Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Update : Corey Seager Base All Star Black Parallel (64/65)

I knew at some point I circle around to the 2016 Topps Update release as I was waiting for just the right time aka when the market was low to pick some Seager cards.

With only the black parallels holding my interest there are/were only a handful of cards I wanted but Corey had the most as he checks in with 3 separate entries in the set. The black parallels have a print run of only 65 and have a book range of $20-50. When these first popped up on eBay they sold nearer the high range which was too much for me but now that there were more copies on the market to be had the price dropped. I didn't expect it but when this copy showed up on eBay on a BIN  with an asking price of less than low book I didn't hesitate and clicked the button and officially picked up the 1st of 3 planned black parallels of Corey.

While I always hold out hope that all my cards can earn 9.5's from BGS I think this card has a 40% at most of earning that as there is 2 corners that have issues. Everything else looks fine but I don't think that they will hold to a 9 but instead earn an 8.5 which cause the overall to be a plain old 9. We shall see.

Sixty-Four

of

Sixty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

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

You can't get more plain looking than this redemption card but I am happy to own it and look forward to see the "real" card in the coming days.

I love the metal framed cards i.e. the silver parallels in the Topps flagship brand and the framed autographs found in the Museum sets. The Gold Label brand is new to me as when it was introduced the first time around I was not in the hobby so my knowledge of this brand is not broad. When I heard this was being released I knew I wanted to acquire the autograph cards of the players I collect and with Urias being just welcomed back into that group I figured he would be the easiest and cheapest to acquire first and I wasn't wrong about that.

A couple of these had already been sold and when this one popped up on my favorite auction site with a best offer option I was all over it with a low ball figure. Surprisingly when he countered it was still lower than my mental ceiling for what I was willing to fork over for it and with that a week later I had another Urias autograph to call my own. Hope these Gold Labels look good in hand when I do receive the actual card.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Topps Five Star : Clayton Kershaw Jumbo Patch Autograph (32/35)

Thirty-Five copies of this card are in existence and I swear that I have probably seen at least 20 come and go as I tried to acquire one to call my own. Once again this card is an exception to the rule as I do not purse relic/patch cards anymore but the Five Star brand usually puts out beautiful cards and this one falls into that category and the first time I saw this I knew I had to pick one up for myself. Finally that day has come.

This particular copy had been on a BIN auction with an OBO option as well as another one concurrently running on eBay by a different seller for the same asking price. eBay was running a 10% eBucks promotion so I sent the other seller an offer of more than 50% less than his asking price. Yup, I was going the low ball route. On top of that all the copies I saw never went as low as what I was attempting to acquire it for. Not surprisingly I received no answer from that seller so a day later I sent the owner of this card the exact same price and within 30 minutes I received an email stating he took my offer without even countering. Nice.

As many of you know thick cards like Five Star are notorious for corner and edge issues but this one only has the littlest of issues on one corner which could only be seen under a loop. Naked eye its perfect so hopefully this will gem when BGS is back in town.

Thirty-Two

of

Thirty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Gold Refractor Parallel (32/50) BGS Graded Pristine 10 and Quarterly eBay eBucks Purchase Number 4

We come to the 4th and final eBay eBucks acquisition from this past Christmas quarter and it's a biggie though I did not know if I would end up with it or another card until I received an email from eBay.

The past 3 days have been great with all the stuff I was able to acquire and from the Topps Now Kershaw post I stated that it helped finish off "paying" for the final card and this is that card. It could have been 1 of another handful but this was the 1st one that a seller on eBay took my best offer. On January 1st I knew what I could afford but wanted it to be 1 big card and not multiple little ones. I sent out 5 offers for this and 4 other cards for roughly the same amount (and another Pristine Topps Chrome Gold Seager as well) and whichever seller accepted I would happily take that one and try for the other 4 at some later date. With less than 3 hours till my offer expired the seller of this card accepted and I promptly canceled the other 4.

While I would have loved any of the other 4 I am immensely happy that I have this card. One of the other ones I didn't get was a sticker autograph rookie of Kershaw. Yeah I know, it's a sticker and I hate them but it was/is a BGS gem and a rookie so I was going to look past that. In the grander scheme of things this gold (and limited, only 50 copies) is the better option for my collection at the present moment. It now becomes the lowest print run parallel from the Topps Chrome brand that I have in my collection and wanting to do the whole rainbow that's big since this cost zero dollars to acquire. Other than the Orange (I believe the red is a pipe dream) parallel I have all the hard ones in my possession.

With this no officially in hand I finish off yet another eBay quarter and might have to say this was my most successful one to date. Picked up 4 tops notch cards and with 2 being gem mint and a 3rd (Topps Now Kershaw) a good candidate to make it 3 so I think I did quite well. As always thank you to friends and family for having me do your purchases through my eBay account so I could accumulate that more eBucks for me to use to acquire these great cards. No way this current quarter will be this well but I look forward to Christmas of 2017 to see if I can best this 2016.

Whole lot of 10's there

Thirty-Two

of

Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Strata : Clayton Kershaw Base Clearly Authentic Autograph Black Parallel (#/50) and Quarterly eBay eBucks Purchase Number 3

Yesterday's eBucks post was all about gift cards being used to acquire a card but now we are to the "offical" part of the eBucks acquisitions for this past quarter as this and tomorrow's posts were both picked up at ZERO, NADA, ZIP out of pocket costs. A beautiful thing.

Since tomorrow's card price was locked in I knew what I had left over that I could use to hopefully snag one last great piece and I decided to search for a Kershaw autograph knowing that I did not have enough for another Trout autograph. I noticed that the 2016 Strata Kershaw autographs were "live" and being sold on eBay so I directed myself to this redemption card as people are not that patient and knowing I could "save" $15 if I just could just wait an extra few weeks so why not?

Some people (and to be fair sometimes I am like it) need that instant gratification but knowing that this card was produced and just waiting to be shipped out of a Topps warehouse I negotiated this down to the amount of eBucks that I had left and with it I added yet another Kershaw autograph to the collection and the cost was only me having to have a little extra patience and wait for this to make it to me. Can't wait to see the real McCoy in a couple weeks.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Bowman Chrome : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Refractor Parallel (35/50) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5 and Quarterly eBay eBucks Purchase Number 2

Man did I do well for the 2016 4th quarter (aka Christmas time) eBucks acquisitions in comparison to the 2015. That year I snagged 2 Trout cards with one being an autograph. Nothing to sneeze at but I think I really scored this year but it could only happen due to my generous family and great timing for extra eBucks during the quarter.

When looking at all 3, yes 3 (woo hoo), that I picked up this quarter (yesterday's Kershaw is included in this run of 4 but more because it helped on the last one) I would say this is probably the "biggest" valued card in the long run. Of course some of you might think that Thursday's has a better outlook but you be the judge.

This Seager beauty actually did not have a single eBuck used in acquiring it BUT help in snagging the next 2 and was paid in most part with Christmas gift cards which I always combine for this quarter. This card popped up in the waning days of December and low and behold eBay was running another eBucks promotion. With my gift cards in hand I hit the BIN button and scored this limited rookie autograph of Corey in gem mint grade. On top of that this "purchase" earned me even more eBucks for the other 2 cards I picked up.

I was staying away from the Bowman Chrome brand this year as I was concentrating on Topps Chrome instead but with this being the off season I am always looking for deals/steals and I haven't seen another one of these in this condition go for so low. When I conferred with friends they told me they couldn't believe the low price. So with minimal cost out of pocket (which you can barely say considering it came from my own eBay sales) I "won" this for my growing Corey autograph collection AND helped "pay" for the next 2 days worth of cards. Man I love the Christmas quarter on eBay.

Everywhere I look I see gold.

Thirty-Five

of

Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Now : Clayton Kershaw Base Relic (From 10.13.16) Autograph (35/99) and Quarterly eBay eBucks Purchase Number 1

Oh happy days are here again as it is that big time of the year also known as the final quarter of the calendar year which happens to be Christmas time and that means the biggest eBucks quarter as they are coupled with Christmas gift cards. With that said this card is not "techinically" part of the purchases BUT I am including it because of how it was acquired and what it helped get down the road which was all eBucks related.

I love Kershaw autographs and while I am not the biggest fan of relics this is the 2nd one in the past 6 months I specifically went after even though originally I had no interest in it. Clayton Kershaw is an out of this world starting pitcher but on 10-13-16 he became the closer for the ages when he closed out the Division Series against the Nationals. It was his first ever MLB save in his career for a game that has become an instant classic in Dodger lore. Anyone that knows me knows that I called it almost to a "T". I said that we would see Clayton at sometime during the game and probably late even though he just threw 110 pitches 2 days prior. I didn't expect him to come in to close though. When Topps announced they would do a card commemorating the feat I didn't really think too much about it. One because of its price and two it was a relic. Meh. But then I saw the actual card and I fell in love with it and the moment again. On top of that I noticed the autograph is flawless while a lot of other copies seemed to have streaking issues. If I was to acquire one this would be that one.

While I did not acquire this by using eBucks I did earn the money to pick it because eBay was running an eBucks promotion. I had a load of cards and books that were scheduled to end on the last day of the promotion which I believed helped make the sales happen. With all of them finished I turned to this beauty and negotiated the price down and locked in the deal. By doing that I also earned even more eBucks for my own use which went to pay off the final card which I will show off in 3 days. Yes, I was able to acquire 4 cards this quarter because of the eBucks program. Woo freaking hoo.

Thirty-Five

of

Ninety-Nine

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Heritage : Julio Urias Base Mini Parallel (43/100)

As I have decided to collect Julio Urias cards once again and while the majority will be autographs I will venture out and pick up some nice parallels if they could be had a steal and are BGS worthy. This mini fits into both of those categories.

I do love me minis especially if they are the numbered variety with me already acquiring other minis from the 2016 Heritage release this card's acquisition was a no brainer. The hardest part of this purchase though was the bargining with the eBay seller as we both were very stubborn. This books at a high of $40 and a low of $20 but the seller had it as a $22 OBO BIN. I thought I could get him down closer to $10 than the amount I ended up paying which was a higher than $15. While not the biggest bargain I have had on eBay it might just end up OK in the end as in hand I see only 1 corner with a slight issue. Thinking and hoping this gems when Beckett is back in town in March.

Forty-Three

of

One Hundred

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card(s) of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Sepia, Pink, Refractor and Prism Parallels

Seager here.
Seager there.
Seager everywhere.

Last weekend I showed off the cards I was after which were included in a much bigger group of cards that I had no need for. These are those cards.

A couple prisms, a few refractors and 1 each of the sepia and pink parallels comprise the group. Individually these would cost higher but in this group the average cost was minimized. I didn't need these as I have a pink in RCR form and both the refractor and prisms in BGS cases already. A sepia also should be coming in shortly. I needed the black and blues that I posted about so these 7 cards were in my hands for about 10 minutes before I posted them back on eBay with a couple more Seager cards to entice a buyer. After all was said and done the cost for the black and blue BGS cards were a lot less because of these 7. Another successful eBay hustle to get what I wanted/needed.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2011 Topps Update : Mike Trout Base Gold Parallel (878/2011) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Selling from surplus to acquire a need. I feel like the Dodgers as I finally landed this beautiful gold parallel of superstar Mike Trout.

During the 2015 off season my goal was to acquire graded rookie cards of Mike Trout from the Topps Update set and I did quite well as I picked up the base, diamond, blue and the hard to get red versions. The 2 left that I needed (other than the black which I don't ever see me getting) were the gold and cognac and my "rainbow" from this set would be complete. I wanted to wait for the right time which meant at the lowest price and an eBucks promotion. Well this 2016 off season presented that to me when this card popped up.

I asked friends on Twitter and Instagram which would they prefer in their collection, this or graded photo variations, and the answer was unanimous . Gold by a land side. I had a few Trout gem mint photo variations and while I like them I really love this gold one. I knew in my heart what I was going to do but wanted to see what others thought and we all had the same thought process. While variations are fun and unique gem mint rookies of a future Hall of Fame member is better.

Locked in this card which was on a BIN auction from a seller from Canada (probably another reason why price was reasonable) and promptly sold the variations to cover the cost. Now to finish off the rainbow with a cognac.

Eight Hundred and Seventy-Eight

of

Two Thousand and Eleven

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-SIX - 2014 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Red Storm Diffractor Parallel (7/10) Now BGS Graded Pristine 10

2014 Topps High Tek Clayton Kershaw Red Storm Diffractor Parallel (7/10)

What would make this red parallel even better is it earns at least a 9.5 from Beckett as I snagged this on an eBay auction for what seemed like pennies. To be honest if it does I might/probably will flip it back on eBay and acquire some autograph of my core 4. Other than a corner on the back of the card there does not seem to be any other issue so hopefully I see a gold banner attached to this limited beauty.

We have reached the final recap from my 56 card batch and this eBay steal is now a pristine 10 card. 

For those that don't remember I picked this up on an eBay auction when I was trying to get another card that was included with this one. To my benefit though the seller did not really state what this card was as it is a very limited parallel so if you averaged out the price this cost me a little more than $8. When it reached my hands I knew I had a gem in my hands but I didn't know I had an almost perfect card. As stated above I believed there was a corner issue but I guess BGS thought it was more of an edge problem and gave them a 9.5. Everything else though received a 10 and with that it became a pristine card.

Funny how the first couple of batches I sent to BGS I couldn't buy a 10 and complained about that. Now every batch since has had at least 2 come back as pristine. The only thing I am missing is the ever elusive black label 10. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-FIVE - 2013 Bowman Chrome Mini : Corey Seager Base Blue Refrator Parallel (7/99) Now BGS Graded Pristine 10

2013 Bowman Chrome Mini Blue Refractor Parallel (7/99)

I still think I am crazy in doing not 1, not 2 but 3 rainbow projects for Corey Seager but if I ever do accomplish it I would be so proud in doing it as it is an insane project. 

Well this is the mini blue and other than it being slightly off centered I believe there are no other problems as I saw nothing under the loop. I think it gems and if so I am dreaming of a tri gold rainbow.

The 9.5 returns of the batch are finished BUT I am not done with the recaps as I didn't just receive 1 but got 2 pristine 10's back from BGS. Sadly once again neither were a black label. Someday I will earn one but not this time.

Since it's not a black label that means only one of the categories did not receive a 10 from Beckett and for this card it happened to be surface. I cleaned this off before submitting but obviously not enough as it came back as a measly 9.5. Picky much Beckett? Ha Ha. Either way it's nice to add yet another overall 10 to the collection. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-FOUR - 2012 Bowman Chrome/2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base 8x10 Autograph Purple Refractor Parallel (10/10) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2012 Bowman Chrome/2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager 8x10 Autograph Purple Parallel (10/10)

Unlike other cards that went through the raw card review process this one HAD to go through before going to Dallas to get slabbed. Why? Because of its size which if you want encased is an extra charge which I did not want to spend if I wasn't guaranteed a gem mint return. Hopes of pristine return were dashed but I just love that instead of the traditional sealed label they attach to cards this one earned a sticky instead. Ha Ha. I expect when this comes back that the corners will be lowest of the sub grades but either way I have the only (at this moment) graded jumbo of the Dodgers budding superstar.

This 8x10 even looks more impressive now that is has been encased. Of course with it being purple the wife has already reclaimed it and asked how much can she get for it? Yeah, not going anywhere hon.

When I submitted this for a RCR I expected it to gem and gem it did. I also thought it would have 1 sub grade come back as a 9 which at the time I believed it would be the corners to earn that. I find out now that corners were good enough for BGS to give them a 9.5 but it was surface that earned a 9. Very close to not earning a gold banner but thankfully it did. This is a very unique piece and now that it is safely stored in a thick case I can rest easy that it won't get damaged. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-THREE - 2015 Topps Supreme : Clayton Kershaw Yellow Printing Plate Autograph (1/1) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Supreme Clayton Kershaw Printing Plate Autograph (1/1)

Well this card is the final one of the massive batch and why is the final entry? Kershaw, autograph, 1 of freaking 1, gem mint, low expectations and high returns. Plenty to love about this "card" as I expected this to barely squeak by with a 9 if that at all but instead it returned to me from the RCR event as a gem mint 9.5. Is it a strong or weak 9.5? Don't know and don't care as printing plates are notorious for quality issues and with it being a true 1 of 1 and a gold label slapped on it now I am immensely happy with it. 

While there might a pristine return in this batch (fingers always crossed) that is not a guarantee where this Kershaw is and it being what it is this to me is the best return of the batch at the present moment.

We come to the 40th and final 9.5 gold banner from my most recent BGS batch (not the final recap though) and what better way to top it off than with this cherry of a card. A 1 of 1 printing plate of Clayton Kershaw from the 2015 Topps Supreme set. 

I was ecstatic when this came back from the RCR event with a 9.5 attached to it as I believe the grader did me a solid and took care of a potential surface issue and I assumed everything else was perfect but now that I have the full grade in front of me it became even more important that the grader did me that favor. Other than the surface I thought there was nothing else wrong with this card but in fact edges barely squeaked by with a 9. Sheesh, that was close. 

Thanks go out again to the RCR grader for helping a collector out as even though I would have kept this card no matter what the grade would have been it is much better in its new gold case home.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

- Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Blue Refractor Parallel (76/150) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Black and blue. Such a lovely combination. Yesterday I posted about the black refractor parallel that I picked up in a batch of cards and today it is the blue's turn to see the spotlight.

I already own(ed) this blue parallel in raw form but once I knew I could pick one up in graded form before Beckett made it back to town I would do my best to acquire it and that is exactly what I did here. On its own I have seen this card go north of $60 which is why I picked up the raw version at a lower price to try my luck at earning a gold banner but then I saw this coupled with the black one and numerous other cards I decided to go after this one.

Knowing my plan to sell off all the other cards that I didn't want (more on that next week) and having the raw blue I could unload I had a decent ceiling for this batch and in the end it was minimal hassle and with it I added yet another colored parallel to my graded rainbow project.

Seventy-Six

of

One Hundred and Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Black Refractor Parallel BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

It's mid November when I am writing this post up and with it I am keeping my eyes open to score great deals for Seager cards during this off season. I ended up picking up this card and tomorrow's at a discount by buying a bulk of cards that I only wanted these 2.

Time and time again I have bought cards I had no intention of keeping just to pick up something I really wanted and in a week I will show off the batch of other cards that I bought to get this one. I hope to get most of the rainbow done for the 2016 Topps Chrome project by Opening Day but I think that will be a stretch. I have seen a few of these black graded copies up for sale but each have gone for more than I was comfortable with but with this copy being in a bigger batch it was a steal after I sold off all the unwanted cards. 1 colored parallel down and many many more to go.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Bowman's Best : Mike Trout 1995 Bowman's Best Design Refractor Autograph (29/30) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

There are certain card sets from years gone by that I loved and still think look great to this day. That list includes among others 1993 Topps Finest, 2001 Bowman Chrome, 1990 Leaf and 1995 Bowman's Best. All of them are visually appealing now as they were back in their hayday. Topps did a retro insert of the Finest set which I collected and last year they included an autograph insert set in their Bowman's Best brand to honor the 1995 set's 20th anniversary. When I saw the checklist I noticed there was no Kershaw to be found but there was a Trout and I knew I wanted a copy but didn't think I could land it. Obviously that changed as here is my newest addition to my small but respectable Trout autograph collection.

Nothing like another gold banner for the Trout collection

With a print run of 30 I have seen at least 10 change hands on eBay and a couple here and there on other social media outlets so I knew my chance at it was closing. Well one day eBay had a 6 hour eBucks promotion and with about 3 hours left in it this bad boy popped up on site. I had to make a decision on how bad I wanted this card. I knew if I was to acquire this I had to sell something in my collection to pick it up and probably more than just one card at that. My thinking was with the extra eBucks earned by acquiring this card I could get something nice in the next quarter so I took the plunge and snagged this one.

It was a hard decision on what to let go to offset this card's purchase but I ended up letting go of my 1994 Finest refractor that is numbered out of 25 and graded gem mint by BGS. That hurt as I loved that card but I love the 1993 version better which I am still on the hunt for. I will also be letting go my 2015 Strata Koufax autograph which came back from BGS as a mint 9. Being a Dodger fan this one cuts deep as well but my thinking is I have 3 other great Koufax autographs that I call my own and watching Trout on a daily basis I realize I am watching history and want as many autographs as I can have of him. You have to give something to get something and that is what I did but at the end of this day I am very happy to own this beauty of an autograph.

Twenty-Nine

of

Thirty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Autograph Purple Refractor Parallel (207/250) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager Autograph Purple Refractor Parallel (207/250)

Unlike Kershaw autographs I want/need all my Seager ones to be in gem mint form. That could chance down the road if his career starts to be on course for a Hall of Fame possiblity like Kershaw's is. Till then give me gold and only gold.

Other than 1 corner that has ever the smallest issue I see nothing wrong with this card. The autograph is a sure thing as a 10 and I believe everything else should check in so hopefully this will be yet another Topps Chrome gem for my collection. 

Can I really do an autograph rainbow of Corey Seager from the 2016 Topps Chrome set in BGS 9.5 form? Don't know but I am going to give it the ole college try and this is another entry into said project. 

I expected this to gem pretty easily and it did with flying colors. While it wasn't close to a pristine 10 it did not have any sub grades earn a 9 so it is a strong 9.5 instead. Purple pared with gold is a sign of royalty and hopefully Seager's career will go as planned which will put him in some refined air of past players.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY-ONE - 2016 Stadium Club : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Gold Parallel (8/25) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Stadium Club Clayton Kershaw Autograph Gold Parallel (8/25)

Another Kershaw autograph but one that I will be happy if it holds at a 9. 

If this wasn't an autographed card I probably wouldn't have submitted it but since it is it goes for the grading. There are 2 corners that have a slight fraying issue and from past experience that "should" only dock that sub grade down to an 8.5 which should mean the overall grade should hold at a 9. Of course if I get a blind grader then it will come back gem mint. Ha Ha.

Well, well, well.... it looks like I got the blind grader when this card went in for its grading treatment. There were/are 2 corners that had damage and I just hoped they would hold at an 8.5 and not down to a 8 but no kind of 8's were to be had as they "earned" a 9. Very surprised as I have seen worse cards in my collection get 8.5's but not this one. With that being the only problem I surprisingly add another gem mint card to my Kershaw autograph collection. 

The card depicts a golden moment for Clayton and I am glad that it is in a gold banner case as that seems appropriate.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTY - 2016 Topps Tier One : Corey Seager Clear One Autograph (18/25) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Tier One Corey Seager Clear Autograph (18/25)

I have a couple Seager autographs in this batch and like all cards I hope for them to earn 9.5's but this is one that may or may not gem as I can tell it is slightly off centered on the front. My other issue is on the flip side where I can't really tell if it is centered or not. We shall see.

Everything else looks good with the autograph being nice and crisp. I lean towards this earning a 9.5 but crossing my fingers at the same time.

I had an odd feeling that this might be iffy on it coming back as a gold banner 9.5 and indeed it barely squeaked by but that is fine with me as gold is gold no matter how it gets there.

For me the centering was tricky for me but BGS didn't think much of it and slapped a 9.5 on it but it was surface that came in with a lower grade of 9. I have to remember that any card that is plastic/acetate is more suspect to condition issues on surfaces. Lesson learned and very happy to add this Seager to my gem mint collection of the young man.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin