Rockin' Hockey New Years' Eve

 A nice way to end the year, some random hockey cards from the COVID lot. I swear, I am going to actually finish working through the COVID lot in the next couple months because I still have so much to share and a lot of items ready to be opened, like boxes that were new and in my possession up to 5 years now.

Only a few cards to keep, a couple hobby Summit cards, a nice Hull emerald green parallel and a Jonsson uncorrected error, but we will count that for Leaf content.

Traders for those interested...

Well, if you are getting four of a kind, Fedorov isn't too shabby a pick up!

A lot of great names in the bunch as we get some Messier cards as well. Though they don't scan well with the metal look.

Not too bad a way to end the year, but still a couple thousand cards left to go in the lot. I don't think we will get to 20k, but that's fine.

I do want to end by saying, 2024 likely won't be as trade heavy as 2023. May not be for a lack of trying, but in 2023 I topped my prior total trades and ended up over 140 trades and almost 10,000 cards trading hands (about 60% out, 40% in) - a great year for it, and as much as I want to do more, I just don't think the volume will be there, but we shall see!

A Holiday Surprise

 So, I ended up with a surprise package just before Christmas from Doug over at Sportscards From The Dollar Store. Doug has a lot of awesome shares from his Dollar Store pickups, but has a number of other activity related posts around the hobby.

I presume he ended up with some Jays cards from these, that were not needed, and thus sent my way.

Nicely, we knock off a few small Jays sets from 2023 Bowman Chrome with the cards here. A couple of the older cards are duplicates, like the Guzman and Carter, but happily take those into the collection - no problem.

Still not a big fan of the newer Panini cards, but Select are Okay, and the Gillick throwback to the Pinnacle 1991-92 hocket design is done well.

A couple Leaf additions thrown in as well, and that makes for a great surprise package all around.

Many thanks!

The One I Wanted

 So, I bit the bullet on some older Magic cards I was missing and spent the $1-2 each on them to pick them up from 401games. I don't really like spending money on single cards without great cause, but at the same time, I don't have the same access to them as I did before, and I much prefer buying at 401games than ebay or similar.

I picked up a number of 1994 Collector's edition cards, some international version here, some "regular". The sets were printed at about 10,000 of each, that's it and I would expect half of those are gone with attrition from aging, so not a massive pool of cards left.

In my haste, I picked up a test card that I won't keep - saw artifact, but missed it was a black card. I did however finally bite on the last 1994 Revised set artifacts I needed to complete the 51 card set of them.

The Winter Ord card (all these actually) are in heavy played condition, and I may have spent $10 on that one card, but it's such a nostalgic set for me that I figure, I have some of the more expensive ones from the set already, so let's just be happy and have it done.

A couple 4th and a 5th edition card to finish, but still have some needs in each of those.

I'd have to dig into the numbers, but as I have about 4,500 gaming cards in my collection, almost all of these have to be artifacts, so getting a pretty solid go there - probably over 4,000 as I do have some lands which wouldn't "count".

COVID Lot Set Help

 We dive briefly back to the COVID lot for a pull of some hockey cards circa 2002-2004, so sets I didn't see when they came out as I was out of the hobby.

We start with 2002-03Signature Series which I have no interest in and which are dark, full of design on the front and minimal on stats on the back with the single season and career lines only. Yeah, pass for me on this one.

I have picked up some 2003-04 SPx from lots, so started this set and pick up a couple set helpers with Maxim and Bill.

A couple sets I still haven't seen much of, so trade fodder if any LeClair or Trilogy collectors out there.

We end nicely with the 2003-04 Toronto Star offering from In The Game which I was able to not only get 7 more base cards knocked off, but also got a bunch of Leaf cards, some of which were needs since I need a team and set card, very nice.

Was close to getting the full team run here, but not quite, that's alright though, more than I expected to see and get!

Still, don't like the lack of stats back on them....

A Couple Small PWEs

 As we settle through the holidays, a couple PWEs that came in before Christmas that I can share.

I had the 5 care base set of Jays already, but 2019 Topps Opening Day is a set I am working towards finishing, so needed dupes of the three. Still like that Gurriel Jr. card too.

Next up, a trade from HumbleNessie with a handful of Jays cards...

Getting closer on the gold rush team set of Jays cards, and closer on 2019 Topps Heritage, but at least the Delgado 2000 Upper Deck Ovation Superstar Theatre card is a one and done Jays insert, so that's a nice one to get. Doesn't scan the greatest though....but that's okay, much better in hand.

Golden Cards on Boxing Day

 Nothing to unbox yet, but a lot of nice shiny gold to show in a trade with Trouttrader on TCDB.

Joe Carter is the third of three Blue Jays cards from the Black Gold insert set for 1993 Topps, so nice to have those all together. The cards may not be expensive, but I love these trades for cards to finish off sets and subsets and team sets that remind me of my collecting in my youth.

The rest of the cards weren't actually on my trade list as ones I want, but a bunch of 1993 Topps gold parallel cards would easily find a home with me. I don't have as many as I do for 1992 Topps, and don't expect to work on the entire set, but these are really nice regardless.

Heck, the Phil Clark card is technically an error card - if you read the back, there's an "a" missing in the write up. A small point, but I'll take it.

A nice trade...and now to go check out 401games to see how the boxing day sales are and whether there's anything worth picking up!

Merry Christmas

 As usual with the holiday, I will not keep you long. It's Christmas, a time for family and friends, and not being alone in front of a computer. It is a good time to be thankful, for big things like family and friends, and small things like nice people to trade with at TCDB like StarsFan.

An amazing bunch of late 70s and early 80s Leaf cards which were all needs for me.

This actually helped to complete my earliest base Leaf team set with 1981-82 Topps now in the books. I was also able to finish 1984-85 O Pee Chee with the cards from this trade as well.

The condition of the cards is great. A lot of the time you get decent corner wear when getting back to the early 80s, but these are all pretty solid which is amazing.

I am sure I will have some card related Christmas sharing to come in the next few days and beyond, but for now, enjoy the day and have a great one!

Name Changes

 I like when set names are obvious. You know, I got these cards, saw the hobby preferred wording on the banner on the front and figures it would be easy enough to find as a parallel or separate set. Instead, here we have 1993 Wild Card Superchrome football.

Okay, I can get why the distinction of the chrome, but I wasn't looking for a superchrome name or label on this one, so it took me a while. Some releases on TCDB have retail and hobby in the same set - one as a parallel, but that wasn't the case here. It's okay, glad I finally found it though.

As for the cards themselves, they are alright. Nothing that blows my socks away, but not too offensive though, as usual, the chrome makes it more difficult to read or scan the cards.

I will say the backs are pretty nice, but maybe a bit too much wasted real estate. Either way, within a day of having these cards added on TCDB, I already had a couple of the 70 or so cards wanted in trades, so success!

It is Christmas Eve for those who celebrate the holiday, so enjoy the evening today and Christmas tomorrow. I'll have something posted if you are bored, but hopefully everyone has something more entertaining to do than check out the blogs tomorrow morning. :)

Checking Out The Experience

 Well, can't say I've seen the NFL Experience in person, and here are my first such cards in hand. WHy did Classic call the set NFL Experience - I don't know, but I like it as much as I like team names that aren't plural like the Miami Heat.

It's a shame, taking a look at the card fronts - those are pretty nice. Minimal design, and all great action photos. THe name of the set may suck, but fronts are good.

Ah - there's Classic letting me down with subpar backs. I mean, no stats, write ups that remind me a bit of 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum hockey. It is what it is, and now I have about 70 cards from the set waiting to find a better home than a box I won't look into, so please, happy to make someone's Christmas (or New Year by time they get sent out), a bit happier if anyone is interested.

In Studio

 Wow - been a while since I pulled some cards from the COVID lot, but here were are with less than a 3200 count box left to go, and we get a nice bunch of set helpers here.

1991 Studio was such a different set - studio pictures of baseball stars done in a nice black and white, with...a burgundy? border.

The photo work is great, and so many of the players of the time are easily recognizable - I love it. Molitor, Puckett, Yount to name a few.

Is it just me, or does Rickey Henderson always look smug? Maybe it's just because he was such a thorn in the side of the Jays in the late 80s and early 90s, but he just always seems to show a bit of attitude.

It wasn't just the front of the set which stood out, the backs took a different route to information on the player. Would I want parts of these incorporated into a flagship set? No. Do I like it as an alternative set? Absolutely, a nice little set - maybe 200-300, all done in this style. If done now though, would have to come up with 59 parallel designs though.

Trade With mzentko

 Just as labelled, today, a trade share with a PWE trade I did with mzentko from TCDB which brought some Jays my way.

I did remember to scan the back of one of the stickers which was the reason for the pick up (Jay back of Bell as seen below). 1990 Topps stickers was the last year of the Topps stickers I collected as I moved onto just cards in 1991.

As much as I don't collect minor league cards, these Classic cards that relate to their drafting are middling ground, kind of like some of the Bowman cards, so I am resigned to pick them up at this point.

I believe these two cards from 1991 Classic Draft Picks are the extent of the Toronto Blue Jays picks represented in the 150 card set, so at least that was a quickly collected one for me.

I have to say the 1999 Stadium Club cards win the day for me in this trade though as the Stadium Club name and great photography rings true with these.

You Are Such A Kirk!

 Now, I don't know if jamestagli at TCDB was initially collecting the Blue Jays catcher, if he has a whole lot of dupes of new sets or what, but this ended up being a trade where I doubled the number of Alejandro Kirk cards in my collection.

Playing for the Jays first in 2020 and through 2023, we have cards ranging from rookie times through 2021 here. The catcher isn't going to hit for big homers but has been serviceable since beginning with the Jays. He does have a positive WAR and is fine defensively, and will be interesting to see how he develops still as he is only 25 with many years ahead to his career.

Not going to complain about a serial numbered Nate sneaking into the trade either!

I am up to 21 cards of him in my collection now, and as I say, the majority is from this trade which is cool. Not too bad on the variety of photos used in the bunch, though I don't mind defensive shots for catchers since they can be a bit different and potentially more action shots.

LightzZ It Up

 Another small PWE trade with a TCDB member, this one LightzZ and let's see what we get to light up this holiday season - see what I did there - that's dad level funny.

A few things to unpack here.

The John Olerud is actually the Sample version, so there is a similar base sample card I still want to get, but always find such cards neat or coll as it were.

The Vladdy card is all kinds of Stadium Club goodness with that photo - love it.

Nate's is a blue parallel which is hard to see on the front with how dark it scanned, but it does suit the Jays blue very well.

I now have all three Leaf base cards in the 2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Update Box Set.

Jakub keeps adding to a set I started with a hobby box buy a number of ears ago, and still have a bit to go on the pure base set.

Lots of little goodies in this one, and another great trade. I am over 130 trades for the year, well past the 100 or so I did last year. I don't expect to do this many next year, but I have seen over 5,000 cards leave and 4,000 cards come in - a good year in that regard!

Short And Sweet

 Today we keep t short and sweet with a small PWE from TCDB member Fern2110.

So, I may be missing the three "special" base cards meaning rookie/short prints, but this is probably as quick as I have ever got a base set otherwise, as these complete the 6 other Leaf cards from the 2023-24 release.

Being a set of 250 cards, you get highlights of the main stars from each team and your rookie extras, but can't really complain about any of the Leaf players included, and the colour for the base set as I think I said before, is just excellent for the Leafs.

Sure, these may be lower price point cards still, but I love them regardless.

Appreciate the trade as always!

The Last of the Extras

 The rest of the cards from Nathan-John-Mercer, which he was kind enough to betow upon me, include a bunch of additional base additions.

2021-22 Upper Deck is a set on my list, like so many others, but I haven't received too much from it. That's okay, the base seem to be in abundance in repacks now. It's like a "junk wax" era the last couple years, but not quite. With so many flippers and investors, base cards seem to be aplenty, which works for me.

I have an extra 1991-92 Upper Deck high series sealed set which is up for trade or sale if anyone is interested (though the shipping usually prices it out for what it is). There were a few of the Naibsco packs, so I kept one sealed, and opened the others as I am working on the set, and it's just Jays and Expos, so they will all find homes quickly anyway.

Some Jays from it to keep, and a single sticker addition for the Leaf collection.

As for food/insert and other keepers...

I honestly didn't know about the 1992-93 Pro Set inserts until getting these cards, so more knowledge for me.

There were a bunch (say 50 or so) of other cards for trade now which are all up on my TCDB profile, so feel free to take a look, I am always happy to trade!

Heavy Metal

Today we share a nice add on that I got from Nathan-John-Mercer with our TCDB trade. These are actually a bit of a nostalgia trip for me as I ended up with a bunch of the packs back in the 90s to the point I may have had a complete base set.

These Kartch medallions from 1999 are heavy enough and made of metal so I like them better than the pog type collectibles which were a thing back in the 90s too. The gold parallels fall one per 16 packs, so were fairly rare considering. You get some stars in more than once, which wasn't really needed at the time - there were enough stars for a 54 medallion set, but it is what it is.

I wouldn't have gone out of my way to get them, but it was really nice to see them again, and they will be staying put accordingly.

Some decent stars, including Mrs. Brock Lesnar - still can't believe that one, but they seem to have made it work long term, so good for them.

Another great bunch, and some more to finish up sharing tomorrow.

1992-93 Pro Set Hockey

 The first big addition from the unexpected cards that I am keeping, from Nathan-John-Mercer, is a great start to the 1992-93 Pro Set hockey set. It wasn't one I was collecting, but is now as I am over 86% completed with the cards provided.

Just a smapling to share - I had a few cards in my for trade list that I pulled to keep now that I am working on this one. It's a decent set, and miles ahead of the 1990-91 error filled set, and maybe not as iconic to Pro Set as the 1991-92 set is, but a decent offering which was unfortunately, near the untimely demise of the brand.

Decent designs and backs on the cards, just Pro Set didn't have the legs in the hockey card business to be able to stick it out. Not sure how I feel about the name being bought and Pro Set being on more recent hockey cards, but I guess it is what it is - everything has value to someone.

The Play Smart cards carried over to this set from prior as well, and all in the set is a much smaller 270 cards than the 600+ card set (well - 2 releases, but one "set") from 1991-92.

I probably wouldn't have changed my mind on collecting this one without the massive head start, but now that we are under 40 cards left to go....slow build it is!