2011 Topps Value Boxes

I get drawn into hype occasionally. I am a bit of a sucker. When Stale Gum reported that there may be short printed cards in specially marked 2011 Heritage packs, I scurried to Target and dropped a couple of 20's on gravity feed packs. Was I pack searching? Probably. I was looking for numbers on the wrappers. The result... bust. No special numbering, no short print bonanza.

Lately, I have seen a couple of pieces written about 2011 Topps Value boxes.
Olds at Beckett has a blurb about it.
Mario wrote about it a couple weeks ago.
This dude at DPM Sportscards broke a box last October, and hit a relatively rare card.
I am feeling that itch to try my luck with one of these things.

It's No Laughing Matter

2008 UD Masterpieces Billy Sims #04/25

Why is Billy Sims laughing?
Let me try and guess the reasons...
He thinks cards numbered to /25, that are butchered by some cross-eyed hack at UD, are funny.
He thinks 44 year old white guys that break their ankles playing H.O.R.S.E., is a laugh riot.
He thinks sports card collectors that misplace 7 rare football cards are hilarious.
He thinks the notion that Miguel Cabrera can play 3rd base, or better yet left field, is comical.
He thinks the four guys left in the Republican race for the nomination are fall down funny.
He thinks 12,000 jackballs turning out to Joe Pa's funeral and applauding his humanitarianism is gut wrenchingly funny.

OH MY GOSH!

The Tigers have Prince.
Go ahead... try and name their 2nd baseman? Try 3rd base?

Cards, Just Cards

A bunch of recent pick-ups. Some from Thorzuls break, and a Gibby from eBay. Enjoy.

Red Griff #345/399

 Buhner green #164/199

 Authentic bunting? What will they embed next?

 Light shines through Beam Team auto's.

 Green #161/199

 Magglio #30/599

 Gibby #68/75

USPS Is Being Sued For Losing a Collection

Dude says a "house guest" stole his stuff. I always think of Kato Kaelin when I hear about house guests.
See the story here at the Detroit Free Press.
And here is a new 2008 UD Masterpieces Al Kaline card that I just snagged. #11/50.

Quick update on my fubar ankle. It's busted. I gotta wear this fashionable boot thing for 4-6 weeks. Fun.

When We Get Old

I scooped up a couple 2008 UD Masterpieces Al Kaline parallels recently.

 The green /75 and brown /100.

On an unrelated note; I won't be hooping, working out, walking normally, or any other activity that requires two good ankles.

That's my left ankle. The sewingmachinegal said, "kinda looks like a zombie ankle".
The sewingmachinekid said, "looks like you met that lady from Misery".
This happened Monday night. I am still on crutches. Today, the foot and ankle are very discolored. Greenish, purple and blue shades. Very swollen, and gross looking.
The doc says there's no fracture, just a severe sprain. "You can resume running, jumping, and cutting in 4-6 weeks".
This is the third major injury I have sustained playing hoops in the last three years. Broken ribs. Torn calf muscle. Now this.
I gotta think about what I'm trying to put this 44 year old body through.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To This Post

I've been wanting to do a big 2010 Topps Magic Relics post for quite a while. Now that I am down to needing only ONE CARD, I thought the time was appropriate. 

So there you have it, 65 of the 72 cards I have.
"But smg, hwhy not show off all 72?"
I'll tell ya hwhy! I can't find the 7 other cards. That's right, I have misplaced Jones-Drew, Urlacher, Greg Olsen, Eddie Royal, Vern Davis, Vincent Jackson, and Rolando McClain.
I keep the set in magnetic protectors and then in a wooden box. No shoe box for these cards. I've spent too much time on them. So where in the heck are they? I gave myself a head ache last night looking for them.
OK, I admit it, the card cave is a bit of a mess currently, so searching the dozens of little piles here and there is a pain. It looks like I will now have to dig into random common boxes to find the missing members. They're not in my auto/gu box. I've looked five times. I am going crazy. I lost sleep last night trying to think about where they are.
I didn't eBay them. Or did I? F! I am starting to think crazy thoughts.
I didn't trade them or give them away. Or did I. Stop it! You're over-thinking it. Now I'm talking to myself.
I gotta go to the gym to get my mind off this perplexing situation.
Maybe they'll appear on a random shelf somewhere after I get back.
You ever misplace important cards? I hope not...

Snow Plowing

With the big Winter storm we had the last couple of days, I thought it would be a good time to show off a couple of cards that I snagged for my buddy the Patriots fan.
From 2008 UD Masterpieces, this card memorializes snow plow driver Mark Henderson's effort to help his team win by sweeping a spot clear for the Patriots kicker.
We have the brown #66/99 and bronze #9/25.
These cards remind me of 2011 Gypsy Queen paper framed cards.

Chad Greenway Was Very Elusive

Finally!
I have never seen one of these anywhere... until today, in my hands.   I've seen more Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Gonzalez, and guys like that than this card.
Each card is numbered to just /25 copies.
This Greenway is special. Numbered 01/25.
The last piece of the puzzle is the Dez Bryant. I have seen two Dez's. One is owned by another collector that's building the set. He nabbed his card from an eBay seller before I saw the auction. Hate when that happens. The other was a completed auction from January of 2011. I tried to contact the winning bidder, but have got no response from him.
Back to the Greenway. I found it in kind of a roundabout way. I was doing one of my usual internet searches for the cards, and came across an odd page at SportsCardForum. I registered with the site, and after a couple days of waiting for admin approval, was able to send off a message to the owner. Turns out it is the guy that's also building the set (the same guy with the Dez). He didn't have the Greenway. After that semi-letdown, I posted a message in two different  forums. A week or so later, a Chad Greenway super-collector replied to the thread. Yes, there is a Greenway super-collector, don't laugh. I replied that I was very interested, and awaited his reply. A few anxious days of waiting, and we came to an agreement where I would buy it outright. No wheeling and dealing for a trade. Just a straight up cash deal. $40 bucks shipped.
"The seiwngmachineguy is f-ing crazy! He paid $45 bucks for a Chad Greenway! Bwahahahah!"
Yes, $40 bucks is too much to pay for a card of Chad Greenway. A non-autographed card to boot! But I needed it. Yes, needed. I need to put this set to rest.
Eric, the seller, also threw in a nice selection of Detroit Lions cards. He goes by the username Slette at SCF.  If you have a chance to deal with him, take it. He delivered in a big way.
Thanks Eric.

The ONE Card I Need

Yes, I said need. I will sleep better when this 2010 Topps Magic Dez Bryant Relic /25 is in my hands. Above is an image pilfered from an eBay auction that I somehow missed about 6 months ago. It's the only Dez I have ever seen. I know who owns it, but he too is building this set and won't part with it.
If you have a card that you need, head over to Night Owl and post your need. Perhaps a fellow collector will take care of your need.

The Hungarians

The Singer Sewing Costumes Of All Nations card backs reveal some very interesting facts.

They also gave us this mad guy. 

Forever captured in paint by this guy.

3 New Costume Cards

I was able to procure (I thought I would use a formal word here instead of my usual 'snag' or 'nab') three more 1892 Singer Sewing Costumes Of All Nations cards. This brings my set to a total of 37 cards. it is my belief that I need two more to complete the set, Wales and Irish (Londonderry). The card of Norway has a special place in my heart. My Fraternal Grandmother was of Norwegian descent. A tid-bit on the back of the card claims the people to be "hardy and intelligent". I like that.   

The Neapolitan card is in pretty bad shape. There's a tiny chunk missing from the bottom edge, and the back has surface tears that look like the card was glued or taped into a photo album. I'm not going for a mint set, so this will do.

 I am still just amazed at the incredible colors in these lithographs.

My Lions Are In The Playoffs.

Dumb People

I was looking around eBay for UD Masterpieces cards. This auction for a graded Barry Sanders card caught my eye. Kind of like a hot chick with a snaggle-tooth catches your eye. Someone actually paid to have a base card graded. A base card that is not perfect. A card with no serial numbering like many of the parallels from this set.
A dumb card to grade. Dummy.

My LCS Has a Legendary Card For Auction

Yo people , (who does he think he is? Rocky?)
All Star SportsCards in Grand Rapids Michigan acquired a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth. It's been slabbed, and is now up on eBay.
The bidding has rose way above my current abilities, but it will be fun to watch.

On an unrelated note, the Hall-of-Fame voting will be most interesting these next few years as the 'roid guys become eligible. Longtime Detroit Tiger writer, Lynn Henning has put his votes to press. Check it out here. Go ahead, I wouldn't send ya if it sucked.

Costumes Of All Nations ~ The Backs

The backs of the 1892 Singer Costumes of All Nations cards come with two different font types. One uses upper and lower case, and the other is all upper. I am not a font-o-phile, but perhaps Mark can enlighten us as to what these two are.

There are some fascinating facts included on these cards.

The Oldest Cards In My Collection

I was looking around eBay a little while back. I was searching for Singer Sewing Trading Cards. There are cards of Elias Howe, an early inventor, and I thought there may be cards of Isaac Singer. I didn't find any Singer's, but I did find a beautiful collection of cards. 

These cards are from a set called, Costumes of All Nations. The Singer Sewing Company released boxed sets of cards to coincide with the Chicago World Colombian Exposition of 1893. The "Costumes of All Nations" was the first set produced, featuring actual photographs taken from the various countries or provinces. The colorful card fronts showcase subjects wearing traditional folk costumes while using Singer sewing machines. The reverse of each card has a compact description of the country while adding a note about the location of the Singer sales office in that country.

I picked up this lot of 34 cards, which was advertised as a set, for $40.89 shipped. 

After some research, It seems as though there may be as many as 39 cards in the set. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society website, there are 39 cards to this set. Many other sites report a set of 36 cards. 

My 34 cards came with this original box.

To get an idea of the size of these beauties, a scan of one of them with Bob Gibson.

As I get older, I find myself appreciating the beauty of vintage cards. Although I am mostly a sports collector, the opportunity to add cards featuring sewing was one I had to jump on. I hope you enjoy them.