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Looking to trade for Nolan Arenado cards!

I’d really like to start trading more, and now that my Arenado collection has been steadily growing with base cards and low-end variations, I’d like to start acquiring more high end Arenado cards. Autographs, low print runs, etc., and I’d love the opportunity to trade for some of these! Message me if you have higher end Arenado’s and are interested in trading! I’m continuing to work on my inventory lists, which you can check out in the right column of my Tumblr page, but feel free to just inquire and let me know what you’re looking for.

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There are still cards to be discovered

As much time as I spend checking out the 'bay and looking at cards and hobby news online (ok, maybe its not that much, but it's a semi-regular part of my day), I'm delighted when I come across something that I never knew existed before. And not in regards to new, modern cards, where manufacturers purposely release about 82 different variations and short prints and stuff. I'm talking about cards from the hay-day, from simpler times. Pre-1990, cards were simple. I think thats why I still love the vintage so much. You had your couple main base sets from Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, etc. (and of course maybe only Topps and Bowman in the real early days). There were of course some cool highlights and all star cards, maybe some interesting action shot cards and other novelties. But the hobby was simple. That's why I get so much enjoyment to come across something from back in that time period that I never previously knew existed. 

Today, while just perusing my normal email newsletters and spam, I came across one that had a link for recently posted '1982 Topps Blackless'. Man, these cards are sharp! I love the bright colors and variation to the look of normal 1982 Topps. I never knew these things existed!! A quick googling reveals that they are indeed pretty scarce, and putting together a complete set would be quite a challenge. It makes sense that cards like this would exist out there. A few mishaps in printing, one of the CMYK colors runs out during the print run, or something to that effect, and BAM! Instant card that was printed without the black. Another quick google reveals that indeed, there are "blueless" (cyan) variations as well. Are there magenta-less and yellow-less variations out there? I may not be entirely correct about what these are and I'll probably do a little more research when I have a moment.

Of course, being a designer has really sparked an interest in these cards. Same reason I love the printing-plate cards (even though I don't own any yet). They are a glimpse into the design, printing and manufacturing process of the pieces of cardboard we all love. Now I feel I MUST HAVE one of these. Time to keep my eye's peeled for a good deal on a 1982 Topps Blackless Nolan Ryan. Perhaps a 1982 Topps Blackless Cal Ripken rookie? Haven't seen any of these floating around yet, but worth looking for a good deal.

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Player Collections - What does that entail these days?

I've always liked the idea of boiling down my personal collection to just a few players, teams or themes. For the past couple years, though I haven't amassed too many new cards, I've decided to focus on the following: Nolan Ryan (over 700 unique cards), MLB Hall of Fame Rookies (as well as other sports, but focus on baseball) and Colorado Rockies prospect autographs. Of course, I still collect vintage and pre-war baseball cards, Denver Broncos, and much more, but I've decided to focus my personal collection on just those few themes. I've also thought about throwing another player into the mix, Rockies' third-baseman Nolan Arenado. I've been following him closely for a number of years as he moved through the Rockies farm system ranks and, undoubtedly, he's become my go-to guy for the Rockies. I love everything about him as a baseball player, and I've thought that he might be an interesting one to start building another player collection around. He doesn't (yet) have the super star status of Troy Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez, so I figured he'd be an easier one to look at from the beginning. Though, his name is quickly becoming known, and already he's thought to be (deservedly) one of the best third basemen in the league, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more inserts and cool cards of his in the coming years as he becomes more popular with collectors. His cards only date back to 2009, when his first prospect and draft cards were issued, so why not?

I couldn't find a really thorough checklist out there already, so I decided to go about making my own. I figured this would be an interesting experiment. I know that there are parallels, short-prints, inserts, etc., out the wahoo when it comes to cards these days, but even still, how many can there be of a guy who's only been in the bigs for two seasons? Well, about three hours worth of compiling a spreadsheet on his known existing cards has told me one thing - aiming to "complete" a player collection, EVEN OF A YOUNG PLAYER who hasn't been around very long, is not really feasible. Granted, so many of the cards are not worth much, and can be had for next to nothing, but for any given set/issue, there are so many variations, and some of those are very rare and hard to come by. For just about any given card that is printed these days, there seems to be upwards of 8-10 variations, some of them numbered in increasingly rarer increments - #'d/199, /99, /50, /25, /10, /5 and of course, the always expensive #1/1 (only one card in existence). A simple eBay search will show you exactly what probably isn't feasible to own.

Bowman Starling "Gold Canary Diamond Refractor" #1/1 - only $2k on the 'bay

So, player collecting certainly isn't what it was like back in the late '80s and early '90s, but I figure, thats ok, that just means there's more to chase. As long as one doesn't set their collecting expectations too high (having a "complete" player collection, for example), I figure player collecting can still be a lot of fun. I'm not sure where my Arenado collection is going to take me yet. So far, I've only got a bunch of base rookie cards and a single patch/auto. But given how much I enjoy watching that kid play ball, I think I'll keep my checklist handy, continue to add to it, and see how many cards I can come by.

Feel free to take a peek at my Nolan Arenado baseball card spreadsheet. I've made it on Google docs and will keep it publicly viewable. It's no where near being complete yet - I know there's a lot that is missing still, so I'll continue to add to it as I can. If anything, it just keeps me VERY aware of just how much is out there.

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Amazing collection. These are the finds that we vintage collectors dream about. Stories like this are not entirely uncommon, but as time goes by, they happen less and less. Previously unknown vintage cards that get found can be a shot in the arm for vintage collectors, and can help keep our dreams alive, just a little bit. Knowing that there still may be unknown or forgotten gems floating around - Ruths, DiMaggios, Wagners, Cobbs, Williams, Gehrigs - helps me keep just an inkling of hope that one day I might stumble across something as well. Unlikely, I know, but that's what we collectors dream about, amiright?

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Sports Card Micro Sales on Instagram!

Sorting through and weeding out cards. Checkout @bsportscards on Instagram for micro sales!

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What I wouldn’t give for one of these babies in my collection. Hall of Famer Roger Connor was the former career homerun champion before some guy who went by the name “Babe” came along and decided to break the record. Connor hit 138 home runs in an 18 year career. I know, 138 doesn’t quite have the same ring as 714, but in the deadball era, this was quite a feat. This card, the 1887 N284 Gold Coin issue, though not his “rookie” card, is up on eBay with a BIN of $3,200 (PSA-4).

Officially, I might prefer the 1886 N167 Old Judge “rookie” card for my HOF Rookies collection, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

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Oddball, unlicensed, promo cards are bountiful. Especially ones from the late '80s and early '90s (shocking, right?). We all have them. Some of us accepted them with open arms, and some of us couldn't (can't) stand them. I, for one, had a ton of fun collecting all the variations of Mother's Cookies and What-a-burger (among others) Nolan Ryans.

Sure, they're basically considered junk. Generally they were produced in plenty, and you could get them along with a loaf of bread or a package of cookies. They were never meant to be valuable, or even rare. They were just a gimmick that merchandisers used to get you to buy more bread (cookies, burgers, Jimmy Dean sausages, Kraft cereal, etc., etc.). Nowadays, they're still not rare, and they're still virtually worthless, but value aside, they can be a really fun way to add something unique to your collection.

One of the better issues (in my humble opinion) is the 1986 Donruss style Michael Jordan Rated Rookie baseball card, issued by Fun City Cards. I don't know much about it, but I've always thought it was indeed "Fun". Based on the back of the card, I'd guess it was issued in '90 or '91. It can still be had for only a few bucks on eBay.

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Imagine coming across something like this at a yard sale. Every collector’s dream! I’ve often wondered what it would be like to stumble across an old cigar box filled with T206’s that hadn’t seen the sun in the last century. I imagine this would be something like that.

Civil-War Era Baseball Card Worth Six Figures Found At Maine Yard Sale

This photo released, Jan 2013 by the Saco River Auction Co., in Biddeford, Maine, shows a rare 1865 baseball card of the Brooklyn Atlantics, discovered in a photo album bought at a yard sale in Baileyville, Maine, on the Canadian border. The auction house expected six-figure bids at its Feb. auction. 

The Library of Congress has had another copy of the Brooklyn Atlantics photograph since the late 1800s, when it took possession of it from a New York court where the photographer, Charles Williamson, had submitted it for copyright.

In its book “Baseball Americana,” the Library of Congress calls it the first dated baseball card, handed out to supporters and opposing teams in a gesture of bravado from the brash Brooklynites, who were dominant and won their league championships in 1861, 1864 and 1865.

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2013/01/09/civil-war-era-baseball-card-worth-six-figures-foun/1304502

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What To Do With Your Worthless (Worthwhile) Baseball Cards...Wallpaper!

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Hall of Fame Rookies, the Inagural Class

Yesterday, we marked the 77th anniversary of the inagural Major League Baseball Hall of Fame induction class.

Ruth. Wagner. Mathewson. Johnson. Cobb.

Any sports card collector would dream of having original cards of these five legends in their collection, let alone rookie cards. Old, original cards of the inagural class inductees are not impossible to find, especially on the 'Bay, however, their hefty price tags make them darn near impossible to own for your run-of-the-mill Joe Schmoe collector such as myself. Nevertheless, my number one collecting goal is to own an original rookie card of each of these larger-than-life baseball demi-gods. But what are the "official" big 5 rookie cards?

Babe Ruth

There are many "rookie" cards of Babe Ruth on the market. Many consider the 1933 Goudey cards rookies, however, being from 1933, these are hardly his fist cards - despite being his most recognizeable. The 1914 Baltimore Sun card has become industry recognized as THE Babe Ruth Rookie Card. If only I had an extra $575,000 laying around to pick one of these babies up.

Ty Cobb

There are a slew of beautiful 1909-11 T-206 cards of the loved-to-be-hated Tyrus Cobb, as well as other dead ball era tobacco and advertising cards. According to oldcardboard.com, the 1907 W600 Sporting Life cabinet card is considered his rookie. A recent Goodwin & Co. auction sold it for a measly $30,000+.

Christy Mathewson

As with any dead baller, there are many T-206 printings of Mathewson, but there are a number of earlier and lesser known cards issued between 1901 and 1905, including one from the same W600 Sporting Life cabinet cards set that issued the Cobb. The earliest printing, and thus considered The Christy Mathewson Rookie, is the 1901 Police Gazette Supplements issue. I've yet to find any good information regarding value or scarcity for this gem, but lets just say it's a bit of a rarity.

Honus Wagner

It may be the most valuable card in the history of the universe, but the King of Cards Wagner T-206 cannot be considered a rookie. I'm not sure if a 1/1 printers proof card should be considered a rookie, but the earliest known printing of Wagner is the 1898-99 National Copper Plate Co. card, the same image of which was used for Wagner's inclusion in the 1899-00 M101-1 Sporting News set. Another valid rookie from 1899 is the Henry Reccius Cigars inclusion.

Walter Johnson

The two uber-rare and earliest set inclusions of the legendary hurler are known in the form of the 1907-09 PC805 Novelty Cutlery Postcards and the 1907-09 Carl Horner Cabinets. Like the Wagner printers proof, there is only one known to be in existence. Like the Mathewson and Wagner rookies, all three of these cards are much to scarce to possibly put a value on. They are truly priceless. However, according to Goodwin & Co., the earliest cardboard issue of Wagner is the "player owned" 1907 Weiser Wonder postcard, which fetched a surprisingly low $6,099.43.

Obviously, the cards detailed here are much too scarce and valuable to ever realistically fall into the hands of myself or the vast majority of collectors out there. More common tobacco card printings such as the famous 1909-11 T-206 inclusions and others may be a bit more realistic to own, and would gladly be considered part of my sought after Hall of Fame rookie cards collection.