Favorites from the month of February

I was actually on top of things last month, and scanned the new additions to my collection as I received them. But, I forgot to actually post the pictures, which kind of negates being prepared. Here's some of my favorite pick-ups from the past month, with the HD Platinum probably being at the top of the list. The Topps HD parallels are impossible to find (I think this is only the 2nd one I've seen on eBay in the past 3-4 years), and I managed to get a great deal on this one!

2011 ITG Heroes and Prospects Heroes Jerseys Silver #26 S2 PR/150

2005 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game A's Jsy 98 #/50

2003 Donruss Elite Aspirations 168 #/65

2000 Topps HD Platinum 42 #/99

2003 Donruss Classics Timeless Tributes 70 #/100

2004 Leaf Exhibits 1939-46 Best Wishes Left Second Edition 39

A Few New Additions, Including an MLB Logo Patch

I've been lucky enough to pick up quite a few cards over the past few months, both via trades with other Rickey collectors, and purchases on eBay and trading sites. I figured I'd quickly share some of my favorites.

2005 Donruss Champions Impressions MLB Logo Patch Padres 311 #/2

2005 Prime Patches Team Materials Triple Team Logo Patch 4 #/37

2005 Absolute Memorabilia Team Trios Swatch Double 21 #/100

1996 Select Certified Mirror Red 70 PR/90

2000 SkyBox Star Rubies Extreme 84 #/50

2001 Topps Archives Future Rookie Reprints 80 Gold 11

2011 Topps Triple Threads Sapphire 78 #/25

2002 Upper Deck Vintage Timeless Teams

Although I appreciate that Topps has included a multitude of different Rickey Henderson cards in the new 2010 Triple Threads release (50+ if you include 1:1's), it's nice to actually be able to acquire all of the cards in a release. The feeling of "completing" a set or year is one that I will always enjoy, and given all of the Rickey's in circulation, I'll always have something new to work on.

Rickey didn't have a base card in the 2002 Upper Deck Vintage release, but he did have two different quad relic cards that I could track down.


The first card is vintage 80's A's, featuring the likes of Canseco, Dave Parker, and Don Baylor. Not the most high-end of relics, but a fun combination, and one that I doubt you'll ever see again.


This second relic was the hardest to come across, and believe it or not, thanks to a badly worded eBay auction, was actually cheaper than the first! With Griffey, Gwynn, and Bonds, there's a lot of hits represented on this card. Although Bonds will probably never get in, you've already got two Hall of Famers represented, with a third (Griffey) just waiting for his turn. A fun card, from a fun set, with no parallels, prime, or autographed versions. There were only two Rickey cards in the set, and both are interesting additions to the collection.

A Very Burbank Birthday

Now that my latest birthday is behind me, it's time to revel in the spoils. My lovely wife gave me a Beckett gift certificate, and I also received some other funds which were partially used towards expanding the Rickey collection.

Most player collectors probably have a love/hate relationships with Burbank Sportscards, and I do as well. If you're looking for that hard-to-find 90's insert or parallel, there's a good chance that they have it. You'll also probably pay an arm and a leg in the process, so it all comes down to how much you want it. But, with a little digging, you can surprisingly find a few "deals" hidden among the $499 autographed relics.


1994 Stadium Club First Day Issue #654 (print run 2,000) -- I'm not sure why I haven't been able to track this one down already, as with 2,000 of them out there, it shouldn't have been too hard to find. But, 1994 Stadium Club finally complete, for a total of 9 cards including Golden Rainbow, Members Only, and First Day Issue parallels.


1996 Leaf Signature Platinum Press Proofs #142 (print run 150) -- I've never seen this card for sale on eBay, so even though the price was a bit high, I have a feeling it would have been much more had it actually been put up for auction. This now completes the 1996 Leaf Signature set, with a base card along with the gold and platinum press proofs.



1998 Circa Thunder Rave #87 #/150 -- It was nice to finally be able to track this one down, but the elusive Super Rave #/25 is still out there somewhere!


1998 Pacific Platinum Blue #9 (print run 67) $10.65 -- I now have all 3 of the 1998 Pacific Parallels which included the Silver and Red Threatt (yes, it's spelled with two "t"'s) versions.


1999 Upper Deck Encore FX Gold #58 #/125 $19.05 -- This is another card that I don't remember ever seeing for sale on eBay. It's also nice that 1999 Upper Deck Encore only had two cards, the base card, and this parallel.


2003 Donruss Elite Throwback Threads #25 #/250 $9.90 -- There are 3 "base" Throwback Threads in the 2003, all #/250, but this is the first one that I've picked up so far.


2003 Topps Chrome Refractors #186 #/699 -- I recently purchased the Gold Refractor #/449 as well, but am still looking for the Black Refractor #/199 and the Uncirculated X-Fractor #/50.


2003 Topps Tribute Contemporary Memorable Materials Relics #RH $15.45 -- Although not serial numbered, these 2003 Topps Tribute relics don't surface very often, as they are pretty nice looking cards. Plus, most of them feature Rickey in vintage A's gear, which is always a plus!

I had a lot of fun on my Beckett shopping spree, and the early holes in the collection are slowly dwindling. The thrill of the hunt in tracking cards down one-by-one is fun, but every once in a while, adding a stack of cards all at once can be just as fun!

Game-Used Additions in Recent Months: Part II

As a follow-up to my Rickey Henderson memorabilia post from last week, here are the rest of my recently acquired game-used cards, this time featuring those that are vertically oriented. As I did previously, I've kept the comments to a minimum, and let the cards speak for themselves.

I'm not quite sure why, but the horizontal cards were much more impressive than the vertical cards, but that's probably a coincidence. Dispute some fairly plain jersey swatches on a couple of these cards, they are all fairly well designed, and are nice pick-ups for the collection.































As always, if there's any questions on any of these cards, don't hesitate to post a comment, or send me an e-mail. I'm always willing to "talk Rickey!"

Game-Used Additions in Recent Months: Part I

Now that I have my new computer up and running (the old one blew up a few weeks ago), and have attached my new scanner as well, I'm ready to get caught up on the huge stack of cards that are sitting waiting to be displayed.

Although I've said this before, I'm going to attempt to use the new computer as a clean slate, to keep me caught up on my scans and posts. The computer is super fast, and the scanner is much easier and quicker than my old one.

To start, here's a few Rickey Henderson game-used cards that I've picked up recently, including a couple of pretty sweet Oakland A's patches, and an awesome dual patch card with Lou Brock. I started to add descriptions to the cards, but I think it took away from the images, so I've left them out. If anyone has a question about any particular card, don't hesitate to ask.


































Stayed tuned for Part II of the game-used cards (In order to keep the look of the post as clean as possible, I've included all of the horizontally oriented cards in this post, with the vertical ones yet to come), as well as a post on inserts & parallels, as well as the couple of oddball cards I've recently added to the collection.

Another Crazy Trade with a Rickey Collector

You never know when a new trade is going to pop up, but it's always exciting when it does! Although I missed out on all of the cards from approximately 2002-2007, Ryan did not, and lucky for me, he also gathered quite a few duplicates, which I was fortunate enough to help him unload.

I had a couple of cards that he was interested in, and coupled with a little extra cash, the following 12 cards arrived at my doorstop. Just getting 12 new cards at once is a feat in an among itself, but very rarely are they of this quality and variety. A lot of these would have probably soared way out of my price range if he'd listed them on eBay, and a vast majority of them I've never even seen listed before. Enjoy!


2002 Donruss Elite Status STAR 125 #/88 -- One of only two non-game-used cards in the lot. These early parallels are still pretty difficult to come across, and the red die-cut is pretty cool


2002 Leaf Limited Lumberjacks Bat 7 #/25 -- The only thing that could have made this card better, is if it also featured a piece of the vintage yellow Rickey jersey that he's wearing on the card


2002 Leaf Limited Lineups Bat/J.Canseco 9 #/50 -- I was particularly excited to get this card, as it's my first game-used combo with Jose. There are still quite a few rabid Canseco collectors out there as well, so anytime they're featured together on a card, it definitely demands a premium


2002 Leaf Limited Gold Spotlight M's 94 #/100 -- The other non-game-used in the lot, this was thrown in as a sort of replacement for another card that he was unable to locate

2003 Topps Pristine Bomb Squad Relics Refractors Bat RH #/25 -- Rickey only has two cards in the 2003 Topps Pristine set, the base Bomb Squad relic, and this refractor. It's always not to complete a "set."



2004 Playoff Honors Tandem Material Combo D.Sanders 23 #/25 -- Like the Canseco above, the Deion Sanders combo card is a nice addition to the collection



2004 Playoff Honors Quad Material Musial/Gwy/Brock 12 #/25 -- Wow, what a card! The front alone, featuring Rickey and a nice vintage Stan Musial swatch, is pretty awesome. But, flip it over, and you also get two more Hall of Famers, in Tony Gwynn and Lou Brock. Four Hall of Famers on what card is definitely something to get excited about.


2005 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Swatch Single Jumbo A's Jsy 94 #/25 -- This is the first of three jumbo swatches I was able to pick up, and it's of course my favorite


2005 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Swatch Single Jumbo M's Jsy 170 #/100 -- Now that I have three of these I'm even more tempted to try and track down the complete jumbo swatch set


2005 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Swatch Single Jumbo Mets Jsy 168 #/98 -- Other than the A's, Mariners and Mets featured above, there's also another Mets version #/25, as well as an A's pants swatch #/75


2005 Absolute Memorabilia Team Six Swatch Single Los Angeles Dodgers 40 #/150 - The more of these cards that I track down, the more I'm intrigued by the set. I currently ave 43 cards from the set, but I still have a LONG way to go


2007 Topps Triple Threads Relics Combos Carter/Rickey/Molitor 97 #/36 -- This is my second card from 2007 Triple Threads, but my first combo card. The Molitor cleat patch is covered in dirt, which is pretty cool, as it's not something you see too often. Now I just need to track down to more of the Rickey variations, and I'll have at least one of each.

I want to once again thank Ryan for working out a trade, as it was definitely very much appreciated!