September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-SEVEN - 2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager Base Blue Wave Refractor Parallel (50/75) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Chrome Corey Seager Blue Wave Refractor Parallel (50/75)

One corner... that is all that is potentially holding this back from a gem mint 9.5 return. Of course I think that issue is small and in the end it will indeed earn a gold banner from Beckett as there is nothing else wrong on the card. Being a print run of just 75 it's important that this comes back as a gem as there are only so many copies to acquire to get a grade I need. 

A sigh of relief comes out of my mouth. 

With the stated print run of 75 I was worried about this card gemming from Beckett. Not because I thought there was anything really wrong with it but you just never know. In the end it came back as a strong 9.5 as it earned 3 9.5's and a 10. The one corner I thought could hurt this card never came up and for that I am happy as with a low print run parallel I didn't want to have to find another to replace a non 9.5.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-SIX - 2016 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Base Mini Parallel EXT Variant Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Mini EXT Variant

Another Trout Ginter and another one with a high expectation when it comes to the grade it will earn. 

I see nothing wrong with this card under a loop as everything checks out with no problems so hopefully this limited EXT variant will be encased in a gold banner just as its Brooklyn brother that I believe will come back with the same result. 

Well unlike the Brooklyn variant this EXT version received what I expected from Beckett which was a solid 9.5 gold banner.

Other than that Brooklyn card I have had a great track record with BGS in my Ginter submissions and this one is no different as it earned quad 9.5's. Thank God as it seems every year these EXT's are becoming harder and harder to come across. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-FIVE - 2016 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw MLB Insert Autograph (11/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw MLB Debut Autograph (11/50)

Another beautiful Kershaw autograph looking to obtain a gold banner 9.5 for itself and other than 1 slight fraying issue and it being ever so off centered I see no reason why it can't earn it.

The centering issue can only really be seen under a loop as well as the fraying so I hope and think only one (lean towards corners) earns a 9 but still will keep my fingers crossed that both do not get downgraded. 

Another Kershaw gem and another card that I hit on the head.

I knew that centering would be an issue and thought it wasn't too bad but you never know with a grader and his thought process and while it didn't gem it didn't earn an 8.5 which if it did I would have raised holy hell. Even though it was close at the end of the day all I care about is that I see a 9.5/10 on top of any autograph card and that is exactly what this one has. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Pink Parallel BGS Raw Reviewed Gem Mint 9.5

I almost beat the price of $17 that I paid for my base chrome of this card but I have to factor in the cost to get this fully slabbed but in the bigger picture this is the better deal.

With a high book price of $20 and me landing this for less than $17 but it being already certified as gem mint is a score in my book. I continue to see a lot of eBay buyers steer away from these RCR cards and I am starting to think it's because they don't have access to BGS submission groups or they only have a card or 2 they want graded and it is cost prohibitive to only have a handful of cards to get slabbed. More reasons to realize I am lucky that I have various avenues to get discounts on grading so it makes the acquisitions of cards like these even better deals in the long run. All said its nice knowing I have at least 1 sure gem mint 9.5 in my next BGS batch scheduled for March of next year.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

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

Now that I decided to do the rainbow for this year's Topps Chrome set it was time to put my head down and try to get as many of these parallels during the off season when prices are at their lowest. With the base in hand I went after this Prism parallel which ended the same day I acquired the base version.

I knew that I would not be able to match the same great deal on the base card with any future parallels as that is the way the hobby is stacked. The trick is to find the best deal you can at the right time. Most times for me it works out but there are occasions when it doesn't. Thankfully this was the former and not the latter.

With this card already in a certified BGS case I was willing to fork over a little more to acquire it and that is exactly what I had to do on a traditional eBay auction. 2 non numbered parallels down with many more to go.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Five Star : Vin Scully Base Autograph Gold Parallel (26/50)

Merry Christmas indeed for me.

The final Friday before the holiday weekend and I just received the actual card of the immortal Vin Scully from the redemption I sent into Topps just a little time ago. Honestly I expected this to show up sometime next year as I looked at Mr. Scully's age and even though he is retired I didn't think he would pump these out so quickly. Once again this shows Vin's on top of his game as he signed the cards pretty damn quick and now I have this beautiful replacement autograph for my collection.

Vin was the last signed ball I had in my possession after the ball purge and though it hurt to part with it I knew it was the right decision and it was confirmed with this now officially in hand. As with most of my cards I will be submitting this to BGS in a couple months for grading but I will go the raw grade review route as if it does not earn a 9.5 then I will just have it encased without a grade attached to it. 9.5, 9 whatever it earns it will not be leaving my possession as this is a prized piece and I can't see me ever letting it go unless for some reason I "upgrade" to another Vin autograph.

Thank you again to Vin for getting these signed so quickly and Merry Christmas to all and may you have a very Happy New Year as well.

Twenty-Six

of

Fifty

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-FOUR - 2014 Topps High Tek Mike Trout Base Black and White Parallel (14/15) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2014 Topps High Tek Mike Trout Black and White Parallel (14/15)

While I am still not the biggest fan of the High Tek I am a fan of black and white parallels especially if they are as limited as this one (15 copies) and Mike Trout in general.

The one good thing about the High Tek brand is that they are plastic cards which means that most are in better condition than the traditional cards and this one seems to be just to be in great condition. I see no issues other than maybe a very slightly frayed corner but you have to squint your eyes under a loop to see it. Here's to hoping and expecting another gem mint Trout card for my collection.

I guess the "slightly" frayed corner I saw was more than a little as that sub category earned a 9 instead of the 9.5 I thought it would pull in. Thankfully though everything else checked out OK and I have another gem mint for the Trout collection.

Also with this card officially certified as a gem I completed my mini project from the 2014 High Tek set. My 3 primary players that I collect that are in this set (Kershaw, Trout and Koufax) had black and white parallels and now all 3 have gold banners. Not too shabby considering the low print run of 15 and it's always a crap shoot when you submit to Beckett.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-THREE - 2015 Topps Five Star Clayton Kershaw Silver Signatures Autograph Green Parallel (1/15) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Five Star Clayton Kershaw Silver Signatures Autograph Green Parallel (1/15)

Here is yet another thick card and once again there is a small issue on the back side when it comes to 2 corners. Other than that this card is perfect in my opinion. Centering and edges look great and as long as those corners don't get docked down to an 8.5 I believe I will score another gem mint Kershaw autograph for myself.

I believed and I received. I thought that as long as the corners do not come in lower than a 9 then all the other categories would carry this card to a gem mint 9.5. The corners not only didn't come back lower than a 9 but they gemmed all by themselves. I thought there might be an issue with some of them on the back but before I sent the card I tried to "fix" them a tad and I guess it worked. Not too shabby of a return from a seller on eBay that just started selling which makes this even sweeter considering there were less people bidding on it. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-TWO - 2015 Topps Strata Clayton Kershaw Base Clearly Authentic Relic Autograph Black Parallel (36/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Strata Clayton Kershaw Autograph Black Parallel (36/50)

Another redemption card from Topps with another minimal issue and just like the other Kershaw autograph the corners are the suspect condition wise. 

This is a thick card so corners are always subject to an issue or two and this one is no different but in the end I think it still holds at an overall 9 grade from Beckett as the damage is only really seen under the loop.

Call me happily surprised at this card's return. I have noticed that a lot of these Stratas whether mine that I have submitted before or ones I see that other people own have had quality issues. With the cards being thick corners are always an issue but the biggest problem I have seen has been the surfaces. My 2 other Stratas I have submitted both came back from BGS with 9's attached to them because of the surface category. Well this card is no different as surface received a 9 BUT unlike the other 2 there were no other issues and this card earned an overall 9.5 grade. And yet another gem mint autograph of Kershaw from this batch. Keep them coming.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY-ONE - 2015 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw Culminations Autograph (18/50) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2015 Topps Chrome Culminations Autograph (18/50)

When I see a Topps sticker on any card that is shipped directly from them I somewhat expect it to come in better shape than one if it was one pulled out of a pack but sadly that is not the case half the time. I think I got the bad half when it comes to this card as there are 2 slightly frayed corners but hopefully that doesn't drop the overall grade under the 9 threshold. 

It was close but I/the card pulled it out and earned a 9.5.

There are/were 2 frayed corners I knew about going in and hoped it would not earn less than an 8.5 on that category but lady luck was on my side as not only did it not earn that 8.5 it actually pulled in a 9. That coupled with all the other subs earning at least a 9.5 means I have yet another gem mint autograph for the Kershaw collection. 

Didn't think it could/would happen but obviously I am happy that I was wrong. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Heritage : Julio Urias Base Chrome Black Refractor Parallel (54/67)

I'm back in the Julio collecting club as I acquired my first non autograph of the young budding star. Now that I am collecting Urias cards again I decided to only collect autographs from any year that has him but I adjusted it a little to collect numbered parallels from 2016 sets and forward. I am not going to go backwards and try to "catch up" with all his prospect cards.

I love the Heritage brand and what better card to be my 1st parallel of Julio than this limited black refractor? Julio's card prices are down but even I was surprised how low this card "cost" me as previous copies had sold for over the $40 barrier yet I snagged this at under $30 and with low book at $25 I consider this a steal. With it in hand and equiped with my new 20x loop I am pretty confident that this will earn a 9.5 when I submit it to Beckett for grading. The only issue with the card is that the corners are a tad soft but only under the loop and not the naked eye and centering is slightly off but not bad enough to knock it down a grade notch.

Fifty-Four

of

Sixty-Seven

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

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

I was only planning to do the colored/numbered parallels for the 2016 Topps Chrome Seager cards and make it a semi rainbow as I have enough projects of his I am trying to complete. But of course I changed my mind when I realized I could probably do a full one at minimal out of pocket cost.

I have seen this card in this condition go for $30 in the past and when I saw that that is the reason why I passed originally on doing the rainbow. Then one day I saw this particular one on a BIN auction for $22. Getting better but still not worth it to me but I kept it on my watch list to see how fast it would get snatched up. The following day though I ended being the one to grab it as the seller dropped the price to $17. To me that asking price was more than fair considering it was already in certified gem mint form. Now with it in hand I am going full steam ahead and going to try to do the rainbow. Sigh, another project. Ha Ha.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Allen Ginter : Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph

Another redeemed Kershaw autograph but once again Clayton has gone and done me dirty. Ugh.

How so you might ask? Take a look at the autograph as it goes all the way to the edge of the card. Yes no matter where it ends the card is still beautiful and I have been waiting a long time for this to get to me as I really love the blue border BUT when I submit this to Beckett for grading unless the grader is asleep at the wheel this card will receive a 9.5/9 grade. Obviously I have no problem with the 9.5 as the card looks to be gem mint and I expect it to receive that grade. My issue is with the 9 as Beckett deems an autograph that goes to the edge as a 9 and not a 10. On rare occasions these do come back as 10's but my experience with them is that they earn 9's almost 100% of the time. I already have a different year Ginter that has this exact same "problem". This card will go to Beckett to get graded but I am debating on doing an RCR for it first and see if the local grader might look kindly on it and "let" it go and give it a 10?

Even with all that bla bla bla I am very happy to finally have this card. I think this is one of the better looking mini frame autographs that Ginter has ever done.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FORTY - 2014 Topps Chrome Mike Trout Base Photo Variation Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2014 Topps Chrome Mike Trout Photo Variation

Another Trout, another Trout photo variation and this one looks to come back as a 9.5 as long as the slightly off centered front does not hurt it too much. I have the Kershaw variation from this year and would love to pare it up with this in gold banner condition. Make it happen Beckett. 

I worried for nothing.

This is a key piece for me as I have wanted this for years but each copy I found I could not pick up for some reason. When this finally landed in my lap I hoped to turn it into a gold banner 9.5 but I was a tad worried about centering and hoped it would not come in lower than a 9. Well not only did centering not come in as a 9 none of the other 3 subs did either and this became yet another addition to my strong 9.5 Trout collection.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number THIRTY-NINE - 2016 Topps Clayton Kershaw Base Framed Parallel (12/16) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Clayton Kershaw Framed Parallel (12/16)

I expect me streak to continue with this card and hopefully Beckett will cooperate with that mentality.

All of the framed parallels that I have picked up of Trout, Seager and Kershaw have all been submitted to BGS and each and everyone has come back with a gold banner with even 1 earning an overall 10. With this being yet another metal card I expect corners, centering and edges to be a non issue and under the loop I saw nothing wrong with the surface. So here's to another expected gold banner.

And the streak continues.

In 2015 Topps came out with these framed parallels and I have loved them right out the gate. Took me awhile but I picked up all 4 Kershaw and the 2 Trouts from that year and each graded out to a 9.5 with 1 coming as a 10. In 2016 they came out again and cut the print run by 4 and with Trout already in hand I just needed the Kershaw. I finally landed it and considering the other 7 were gold banner returns I expected this one to come back the same and guess what? It did.

When I submit these I expect any potential issues to only be with surfaces and how can corners not be perfect per se or edges? Centering should be perfect as well but I can see where that might be a problem. Well no issues here as this earned 3 subs of 9.5 and 1 10. See you in 2017 Topps for the next round.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number THIRTY-EIGHT - 2016 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Base Mini Parallel (50/100) Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2016 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Mini Parallel (50/100)

This would be a nice coup if this mini Trout comes back with a gold banner and I believe it happens more than it won't.

I love minis and I love the Heritage brand and this card only seems to have one small issue as a corner on the backside is ever so slightly not sharpie sharp. I don't think that will be that big of an issue and I expect a 9.5 from Beckett. 

I waited out months on an eBay seller to acquire this at the price I was happy with and now my patience has really paid off as I now have yet another numbered card of Trout certified as gem mint.

As expected the corner on the back did receive a 9 on that category but thankfully nothing else was dinged and this card received my desired 9.5 overall grade. Unlike variant cards it is hard for me to part with parallel cards and I do not foresee me flipping this but you never know.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number THIRTY-SEVEN - 2014 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Base Action Pose Variation Now BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

2014 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Action Photo Variation

From a this screen shot this Trout Heritage in action form looks to be pretty good when it comes to centering but under the loop reveals that it is slightly off centered from top to bottom but I don't think enough to knock it down to a 9. There is also some fraying on a corner but also not enough I think to cause any grade issue.

One "issue" came up and another did not.

I thought centering might be a tad off but it wasn't bad enough to knock it down to a 9 and thank God for that as corners did have enough fraying issue to send that sub grade to a 9. Even with that though this becomes yet another Heritage gem for my collection. Nice cheap pick up got better by at least 100% with that gold banner attached to it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2012 Topps Heritage : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph

... and the final card that I received from The Dutch Card Guy and the only autograph of the group but one that I have been hunting for quite some time but now I have one that I can call my own.

With this card now in my collection I also have made the decision that all my Kershaw cards do NOT have to be in at least mint 9 condition from BGS as I will no longer sell them off if they come back from them with anything less than a 9. Of course though that doesn't mean I won't still get them slab as I will but just as authentic without a grade attached to it which will make them easier to store. I say all this because this card is borderline 8.5/9 as is but I knew going in it would be a miracle that this would be gem mint as the Heritage brand is notorious when it comes to condition and this bad boy has some chipping issues. I have wanted this card for years and what I will do is submit it to BGS for a RCR and see what it comes back as. If a 9 then it gets slabbed with a grade and if not then just a case.

I want to say thank you again to the DCG for a easy transaction and the great cards. If you haven't come across him in your blog reading take some time to check out his little corner of the world as he is a good guy.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Allen Ginter : Clayton Kershaw Base Mini Parallel Red Back Variant (8/25)

Second to last card from my transaction from The Dutch Card Guy and what a surprise, it's another Ginter mini.

When I knew I wouldn't be acquiring more autographs for this transaction I zeroed in on 2 Ginters that I had to have and thankfully I was the 1st to ask about/for them so he kindly earmarked them for me. Ginter produced 2 years worth of red backs with identical print runs of just 25 copies. Obviously they have been hard to come by as I have been searching for them for a couple years and had yet to find one. Now with this simple transaction I have both as he had them (which I already knew) but now was parting with them and I was lucky enough to snag them.

As with the 2013 Ginter version this 2014 one looks to be a sure thing for a gold banner from BGS and hopefully I can have twin gold Kershaw brothers when I submit them to Beckett.

Eight

of

Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Allen Ginter : Corey Seager Mini Frame Autograph Black Parallel (11/25)

Well that was fast...

Even though I expected this card to be redeemed pretty fast as when I entered the code online I already knew this card was in stock at Topps. A week after inputting said code I had this card in hand and I am not disappointed.

Unlike the Kershaw mini frame that I received and was promptly disappointed in I knew unless Seager really had a bad day signing there was no way I was going to be let down by the young superstar. Kershaw has a tendency to drag his autograph to the end of the card which affects its grade if you submit it to BGS. Seager though has a compact signature so if he was to drag his auto to the edge of the card then something was going on. With this being limited to just 25 I hoped it would come in tip top condition so I can turn it into a gem mint 9.5 by BGS and I think it will do just that as I see nothing wrong with it. Thank you Corey for signing your cards so fast. Other players could learn from you.

Eleven

of

Twenty-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin