March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number THIRTY of FORTY-TWO - 2008 Topps Update Clayton Kershaw Base Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

A simple card that looks great in its new hard BGS case.

This was another one of the raw grade review cards I sent in which I knew what it was receiving before going in for the slab treatment. These rookie cards of the Kershaw are starting to pick up a little steam and I wanted one for my collection but didn't want to pay the price for it. Well a seller on eBay had on in a RCR case which meant less traffic for his auction. His loss, my win.

I didn't and don't care what the sub grades were going to be as I just wanted a gem mint of Clayton. So even with that 9 on surface I am more than happy with having this card finally in its final case after a long journey from raw, to RCR case, to eBay, to me and finally to Dallas for casing.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-NINE of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Update Corey Seager Base Rookie Debut Black Parallel (53/65) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

... and now for the 3rd and final black parallel of Corey from the 2016 Topps Update set and just like the last post I was right about the corners.

The two black parallels (of the 3) I submitted that received a gem mint 9.5 grade had the exact same sub grades and that is what I expected. Every category earned a 9.5 except for corners coming in with a 9 which I believed would considering under the magnifier I could see fuzziness.

Now that I have 2 of the 3 in gem mint form I need to find a replacement for the one that earned a 4.5 so I can have a complete set of the 3. Nice little acquisitions got a little better with their spiffy new gold banner.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-EIGHT of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Update Corey Seager Base All Star Black Parallel (64/65) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

The second of 3 black parallels of Corey Seager from the 2016 Topps Update set and the 1st that garnered a gold label.

I was hesitant to include all 3 of the cards in the batch as I had an "odd" feeling about what they would earn considering 2 of them had corner issues in my opinion. Well the 1st black really crapped the bed with a 4.5 return and this All Star one had corner issues in my eyes. Well the grader at Beckett also saw it that way but thankfully still gave them a 9 to go along with 3 9.5's and now I have yet another limited black parallel of Corey from his rookie year. Now if he can have the career that Trout has then this card would be crazy nice.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-SEVEN of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps High Tek Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Gold Rainbow Parallel (35/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Another day, another Kershaw autograph from the High Tek and another surface sub grade of a 9 but thankfully another gold banner at the end of the day.

What seems to becoming a theme here, all my High Tek card's and their surfaces are not receiving a 9.5 but in the end as long as all the other categories achieve that status then I am good to go. That said this card did what it needed to do to be color coordinated. I like Kershaw autographs and all but the more and more I see these High Tek "crazy" designs I might move away from this brand. Not sure but till then this is a fine addition to the road of 100+ Clayton signatures.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Julio Urias Base Autograph Green Refractor Parallel (35/99)

The good thing about Urias not starting the season with the MLB and still adjusting to the big league is that his autograph rookie cards can still be had on the cheap and this one for sure falls into that category.

I snagged this in March when I decided to do the rainbow from the 2016 Topps Chrome set and thankfully and luckily for me that seller of this card didn't add the fact that this was the green parallel. His auction ad just stated #/99 but no color attached to it. At the time it was the only one on eBay and surprisingly not many watchers compared to the purple and blue varieties that have a lot more copies of each color. From the screen this card looked to be in great shape and once in hand other than the slight fraying on one of the back corners it is. I believe this will gem when I send it to Beckett and hopefully I can actually finish this project sometime this year. The last big color I need to acquire is the gold parallel. Yes, there is the red but with its print run of just 5 I don't foresee me ever acquiring it.

Thirty-Five

of

Ninety-Nine

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2011 Topps Finest : Mike Trout Base Autograph X-Fractor Parallel (141/299) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2 Seagers = 1 Trout?
Maybe not on the baseball field but in card collecting that is exactly what it took me to pick up this gorgeous autograph of Mike Trout from his rookie year of 2011.

While collecting/acquiring an autograph rainbow of Mike Trout's cards from the 2009 Bowman Chrome is not even remotely feasible I have decided I am going to give it a go for the 2011 Topps Finest set as it is more reasonable and I have cards that I may or may not let go to pick up the various colors. Well this is the first of I hope many from the set.

I picked up a 2012 Bowman Chrome Refractor autograph 9.5 of Corey Seager awhile back even though I already had one and this was the exact reason why I did it. I don't/didn't need 2 of them so 1 was always expendable. The other one I had of him was also a 9.5 but with lower grades so I decided to unload that card and the base version to pay for this card.

There are few reasons why I did this, 1) Mike Trout is a future Hall of Famer and maybe an all-time great by the end of his career and while Corey has started out strong it has only been 1 full season. Trout has been a top 2 MVP for 4 years running. 2) While the BC Seagers are nice they are not numbered and as mentioned before I already have another refractor to call my own. This Trout is a numbered parallel and already certified as gem mint. 3) and to top all of that off I have multiple Seager rookie autographs of Seager from the 2016 Topps Chrome set which is more than enough for me than to also hold onto the base BC one.

Of course I picked this Trout up on an eBay eBucks promotion day so I landed quite an amount of extra $$$ for a future transaction.

One Hundred and Forty-One

of

Two Hundred and Ninety-Nine

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps High Tek : Corey Seager Base Autograph Gold Parallel (9/50)

I have to do a count one of these days but with this card's acquisition I know I am closer to having an autograph of Seager for each home run he has hit compared to an autograph of Kershaw for each win he has received. Currently Corey sits at 30 home runs and I know I have at least 20 if not 25 autographs of the young man.

It really seems to me after the 1st week or so after release the High Tek brand is regulated to an afterthought in most collectors eyes as the prices bottom out on eBay. Bad for investing but good for collectors who are looking for deals and I was lucky enough to swoop in and snag this at real steal of a deal. Knowing that the High Tek brand grades well helps in knowing that I usually will get a good quality card when it comes in. Other than 1 corner that looks a little soft I see no issue with this Gold beauty. Only thing that gives me pause is the autograph itself as it looks to streak a tad. Hoping BGS doesn't kill me on that.

Nine

of

Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-SIX of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Heritage Julio Urias Base Chrome Black Refractor Parallel (54/67) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Other than the autographs I already own of Julio Urias this is the most important rookie card of the young pitcher in my eyes and now it has been turned into gold.

The Heritage brand is a beloved each year it comes out and 2016 was no different. Julio was not in the 1st series but was included the in the update set. Unlike Corey Seager (big mistake by Topps) they did a black chrome parallel of Urias and included it in packs. Numbered out of only 67 I was determined to pick one up for my collection and thankfully I did then as if Julio has a great career this is going to be a key piece I believe. When it arrived I thought it might have a corner issue when I submitted it for grading but not only did it not they received a 9.5 to go along with 2 more 9.5's and a 10. This is a solid gem mint 9.5 and glad I can call it mine.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-FIVE of FORTY-TWO - 2014 Topps Tier One Clayton Kershaw Acclaimed Autograph (32/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Another day another gem mint return of a Clayton Kershaw autograph from my most recent batch of cards.

One of the things that puts a smile on my face is when a card comes back as a 9.5 (or better) and knowing what I "spent" or in a lot cases didn't spend to pick up a card and then it turns into gold. This is another one of those as I snagged this with a few coupons and barely anything out of pocket. Now it's in a nice golden case. With this being an acetate (plastic) card once again surfaces were the low grade of the 4 categories. More and more this is happening in my cards. Makes me think I should stay away from them even though corners and edges usually gem.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-FOUR of FORTY-TWO - 2014 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Yellow Parallel (6/30) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Another "sure" thing when I sent this in for grading. This card was originally in a PSA 10 case and I had BGS do a raw review on it to make sure it would receive a 9.5 and they said it would.

Another Tribute autograph of Kershaw with no problems as it also received quad 9.5's from Beckett. At one point I had hoped the 2014 Tribute set would be the 1st autograph rainbow of Kershaw I would complete but the prices of these are quite pricey compared to the High Tek set so this yellow (30 print run) might be the lowest numbered parallel I will own.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2017 Topps : Corey Seager Base 1987 Card Design Autograph Maple Wood Parallel (21/25)

I got wood!

I picked up the base 1987 designed autograph of Seager awhile back and thought I was done as even though I knew there were 2 parallels (Ash Wood #/10 being the other) I wasn't planning on picking up that one or this one but that changes when sales of your own far exceed what you expected them to go for so after expenses were paid I had leftover coin for a nice card. This is that card.

This had been on a BIN for quite sometime and had no best offer option but I kept it on my watch list as it was a candidate for my quarterly eBucks purchase but one day in February eBay was running an eBucks promotion and said auctions of mine had just concluded and I was flush with extra money. I sent over an email to the seller to see if he would meet me at a price that was more to my liking but still fair to him. Not 10 minutes later he sent me a private offer and I became the proud owner of this faux wood card. I didn't expect it to be in perfect condition and it's not. The front it almost perfect to me but the back has some fraying on the corners so I think this will earn a 9 from BGS and I will put that to the test when they come back in town in Sept/Oct for their next raw card review event. Now...do I try for that Maple? Hmmm.....

Twenty-One

of

Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Julio Urias Base Autograph Orange Refractor Parallel (16/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Well patience is a virtue and a good thing it can also be a stressful thing as you try to wait out fellow collectors and the seller of a card that you want but are determined to acquire at your point and not theirs.

I have been debating on what autograph rainbow of Urias I would pursue in earnest. The options were either the 2014 Bowman Chrome set (considered prospect cards not "rookie" ones) or the 2016 Topps Chrome set which is considered his true rookie cards. I think the Bowman ones are far better looking than these Topps ones but in the end I went with Topps so I can match it up with my Corey Seager rainbow autograph project from the same year. I had the base Urias in hand and the Purple had just been recently acquired so it made sense to me to just continue on the Topps path rather than go back to 2014.

Knowing the Red (#/5) parallel is a pipe dream to pick up the next color with a low print run is this Orange (#/25) and probably the hardest one to nab in the future if he does (as expected) well I focused on this bad boy the minute it popped up. The problem was I had zero funds and the asking price was crazy high so all I did was put it on my watch list and see what and when it would sell.

I keep selling a few cards here and there and added some comic sales and still this Orange beauty was available and that was even with the price coming down. Finally I was within shouting distance of having the funds to pay for this as the price had come down far enough. To top it off that day also was on a 10% eBay eBucks promotion so I decided to contact the seller and asked if he would drop the price $20 more as it just continued to go unsold. No counter no hassle and he changed the price and I nabbed this after months of waiting and watching the asking price go down 50%. Nice...!

The hardest color of the rainbow (other than the Red) is now in and I should be able to complete the rainbow sometime this year as the other colors are usually readily available.

Sixteen

of

Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Bowman Chrome : Corey Seager Base Autograph (Batting) Blue Refractor Parallel (3/150) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

So happy to have acquired this card. Bowman Chrome came out last year with 2 different poses for Seager and while I had the fielding one I have been on the search for the batting one for quite some time. I also am trying to get both variations in gold (which I have the batting one already) but with a print run of just 50 for that color it might be some time till I can nail one down.

A good friend of mine on Instagram informed me (and others I presume) that he was adjusting his collection and that certain items were up for grabs and I remembered (and he also reminded me) that he had this and was willing to let it go. I knew I had to somehow grab is somehow as this was the best time as years down the road it might have put me back more. I quickly went home picked a few cards that were expendable and unloaded them on eBay and had the funds to my buddy a couple days later.

This card looks even better in person than it does on the computer screen as Corey is in blue adorned by a blue border and highlighted by a crisp blue signature. Can't ask for more. I will post the two (batting/fielding) on Instagram shortly just to show them off together and how great they look.

Three

of

One Hundred and Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-THREE of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Gypsy Queen Corey Seager Base Autograph Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

For a card I didn't even really want I am very happy that Beckett and their grading department gave it a gem mint banner.

This card was part of a transaction that included the 2016 Topps Chrome Orange of Seager which will pop up later but the "seller" wanted to include this card as well. I want Seager autographs but I have had some bad history with GQ when it comes to condition. After a day or so I finally agreed to take this card as well. With the 9.5 now attached to it I am happy I was convinced to take it as it was acquired on a deal and now it has been turned into gold. On top of that my concerns about condition issues is no where to be found on this card as each sub grade received at least a 9.5 with edges even earning a perfect 10.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-TWO of FORTY-TWO - 2012 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Blue Parallel (17/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Nothing like a blue autograph parallel of the best pitcher in baseball aka the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw.

I've had pretty good luck with the Tribute brand when submitting them to BGS for the grading treatment and this 2012 card is no different as it officially joins the gem mint section of my collection. Didn't expect any issues with it when I included it in the batch and there was none to be found by Beckett as well. Quad 9.5 sub grades with a 10 on auto and this beautiful card just got a little prettier.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-ONE of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager Base Pink Refractor Parallel Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

I've reached the half way point of the batch and here is a major if not pricey addition to my Topps Chrome rainbow project of Corey Seager.

My 2 biggest projects are Seagers prospect and rookie year cards that I am trying to get each color in a BGS gem mint case. I snagged this pink one on a deal during the off season as it was in a RCR sleeve with a 9.5 attached to it. I didn't care what the sub grades were as long as it was a gold banner so even though this is a "weak" gem it is a gem non the less and I am 1 step closer to having this project done. The problem is that the red parallel is the one I need and there are only 5 copies in the world. Odds are I'll never see it but you never know.

Pink Power

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Gold Label Julio Urias Base Framed Autograph Black Parallel (9/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

I wasn't in the hobby in the 1990's so I don't remember the Gold Label brand and when it came back in 2016 I was intrigued by the framed autographs as I do love me some metal cards. I snagged this Julio card on the cheap and I think that is because this brand is not overly popular. As with most metal cards I expect gem mint returns when I submit them to BGS and this one was no different.

Unless the card is chipped, dropped, etc it's hard for me to see anything but a 9.5 or 10 on edges and corners and to a small extent centering shouldn't be an issue. Only surfaces in my eyes should be a wild card. Well none of those categories had issues with this card as each one earned a 9.5 to make this a solid gem mint card. This probably will never be a big money card but that is OK in my eyes as it's not always about the dollar.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number NINETEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Chrome Julio Urias Base Autograph Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Solid deal for this card has now turned into a solid gem mint 9.5 of the young Dodgers pitcher from Mexico.

I picked this up on eBay on a day when the seller was asleep at the wheel and now have it in a gold banner case. I thought there might be some issue on a back corner but that never came up in the grader's eyes and even if it did the other sub grades all received 9.5. I am going for the autograph rainbow of Julio in the 2016 Topps Chrome set and if I can snag that red parallel (#/5) sometime soon before he hits the bigs again I might have a chance here to complete it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number EIGHTTEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps High Tek Corey Seager Base Orange Magma Parallel (9/25) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Of course I am very happy that yet another numbered parallel rookie card of Corey Seager received a 9.5 from BGS but oddly surprised that the aftermarket value of this card is so low.

The print run of this parallel is only 25 and yet a week before I received the results of the batch a similar card went on eBay for a meager $30 and change. Totally expect(ed) that it would at least be somewhere near $100 but I guess I misread the market for this card. That said this is a solid gem 9.5 as not a single sub grade received a 9 with 1 even earning a 10. At the end of the day it still is a rookie card of what could possibly be a great player once his career is over.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2017 Topps Heritage : Corey Seager Base Autograph Red Ink Variant (10/68)

Heritage is a great set year in and year out but I am on the fence with the look of this year's set as I am not the biggest fan of the borders of the cards. That said I knew I wanted a handful of cards from the set and this is the biggest of the bunch and luckily the 1st I was able to acquire.

My goal is to have an autograph of every home run that Corey hits in his career which will probably put me in at least needing 300 when all is said and done. This card's acquisition also continues a yearly project that I have started for Corey and that is to have the base and red ink autographs of each year Corey signs in this set. Obviously I also hope for them to gem when I submit them to BGS for grading and I feel that this one is borderline 9/9.5 as a couple of corners give me concern. I now have both the 2016 and 2017 red inks and only need the base from this year's set to complete my ongoing project.

Ten

of

Sixty-Eight

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number SEVENTEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2012 Topps Museum Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Photo B (79/100) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Third time IS the charm for me.

I have submitted other copies of this card 2 other times and each time they came back as an 8.5. I have photo A in a mint 9 case and I "had" to have this photo B one in one too but till today I have had no such luck.

I did not expect this to earn an overall 9.5 but I am not going to complain as I finally completed this minor 2 card project. I could have just had the others encased in a certified slab but since I had the other one graded it would have looked odd next to each other. I expected corners to possibly be an issue because that is what the other 2 had a problem with. This one had no such problem there but it was surface that came in with the less than 9.5 sub.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number SIXTEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps High Tek Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Well this is a nice start to what I hope is a complete rainbow of Kershaw autographs from the 2016 Topps High Tek set. Even though this is "just" the base version it is an important piece to the project which I hope to complete.

Of all the possible rainbow projects the High Tek brand will probably be the easiest to complete as it is not one of high demand among collectors so I hope to use that to my advantage. I have a lot of the parallels in this batch and was confident that they would all gem and even though this one earned a 9 on surface it still easily made the gold banner club with 2 10 subs. A side note on these plastic/acetate cards. I have noticed in the past few batches that there are a lot more surface issues in the eyes of the graders. Anyone else have the same issue?

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

This card was one of the handful that I had raw graded prior to submitting it for the full slab treatment as I was trying to sneak in the auto but the grader was not asleep at the wheel. Irritating 9 but it is a Kershaw autograph that is an overall 9.5 so I went ahead and had it put into a case.

This becomes my second Allen Ginter mini frame Kershaw autograph card that has received the "lovely" 9.5/9 grade. I still do not understand why an autograph that goes to the edge of a card gets downgraded to a 9. I understand streaking but this type of auto takes another away from the card. Even though I knew what the grade was going to be I still still slabbed it because I love the 2015 color of these cards. All was not lost for this year's Ginter autographs of Kershaw though as I will show off another in a few weeks which makes this one easier to swallow.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

March 2017 BGS Submission Result Number FOURTEEN of FORTY-TWO - 2016 Topps Heritage Julio Urias Base Mini Parallel (43/100) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Entry number 14 and the first of many gold banner returns from the batch. Time to get the bad taste out of my mouth of the last 13 results.

Numbered rookie cards are always one of my main pursuits of the players I collect and when I landed this mini Heritage of the young Dodgers phenom Julio I crossed my fingers as I knew it was centering that was going to come in with a 9. Just eyeballing it I knew it wouldn't gem unless the grader was blind so I had to hope that the other 3 subs would earn a 9.5 which they did.

While this mini is not a real money maker it is nice to have a limited numbered rookie that is certified gem mint for the collection.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin