Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Inception : Julio Urias Inceptioned Autograph (22/35) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Look who's back in the collection? Yup young pup Julio was once one of the players I chased after and even started a Bowman Chrome rainbow project ala Corey Seager but late last year and earlier this year I decided to move away from Urias cards. Well that lasted all of one baseball season.

After watching Julio grow up on the mound this year and with me finishing a few other projects I decided to start up on collecting Julio again but with a slight alteration on what I would be chasing. Gone are the colored parallels and everything numbered. So unlike the other 4 core players I collect (Kershaw, Seager, Trout and Koufax) I will ONLY be collecting autographs of Julio Urias and nothing else. While that might "cost" a little more per card acquisition it will cut down on the multitude of pieces I will be searching for. Of course when I made this decision I looked up autographs of Urias on eBay and this one had 28 minutes left on its auction.

I owned this card once before (redeemed from Topps) and once it came back from a BGS RCR event as a 9 I promptly sold it and made some decent change. Now that I was back in the Urias game I looked for this and some Bowman Chrome autos but knowing this has a low print one made this more of a priority. Lucky me that on my first eBay search in almost a year for Urias cards yielded this beauty and I made it a mental mandate that I was going to win this and win it I did.

For my first card in my reentry into Urias cards I am more than happy with this being in my hands once again. To top it off I did a population report on this after I won it and found out this is the only one in existence to earn the coveted gold banner. Yup, a great way to start up my Julio collection once more.

Twenty-Two

of

Thirty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-FOUR - 2015 Topps Tribute Sandy Koufax Base Black Parallel (33/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Tribute Sandy Koufax Black Parallel (33/50)

With a batch close to 60 cards this is the only one that is of the Dodger legend, Mr. Sandy Koufax. That is to be expected as he does not have that many numbered parallels to pick from in the modern area but this black one fits the bill but I say it has a 50/50 shot at a gem mint return. There are 2 corners with some fuzziness around it. Hoping that they can hold to a 9 and the rest of the subs gem as I am sorely lacking in Koufax gems or at least in my point of view when compared to Trout and Kershaw gems.

I'm batting 1000 when it comes to numbered Koufaxs for this batch and that number will not be getting any lower as this is the one and only limited Sandy in the batch.

While I had the 1957 card in this group as well this was the only one with a stated print run and with me snagging this $40 high book black parallel for less than $8 I really wanted to turn it into a great return. To do that I would need this to gem and with me seeing a couple corners with fuzziness I hoped they could hold to a 9 as I believed everything else looked at least 9.5 worthy. When results were released it all went according to plan. Corners received the 9 I expected and everything else gemmed. Slowly but surely getting my graded Koufax collection up to snuff.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-THREE - 2013 Bowman Chrome Mini Corey Seager Base X-Fractor Refractor Parallel (99/100) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2013 Bowman Chrome Mini Corey Seager X-Fractor Parallel (99/100)

Another Corey mini in the batch and another expectant gem mint 9.5 as well.

I have always had issues on measuring centering on a computer screen when it comes to X-Fractors and this one was no different but it looked good enough to take a chance on it. Once it came in and I placed it under a loop it looks to only be slightly off centered but not enough to hinder the overall grade. Of course that is my opinion so lets hope Beckett shares the same view.

Another solid return from the batch as with it's earned 9.5 sub grade on centering it wasn't off centered like I thought it was. Not only did centering receive that high mark but all the other 3 areas earned that as well as this is yet another quad 9.5 gem mint in the batch. I have been luckier with these minis from the 2013 Bowman Chrome brand than I have with the regular sized versions as every mini has at least earned a 9.5 while I still am trying to upgrade a couple of the regular sized brothers.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-TWO - 2015 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Base Action Pose Variation Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Action Pose Variation

As I go through my batch of cards to do these write ups I wonder why I put this card in the group as I think it is almost certain to earn a 9 instead of a 9.5.

There are 2 corners that have slight issues which might be overlooked and still earn an overall 9.5 but the centering on the front is not 50/50 and if Beckett decides its 56/44 or more than there is no way this card earns a 9.5. I get caught up sometimes in getting a batch going. Oh well.

Well it looks like the graders indeed did overlook the 2 corners with what I thought were very small issues. Of course I could have over estimated the "damage" but whoever did the grading I am happy with their thinking as the card ended up being a quad 9.5 gem. 

I have learned that I seem to be a harder grader than some of the professional graders as I have a lot of good "surprises" when I get my results. Remember kids, it's always better to have low expectations and great results than high expectations and massive disappointments. Ha Ha.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Five Star : Vin Scully Base Autograph Gold Parallel (#/50)

Let's see how many of you will call me crazy for doing this even though I have proven I will take risks to "better" my collection as I see fit. I know most of you probably wouldn't do this but it had to be done in my eyes and in the end I will be happier.

As most of you know I sold off my whole collection of signed balls when I decided to get back into card collecting. The toning of more than a handful of balls irritated me and using the funds from the sales made it easy to move back into the card hobby. Every single ball was sold/traded except for one, Mr. Vin Scully. I scored that ball years ago and was the only one to survive the ball purge but that changed back in Sept. I dragged it out of storage to take a picture to share it on Instagram and though still beautiful I saw the start of a toning spot and noticed that the auto was starting to bleed. UGH. Well I know that Vin had signed a Topps contract and was going to have on card signatures in 2016 products and even though I wasn't interested in Topps Mint when I heard he was going to be in the Five Star brand that made my mind up for me. Yup, I would sell the last signed ball I owned and would acquire an on card autograph in its place.

As expected the ball sold with ease and all I had to do is lock down one of these redemption cards for the Five Star card which was pretty easy as this was on a BIN auction and once I lost out on 2 other auctions I came back to this one and claimed it. Now I wait for Vin to have time to sign the cards. I am sure it will be one of my favorite pieces in my collection when it does arrive.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY-ONE - 2016 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Base Mini Parallel Gold Variant (16/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Gold Mini Parallel (16/50)

Different player yet same parallel and issues.

Kershaw's card here is just like the Trout gold mini as I am expecting silver but holding out that it might squeak by and earn a gold return. Clayton's card just like Trout's has 2 corners with slight fraying issues so it all depends on the grader's mood that day.

Squeak goes a mouse just like this mini Kershaw has done by earning a gold banner to make sure it stays color coordinated with it being a gold parallel and all.

I knew that 2 corners had some fraying issues and hoped that they could hold and earn a 9 with everything else picking up a 9.5 and in the end that plan worked out to perfection. 3 9.5's and 1 expected 9 on corners earned me another gem mint Kershaw card. I really expected this to come back as a silver 9 but very happy I was wrong.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Allen Ginter : Mike Trout Base Mini Parallel Red Border Variant (32/33)

It's always nice to snag a card that you never thought you would get even though the demand isn't overly high for it.

I have the 2015 Ginter red version of Trout and wanted at some point to pare it up with the 2014 version. The 2015 has a print run of 40 which was hard enough to acquire (thankfully that gemmed by Beckett) but this 2014 only has a print run of 33. Even less copies to go after. I have only seen a few on eBay and one day I happened to see a different copy going for close to $50. Even with a book value of $30-60 I felt that was too high. Upon further review of my search I saw that this was on a BIN but not in my original search location. Go figure. This card's price was more up my alley and was a no brainer to acquire. Clicked the button and had it in hand a week later.

With my 2015 version as a 9.5 I hoped that this 2014 one would be in great condition as well and it looks like it is. It is now ear marked for the grading treatment in March when Beckett is back in town.

Thirty-Two

of

Thirty-Three

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Blue Refractor Parallel (78/150)

As I write this up it is the last week of September and this blue parallel is the final in season acquisition of a numbered Corey Seager card for me. I note that as purchases from Mar to Sept can be pricier so when this post sees the light of day we will be in the middle of off season and I bet getting this could have been cheaper but I wanted to get it out of the way.

I did make the decision to wait a month or so till the prices came down from the release day highs to snag this at almost low book which I think is a steal. I had hoped to win one of the few graded copies that hit the bay but I always lost out in the final seconds of their auctions. This card though looks to have a very good chance to earn it's own gem mint grade as only the corners seem to have an issue as they are not super sharp. Bent and rounded no, but not perfect so I think they earn a 9 while everything else checks in with a minimum of a 9.5. Here's hoping I am right when Beckett is back in town in March of next year.

Seventy-Eight

of

One Hundred and Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWENTY - 2015 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Base Color Swap Variant Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Color Swap Variant

Another minor addition to my collection which I hope I can turn into a gem mint return from BGS. 

The cost was minimal for this card and I hope that the slight edge issue is minimal as well as that is the only thing I can see that might hold this back from earning a 9.5 from Beckett. 

Minimal purchase with minimal expectations resulted in maximum happiness. 

I remember bargaining down the eBay seller of this card to a price lower than low book and when it arrived I crossed my fingers that it would gem and in the end I didn't need to worry about that as it gemmed going away. The edge "problem" wasn't an issue and every sub grade earned at least a 9.5 and I have yet another strong gem Kershaw for the collection. Woo hoo.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number NINETEEN - 2016 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw Base Photo Variation Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw Photo Variation

A great deal which I hope turns into a great looking card in a golden case as I see nothing wrong with this Kershaw photo variation. 

I snagged it on an eBay steal and would love to continue the golden run of my Kershaw variations and think this one will join that club with ease. 

I already showed off the green parallel of this photo variation which also earned a 9.5. This one gets a little higher priority due to the fact that I received an obscene deal on eBay for this and even though it is not numbered like the green one I am just a tad prouder of this one due to the deal.

But just like the green one I expected little to zero issues with this card and it did just that as all the subs earned at least a 9.5 to make this a solid gem. Since both gemmed I "might" try for the orange parallel so I can pare them all together. Might...

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number EIGHTEEN - 2014 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Base Action Pose Variation Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2014 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Action Pose Variation

Another Kershaw action variant from the Heritage brand and another that I hope squeaks by with a 9.5 but I am worried about the centering as it might be just a tad too far to the right to the liking of Beckett to give it a 9. There is also a corner with a small issue but that could only be seen under a loop so I don't "think" that will be an issue.

A small surprise in the gem mint group of this batch as I had an iffy feeling on centering and if that would have been coupled with a corner that I wasn't sure how it would pan out then this would have come back as a silver banner. Thankfully that did not happen.

I guess I was over thinking the potential centering problem as that came back as a 9.5 along with corners earning the same grade. In fact all the subs received at least a 9.5 and this eBay get got even better with the gold banner now attached to it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number SEVENTEEN - 2016 Topps Clayton Kershaw Base Black Parallel (14/65) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Clayton Kershaw Black Parallel (14/65)

Other than 1 corner on this card there is no issue BUT it does seem to get awfully get close to affecting the edge where the issues is located at. The question is does this only hurt one grade or 2 grades? While I don't think it hurts either too bad I am hoping that only 1 gets docked to a 9 so I can add another gem mint to my Kershaw collection. 

The luck continues for this black parallel of Kid K as it earned a gold banner albeit it was close. 

I had a feeling that 1 corner might cause a problem and hoped that it didn't stretch to affect the edges grade and thankfully it didn't. That corner did indeed make that sub grade a 9 but edges held on to that important 9.5 so that this limited card is now a gem. Not too shabby for a paper parallel that I snagged on eBay for a major steal. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number SIXTEEN - 2016 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw Base Photo Variation Green Refractor Parallel (78/99) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Clayton Kershaw Photo Variation Green Refractor Parallel (78/99)

Just like the Seager from this year's Topps Chrome set I only see a slightly fraying on one corner that can hurt the return on this parallel of Mr. Kershaw.

Unlike the Corey one though this one's corner is even more faint and less of an issue than Corey's and even though I believe they both come back as gems if I had to chose one that was more of a sure thing it would be this one. With that said if only one could earn a gold banner I would take the Seager over Kershaw. 

I am still on the fence with these green parallels and that is more because of the design of this year's Topps Chrome set and not of the color. While the blue parallels look good these green "mesh" looking cards look a tad odd to me.

Well I expected this to have no issues whatsoever at achieving a 9.5 from Beckett and it did just that with 3 9.5's and a 10. The 1 corner I said might be a problem was non existent and I now add another gem photo variation for the collection. Yeah buddy.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2012/13 Panini : Rob Blake Autograph

I knew when I started my hunt for autographs of former Kings that I would come across players that either I haven't heard of in a long time or possibly ones that just were too pricey to acquire so I didn't pick them up at the time. Rob though simply just slipped through the cracks for the past couple of years. No excuse.

While most older players are fringe guys Rob was and is still a big name in the Kings organization and I don't know why it has taken me this long to have his autograph in my collection. I grew up watching him and he was always one of my favorites at the time. Well thankfully when I did one of my generic searches Rob popped up and I quickly scooped up this bargain card. Less than $3 is always a nice price when it comes to picking up on card autograph especially one of a player that I think is worth more than that.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2012/13 Panini : Bernie Nicholls Autograph

I was fortunate enough to have met former King Bernie in person at an in store appearance almost 2 years ago (man how time flies). While I picked up a few items at that time I still wanted to have an on card autograph of his. Of course so many other things took precedence since then that only now was I able to lock one down for my collection.

I have noticed that the best bang for my buck for Kings autographs have been from the Panini brand as I believe this is my 3rd such card from that brand. When searching for past Kings players that are not the big names i.e. Luc, Gagne, et al my cap is at most $5 but thankfully most if not all could be had in that ballpark and Bernie here was no exception. 1 bid is all it took for me to win this card for the grand total of $2.98. Not ... too ... shabby.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIFTEEN - 2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Base Refractor Parallel Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Refractor Parallel

I am going to keep trying to get a full rainbow in gem mint form and this is another stab by me to get that accomplished. 

I have this already in mint 9 form but am hoping this might squeak by but I am holding my breath. It is ever so off centered which I still think should earn a 9.5 but there is 1 corner that gives me concern. This was the best copy I could find prior to the batch submission and if it doesn't gem then I will keep trying till I get a return I like. Hopefully I don't have to but it is what it is.

This is a great way to start the run of FORTY-TWO gold banners from my most recent batch to BGS. While this Seager card's value does not go up all that much with a 9.5 attached it it does bring me closer to my dream of having the full 2013 Bowman Chrome rainbow in gem mint grades. I submitted 3 of the 4 I needed to get upgrades for in this batch and only the green did not gem and since this is the 1st of the gem run you know that 2 did gem. Woo hoo. It's a weak 9.5 but who cares? Not this guy.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FOURTEEN - 2009 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Red Ink Parallel (58/60) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2009 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Autograph Red Ink Variant (58/60)

Another Kershaw autograph that is destined for a 9.0 from BGS and I am more than happy with that as these red ink variants from the Heritage brand are beautiful. Unlike another Kershaw autograph that did not get an equal grade swap from PSA to BGS from my RCR submission this one did as it will now go from PSA 9 to a BGS 9 case. The only question is how close to a gem mint does it come to as if it is only .5 from a 9.5 then I will be going for a bump grade in March.   

And we are at the last mint 9.0 of the batch and one that I didn't care of the subs as long as the overall grade was a 9.0. Thankfully with the RCR event I knew that this PSA 9 would transfer to BGS as a 9 as well and I was ecstatic knowing that as I do love me these red ink parallels.

If edges would have come back as a 9 I would have tried my luck in the future trying to get this bumped to an overall 9.5 but with it needed a full point to get to that level I will not be going that route. 9 or 9.5 it doesn't matter as this is a great card.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number THIRTEEN - 2016 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Punch Out Top Loader Autograph (10/10) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2016 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw Punch Out Toploader Autograph (10/10)

Even though it is not a 9.5 and "just" a plain ole mint 9 I am more than happy that I know the grade going in as I crossed my fingers on the raw grade review as I had to use some elbow grease to get a corner flattened enough for it to pass. I believe when I get this card back with the full sub grades revealed that corners will come in at a 8.5 while the rest will be high if not all 9.5's. 

Well this is an interesting return. I suspected that this would come back as a 9 from the RCR which I was correct but what I wasn't right about is the reason it earned that grade. I worked a corner for a few days to get it flattened and I guess I did such a good job BGS gave it a 9.5! What? I knew centering wouldn't be an issue as that came back as a 9.5 as well but it was surfaces and edges that earned a 9 to make this an overall 9 card.

All said that means this card is only .5 from a gem mint 9.5. I might send it back in for a RCR and hope I can get surfaces to bump as I think me working on the damaged corner is probably what caused the edges to come in as a 9. Nonetheless this is a pleasant surprise and welcome addition.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWELVE - 2012 Topps Archives Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph (11/25) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2012 Topps Archives Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph (11/25)

I love the look of this card and will love it even more if and when it comes back in a gold banner as it earned a 9.5 (or a 10). 

Autograph is spot on with no smudge or any other issue and while 1 corner under the loop shows a slight fuzziness it shouldn't prevent this to becoming another gem mint autograph of the best pitcher in baseball. 

Oh look, another Kershaw graded autograph for the collection.

Oh look, another graded Kershaw autograph that would have gemmed if not for corners earning an 8.5. 

Seriously Beckett people. What did you guys do to my cards? Yes I still have 42 gem mints coming up to show off but how come so many of these only had corner issues and nothing else? Nonetheless this card is still beautiful whether its in a gold or silver banner case but I may or may not try for a bump. Other than my little rant there I love this card.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin