to start somewhere and what better way than a "guaranteed" gem mint card? This card was on a simple BIN auction with a reasonable price. When I had enough comic code funds in hand I hit the purchase button and sent over the payment. First of hopefully many gem mint Seager cards arrived within a few days. From the looks of the card in hand I am going to say centering is the one sub grade that is a 9 and the other three scored 9.5's. Easy peasy transaction.

Note - This write was done months ago hence the wording about starting the rainbow project. I didn't want to re write it so I left it in its original form.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2010 Allen and Ginter : Andrew McCutchen Mini Frame Autograph

Jealousy is a bitch but I was finally able to nip it the bud a bit with me finally acquiring this card.

Andrew falls under the reacquired autograph banner as well as I had a signed ball from him but sold it in last year's purge so for that whole time he was on my radar to pick up once again. I kept getting salt poured into my autograph wound as I saw this particular card showcased on various blogs as their writers had acquired it. I was green with envy as I wanted my own copy but never could pick it up at a decent price. Beckett has it valued at $50 and most sales have been in the high 30's and some over $43. That's what happens when you are a former MVP. I continued to hold out and if finally paid off.

Every time I saw this card for sale on eBay it either had a BIN for over $40 or at the end of a traditional auction it exceeded my price ceiling so when I saw this one night on a BIN for a tad over $30 and with comic code money in hand I jumped all over it and within a week had my very own mini frame autograph of McCutchen to call my own. It was a long time coming but the wait is finally over. Card is in great condition and I may or may not get it graded but if I do it will only happen if I have a big stack to submit.

Thank you for reading and may you have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 10 - 2014 Topps Ken Griffey Jr. Strata Autograph

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Topps Strata

A beautiful card from an ugly transaction. This was my 1st ever Strata card for my collection and I would love to have it come back in a gold banner case but as with all thick cards it really is the luck of the draw on what the final grade will be. As with the Five Star card the only real thing I see holding this card back from gem mint is a corner so as with that one I am crossing my fingers and hope lady luck is on my side.

Result and thoughts :

When is a gem mint card not an official gem mint card? Why when this is the final step of the process and going forward is not an option at this point.

As you can see the card did indeed earn a 9.5 and a 10 on autograph but it can not be encased. What? I wonder why as the Pee Wee Strata will be encased and I have seen other baseball relic Stratas already in a BGS case but on the flip side of this holder (forgot to take a pic) it states this is the final grade as it is too thick to slab. I asked the Beckett rep about future slabbing adjustments and he said that is always a possibility. Considering there are more and more Strata cards on the market I can't see Beckett not making a thicker case for these cards. I have since tucked this away and probably will bring it out when Beckett does a show out here when they do the slabbing on site and see what they say about slabbing this beauty.

Even with all that how can you not love this card still? This will probably be my only Griffey auto in my collection and considering the journey it took to my door I couldn't be happier that it came back from the event with a gold banner attached to it. Even the auto grade did not suffer as right in the middle it fades ever so slightly but it didn't get docked. 

With that we have reached the end of week 2 of the submission results. The final week is coming up and it's a dozy. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin.

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 9 - 2014 Topps Pee Wee Reese Strata Autograph

Original pic and thoughts :

2014 Topps Strata

Same story as the Griffey Strata with the added bonus of seeing how BGS treats Pee Wee's autograph. Do they dock it since you can see a little of the "Reese" part of it or do they realize that is how the card was supposed to be made? Hoping I get a reasonable grader for this transaction that will realize that.

Result and thoughts :

A 1 of 1 just got even better. Yes it will always be the only one in existence but now it is the only gem mint 1 of 1 in existence. 

We have reached the point in the submissions where I expected to see some issues pop up but thankfully none have. This card being so thick made it susceptible to conditioning issues but it came back with an overall gem mint grade. I always worry about corners but even if it did score a 9 that means all the rest scored at least a 9.5. Woo Hoo.

The main potential issue I had with this card was if the grader would dock it for Pee Wee's last name not being on the card but thankfully, and rightfully if I so say myself, he graded on what was on the card and not what wasn't. Autograph scored that much needed and appreciated 10.

Unless I am hard up (knock on wood) this is one the few cards in my collection that I have no intention of letting go and that was even before it earned gem mint status. A true 1 of 1 and it being an autograph card of a Dodger great that is no longer with us who had ties to the team in Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson. Yeah, this is not available for trade in any discussion. = )

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

State of the Dodgers : Dodger Social Rewards Update 1.1 MILLION and counting

Another 100k threshold has been reached and passed and I am still in 1st and I actually increased my lead. I punched in my points everyday but noticed he did not a few times hence the widening gap between us. Of course with baseball season almost here we shall see if the first person to cross the 1.2 million mark is me or him.

Last year there was a "glitch" that allowed certain (not just one) people to earn points when they shouldn't have and that was when I was passed on the leader board and I was perched in 2nd place for a few months. Once the season was over I plugged away and retook my spot on top of the program. The question now is did MLB/Dodgers fix that little issue or will I be knocked out of 1st once again and then use the whole off season climbing back up the ladder? Hopefully the former and not the latter but we shall see.

Once again the Dodgers had some more prizes they were giving away and yet again I came away empty handed. I really don't think I will ever win anything in this program but I just noticed that they are "giving" away personalized Instagram posts. I have almost 600 tokens, yes 600, and this Instagram "giveaway" only costs 5 tokens. Like they say you can't take it with you when you die so I am going to go and get me a personalized post from the Dodgers. At least I can saw I got something. Ha.

As always I will not be giving up my dream of sometime winning something of "note" on this program but if I don't I want to maintain my status as number one in the world in something. Lol.

Thank you as always and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 8 - 2011 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Mini "Leather"

Original pic and thoughts :

2011 Gypsy Queen

My new favorite mini in my collection and what would complete my happiness? Why a gem mint grade of course. Only 10 of these cards are in existence and not one has been graded yet by BGS. I would love to have the only one to be a gem mint and I think it has a tremendous chance at that. I see no flaws so we shall see what BGS thinks.

Result and thoughts :

Even though this was lower on the list of earning a gem mint grade I would have been very disappointed if it didn't earn at least a 9.5. This card, as stated before, is my new favorite NON autograph of Kershaw and with it being numbered out of only 10 and none being graded so far I wanted to be 1st and possible the only one to achieve gold status. Thankfully I did just that.

I find it kind of funny that BGS kept it in its mini rigid holder and placed it into their holder. Just like the Piazza Dynasty card I wonder if they ever took it out or graded it while it was in the holder? Don't know and don't care as I got the grade I wanted. Obviously I submitted to BGS for slabbing and I am curious to see the sub grades as I didn't see a flaw so I wonder how close to pristine it was. Ah, pristine, to this day I only have one card that earned that elusive grade and this would have been a great one to make it 2. It wasn't meant to be but I am more than happy with this card's results.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

BGS Raw Card Review Submission From March 7, 2015 Update Number 7 - 2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Base Black Refractor Parallel

Original pic and thoughts

2013 Bowman Chrome Black Parallel

Unlike the purple parallel I think this black parallel has a decent chance at a pristine grade. Centering is almost 50/50, surface looks clean, corners are extra sharp and the edges look problem free. I have only had one card come back in pristine condition and this would be a great second one but if not I can not see this getting anything less than a strong 9.5. Either way me going this route for a gem mint grade of this card is better (cheaper) than the one I missed out on earlier on eBay. 

Result and thoughts :

Well I missed out on the only other black Seager to ever earn a gem mint grade but now there is two as this one joins the gem mint club. This was a late (last) addition to the submission batch as I did not receive it in the mail until the week of the event but thankfully I did as I now will have it back in a 9.5 slab.

Going in I really thought that his had a chance at coming back as pristine so we shall see how close it was in a month when it comes back with all the sub grades visible. This obviously is my most valuable non autograph card of Seager now as it is numbered out of only 15. When this kid hits it big this card will probably hit at least $200 on the aftermarket. I have no intention of selling it but I love knowing the potential value of all my cards. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Reminder of Paul Lo Duca In Store Meet and Greet @ Dr. Alex Liu's Optometry

This Saturday Paul Lo Duca is making a return visit to the south land and doing an in store autograph appearance at Dr. Liu's Optometry practice in Rowland Heights. 

Just a thought for you all as I am thinking of doing it myself. Next month Eric Gagne is making a rare appearance at Frank and Sons and he and Paul were a great pitcher/catcher tandem for years and there are many great photos of both of them. You can get Paul's autograph this weekend and in two weeks you can complete the mini project and get Eric's. Just food for thought for all you autograph collectors. 

Prices remain the same for Paul which are $20 for any item you bring in which also includes a photo op with him and if you want an inscription it will only put you back an additional $5. Feel free to contact the office if you have any questions. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin