Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Finest : Mike Trout 1994 Retro Insert Refractor Parallel (24/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

The retro refractor I ended up getting is not the one I was hunting for but it is still a great item for my Mike Trout collection.

I have stated before that the 1993 Topps Finest set was and still one of my favorite sets of all time. Back in 2013 Topps brought back the Finest brand and had a retro insert set featuring current players based on the card design from the 1993 set. I acquired what I wanted from that set but have been on the look out for a refractor of the Mike Trout card. With it being numbered out of only 25 it has been immensely difficult to locate one. To this day that search continues but on a random day looking for that card I came across this one.

9 + 9.5 + 9.5 + 10 = GEM

After the success of the 1993 retro insert set Topps decided to include a 1994 retro version in their 2014 Finest release. Back in 1994 the design turned me off as I thought it was too "colorful". I still think it is a tad much but I like it a little more than 22 years ago. That said, all those feelings went away when I saw this BGS 9.5 refractor of Mike Trout. If I couldn't have the 93 version maybe I could have the 94 version to satisfy my wants for the time being. Of course with such a low print run there is no book to go by for purchasing purposes. It being already graded made my acceptable price ceiling higher than an ungraded one would have been.

There were only 2 bids on the auction but my bid (which never is a round number) made the winning bid exactly what I entered. I literally won with no room for error. Now with this beauty in hand I can turn my focus back to that 1993 refractor I really want.

Twenty-Four

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Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Trade with Fellow Blogger : Andrew of Everyday Holliday (2014 Topps Finest Lou Brock Base Autograph X-Fractor Parallel 142/149 BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5 and 2009 Topps 206 Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph)

I recently finished up a trade with a new trading partner. It's always nice to start up new internet "relationships" and it looks like I "found" another trustworthy person.

Andrew of Everyday Holliday , who I became blogger and Instagram followers due to the fact that we have a mutual friend in the form of Frankie, posted this Lou Brock gem on his IG feed as he was looking to move it. This card actually was originally Frankie's but he traded it to Andrew sometime ago but since I have always wanted to add a Brock autograph to my collection I was interested in it again once Andrew put it up for "sale". He was looking for some funds to acquire another card and we had agreed on a price but at the last moment he decided to ask if I was interested in another card for the trade. More on that below.

I am more of a fan of the black parallels of Finest but I couldn't pass on finally getting a Lou copy for my collection. Has only been in hand for a week or so and Frankie is already inquiring about it so I might not have it for long. We shall see.

Quad 9.5's and a perfect 10 on auto.

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One Forty Nine

. . . so then Andrew asked if I was interested in a Kershaw autograph. Yeah, don't have to ask me twice as long as its at a reasonable price which it was. I actually have this card as this was one of my 1st autographs of Kershaw I was able to obtain back in 2013. To give you an idea how the market has changed I picked that copy up for a mere $13.75. Try to find one at that price now. You can read about that transaction HERE . To make that bargain even better I sent it in to BGS for grading and low and behold it came back as a 9.5 gem. Woo hoo. That recap can be seen HERE .

So do I "need" another one of these? No but I can't have enough Kershaw autographs even if they are duplicates. I ended up sending Andrew a Ozzie Smith autograph to help along the trade and added a little more to the money till. With this card in hand I think it has about a 50/50 chance of earning a gem mint grade from BGS but a mint 9 seems to be a lock. The centering is off a tad. We shall see when they are back in town.

Either way I am happy with the trade and I want to say thank you again to Andrew for making it happen. Hopefully we can do more in the future.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Finest : Sandy Koufax Greats Autograph Black Refractor Parallel (72/99) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

A few weeks back I did a post asking you the reader which card would you rather have in your collection. You can read about it HERE in case you missed it.

As stated I have/had a BGS gem mint card of Cubs prospect Kris Bryant. It was my only autograph of the young player but I was not emotionally attached to it as he is not a Dodger and I also think his market is over inflated right now. Don't get me wrong, I think he will have a very good career but not one that warrants current card prices. I want(ed) an autograph of his in my collection but I decided that I would sell that card and pick up another one of his in the off season when the prices come down a tad. If I was to sell it though I had to get a great replacement and I basically had two options. A BGS gem mint Bryce Harper Allen Ginter autograph or this BGS gem mint Sandy Koufax autograph.

I was already leaning towards the Koufax card before I asked everyone which way they would go if they were in my situation but I was still a tad conflicted as I still wanted to add another Bryce autograph to my collection. So do I go with a Dodger Hall of Fame member or do I go with an up and coming star? The overwhelming response was to go with Koufax with no one really on the Bryce side. So with that I went from 1 Bryant, 1 Koufax and 1 Harper autograph in my collection to zero Bryants, still 1 Harper but now 2 BGS gem mint Koufaxs to call my own.

I think I made the right decision and this card does look even better in person than it did on the computer screen. I want to thank everyone that gave me their opinion as I value it whether I agree with it or not.

Of course if you have read this blog long enough you know I always attempt to get the most bang for my buck. Just because I got one great card doesn't mean I couldn't get more right? More on that tomorrow.

Golden arm with a golden banner

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Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Which Card Would You Want In Your Collection aka Should I Swap Out One Of Mine For Another ???

Daily readers know that I have recently acquired a 2014 Bowman Chrome refractor autograph, which also has been graded gem mint, of Cubs star Kris Bryant. While nice and sparkly I question if I really need it in my collection or am I just in awe of the current performance of another young star or the constant love of a past Dodger great? I have decided to ask you which one you would want to have in your collection if you could only have one and only one?

First off here is the Bryant that I currently own :

A very nice card and numbered as well. He is only 23 and could have a great career and even if he doesn't achieve hall of fame statistics I am sure he will have a good career at worst. He is "already" 23 while this next player is "only" 22 and won't turn 23 till the end of the 2015 season.

Bryce has been in the league for a few years now but this is his first one that he is really starting to show off his potential and at 22 the sky is the limit. Is this year a flash in the pan or the start of something great? If neither of those are your cup of tea how about a Dodger legend?

Sandy F'ing Koufax. Nuff said.

All of these are great cards and while I would love to have them all I think one is manageable at this time. So I as you, which one would you pick to keep or acquire? Kris is hot right now in the card market and if he performs on the field his Bowman Chrome will be the card to have which I already do. Or do I go with Bryce who I already have an autograph of but would love to add another to the collection. And then finally do I get my 2nd Koufax autograph?

So in final, I have a Koufax, I have a Bryce so the acquisition of either would mean I have two and none of Kris which I only have the one at this time? Sell high? Stay in a holding pattern and just figure another way to get my grubby little hands on the other two beauties? One last note, acquiring either Bryce or Harper with the sale of Kris would net me some extra dinero for another card as well.

What...would... you... do?

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Finest : Mariano Rivera Finest Greats Autograph Black Refractor Parallel (55/99) and BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Continuing my pursuit of players that I want just represented at least once in my autograph collection, unlike certain Dodgers where I want all I can get, I dipped into a brand that I am not that fond of anymore.

Mariano at this moment will go down as the greatest reliever of all-time with all his accomplishments during the regular season and more importantly the post season. He also is the last player that was and will every wear the number 42 as he was grandfathered in when MLB retired the number. I don't collect the Yankees in general but Mariano is one player I for sure wanted in my collection. Now the question was which card to acquire.

The 1993 Finest issue is still one of my favorite of all-time but recent years have left my desire for it wanting. The 2014 issue had Mariano represented with an on card autograph which was a necessity when trying to lock up his card. Well most of the cards are still not that all attractive to me but the black parallels are an exception and that became my focus for my Mariano autograph.

I could have gone the ungraded route but having the option of having it already in gem mint grade in a nice case was too good to pass. The seller had this card on a BIN auction with no best offer option and it sat on my watch list for weeks with no one buying even though there were 11 watchers. Auction ended but the seller relisted it a hour later for $25 less than the previous auction. I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first and only Mariano autograph. Great looking card of the Yankee great and glad that I scored such a deal on it.

Gem mint goodness

Perfect and legible autograph

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Finest : Steve Carlton Finest Greats Autograph Blue Parallel (122/125) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5 AND eBay Bucks Quarterly Purchase Number One

Once again it's that time of the year but unlike every 3 months when I get to use earned eBay bucks the last quarter of the year I get to combine them with all the Christmas gift cards that I receive from loved ones. This like every year was a boon for me. Most quarters I usually just focus on one card and get that one but when there is a little more to play with then I see what I can do to spread the wealth among multiple cards. For this quarter I was able to secure 3 cards and today and the next two days I will showcase my acquisitions.

First up is actually the only card that "cost" me some money as I ended having to throw in a little to get this card even though this was the cheapest of the 3. Tomorrow's card was totally paid for with eBay bucks and Wednesday's was paid with gift cards. I locked in on those first and had finished their transactions but I had some bucks left over so I scoured the bay to see what BGS graded autograph I could get my hands on. Took a couple of days but I finally decided to concentrate on this card.

I never have had a Carlton autograph in my collection as the two times I was prepared to go to an in person signing he was scheduled to due he cancelled each time at the last minute. So Steve stayed on my to get list for the past few years and now was the perfect time to see if I could finally acquire one. A seller had this on a BIN auction for way over book but thankfully he had a best offer option attached to it. With what I had left over from the other transaction I calculated what I felt comfortable with paying out of my pocket for this card. I decided it was $10. Using that amount it would be a semi low ball offer that I would send the seller which I did. No automatic rejection but since it was sent at around 10 at night I went to bed with no answer. Woke up the following morning and had an email stating the seller accepted my offer with no counter needed. Woo Hoo.

Ten dollars out of pocket and the remaining of my earned eBay bucks was sent to the seller and I had this gem mint beauty in my hands a week or so later. Not too shabby of a return for a minimal amount of money. Snagged me a Hall of Famer's autograph.

One down two to go.

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