ANTIQUE MALL DOLLAR BOX GOODIES

 A FEW WEEKENDS AGO I GOT BORED AND DECIDED TO GO TO A CARD SHOP. I FOOLISHLY LET TWITTER DECIDE WHERE I SHOULD GO AND THEY CHOSE 'SOME PLACE I HAVEN'T BEEN TO BEFORE". THIS WAS A TERRIBLE DECISION AS NOW I HAD A NEW CHOICE TO MAKE. I WAS ABOUT TO DRIVE AN HOUR TO GET TO A COUPLE PLACES THAT LOOKED BRAND NEW WITH BRAND NEW STORE PRICES AND NO CHEAPO BOXES OF CRAP AT ALL WHEN I DISCOVERED AN ANTIQUE MALL WITH A CARD SHOP INSIDE. THE DRIVE WAS MUCH SHORTER AND AS A BONUS I HAVE A NEW 5000-PHOTO POST FULL OF ANTIQUE MALL DETRITUS THAT I'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE WRITTEN BY CHRISTMAS. NOT GONNA LIE, THE CARD SHOP WAS UNDERWHELMING WITH A TON OF STAR BASE CARDS AT FIVE BUCKS A POP AND A BUNCH OF JUNK WAX BOXES PRICED FROM TWO TO FIVE BUCKS PER PACK. FUN TO LOOK AT AND THEY PROBABLY MAKE A NICE CHUNK OF CHANGE OFF IMPULSE BUYS FROM NORMIES BUT NOT FOR ME. THERE WAS A DOLLAR BOX THOUGH, AND WHILE A LOT OF THE CARDS WERE QUARTER AND EVEN DIME CARDS IN MY ESTIMATION, MY SPECIALTY IS FINDING THE HIDDEN GEMS AMONGST THE CRAP. ONCE AGAIN I SET A GOAL OF KEEPING IT TO FIVE BUCKS AND ONCE AGAIN I ENDED UP WITH SIX CARDS

2017 TOPPS MATT OLSON RC

2020 OPENING DAY SEAN MURPHY RC

UNLESS THERE IS A MAJOR TRADE, A CATASTROPHIC INJURY OR THE COLLAPSE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, THESE TWO DUDES ARE GOING TO BE PLAYING FOR THE BRAVES THROUGH THE REST OF THE DECADE. I'M FINE WITH DROPPING A BUCK EACH JUST SO I CAN HAS THEM ROOKIE CARDS. REALLY WISH THERE WAS AN ACTUAL TOPPS MURPHY RC IN THE BOX INSTEAD OF OPENING DAY BUT OH WELL

1997 SPX KENNY LOFTON BOUND FOR GLORY 4 OF 20 #783/1500

SPX IS ONE OF THE MANY PREMIUM SETS THAT MADE THEIR DEBUTS IN THE MID 90S AND LOOKED ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. THEN AS THE YEARS PASSED AND GREAT LOOKING CARDS GAVE WAY TO SMALL BITS OF LAUNDRY AS THE MOST DESIRED THING AMONG COLLECTORS, THE SETS GOT SHITTIER AND SHITTIER UNTIL THEY WERE STRAIGHT GARBAGE BY THE 2000S. 1997 SPX IS THE APEX OF GORGEOUS UPPER DECK DESIGNS FEATURING ETCHED FOIL, HOLOFOIL WITH LITTLE UPPER DECK LOGOS, AND THE HOLOVIEW HOLOGRAM PICTURE ON EACH CARD. THIS IS THE LAST TIME UPPER DECK USED THE HOLOVIEWS ON BASE CARDS ALTHOUGH IT SORT OF SHOWED UP ON LATER INSERT SETS. THIS MAKES ME SAD AND I REALLY WISH NOW I'D PONIED UP THE 6 BUCKS A PACK FOR THESE THINGS BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE. FINDING ANY OF THEM CHEAP IS EXCEEDINGLY RARE NOWADAYS AND I WAS HONESTLY A LITTLE SHOCKED TO SEE THIS IN THE DOLLAR BOX

THIS HERE IS AN INSERT CARD AND A SERIAL NUMBERED ONE AT THAT. I CAN'T FIND THE BASE CARD ONLINE FOR A BUCK AND YOU KNOW HOW PRICEY SERIAL NUMBERED 90S INSERTS CAN GET. HOW THIS ENDED UP IN A DOLLAR BOX WHEN BASE GLAVINE AND SMOLTZ ROOKIES WERE PRICED AT FIVE BUCKS IS BEYOND ME BUT I AIN'T COMPLAINING. POOR KENNY LOFTON GETS NO RESPECT AT ALL. I FRIGGIN LOVE IT AND WISH I COULD GET LUCKY ON SOME MORE 97 SPX CARDS

1993 WHATABURGER TRIAD NOLAN RYAN'S RECOLLECTIONS HORSIE CARD

I SPEND A LOT OF TIME BELLYACHING ABOUT HOW NOLAN RYAN CARDS ARE SO OVERPRICED, AND I NEED HIS CARD FOR ALMOST ALL THE SETS I'M BUILDING, AND IT'S SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS, AND HE'S NOT EVEN THAT GOOD ANYWAY. THE FOUR PEOPLE WHO READ THIS BLOG RELIGIOUSLY HAVE TO BE SICK OF MY NONSENSE BY NOW. 

BUT.

LENTICULAR THREE-DEE FOOD ISSUE FROM WHATABURGER WITH A COCA-COLA LOGO ON THE BACK OF NOLAN RIDING A GOSH-DARN HORSE

OHMYFRIGGINGODITSSOBEAUTIFULIMGONNADIE

GEORGIA GOT THEIR FIRST WHATABURGER LAST WINTER SO THIS CARD WAS NEVER ON MY RADAR AND I THINK FINDING IT IN THAT BOX MIGHT BE THE FIRST TIME I EVER HEARD OF IT. THIS IS ONE OF A TEN CARD SET AND IS THE ONLY ONE WHERE HE'S IN COWBOY GEAR INSTEAD OF A BASEBALL UNIFORM. THIS OF COURSE IS PERFECTLY FINE WITH ME AS THIS CARD WILL LIKELY END UP THE CENTER POCKET OF A PAGE OF HORSEY CARDS IN MY NEXT COOL CHAOS BINDER*. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THE HELL TRIAD IS OR IF THEY EVER PRODUCED ANY OTHER TRADING CARD SETS. A GOOGLE SEARCH COMES UP WITH A TON OF RESULTS FOR A FINAL FANTASY CARD GAME AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE DIGGING THROUGH ALL THAT MESS TO RESEARCH IT. I ALSO HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE HORSE NOLAN'S RIDING IS OWNED BY DELTA AIR LINES. THIS IS JUST A STRANGE CARD ALL AROUND

1996 PINNACLE MANNY RAMIREZ PINNACLE POWER

HOO MAN THIS IS A PRETTY CARD. I BOUGHT WAY TOO MANY PACKS OF 1996 PINNACLE BACK IN THE DAY AND I LOVED PULLING THESE OUT OF PACKS. IT'S GOT A DIE CUT WINDOW FOR THE STRIPEY SHINY HOLOFOIL AND THE REST OF TEH CARD IS EMBOSSED, INCLUDING THE GOLD FOIL TEXT. THIS CARD REALLY MADE THE PACKS LUMPY. THE CHECKLIST IS FANTASTIC, A REAL WHO'S WHO OF MID 90S TATER MASHERS. MANNY'S ONE OF THE TOP GUYS ON THAT LIST DESPITE WHAT HALL VOTERS THINK

JEEZ, LOOK AT BABY MANNY ON THE BACK. PINNACLE WAS RIGHT, IT WAS SCARY HOW MUCH BETTER RAMIRÉZ GOT IN LATER YEARS. ALSO SCARY HOW LITTLE RESPECT HE GOT FOR IT. I DON'T WANNA HEAR ABOUT STERIODS, THE LAST PRESIDENT SENT A MOB AFTER HIS VICE PRESIDENT AND KEPT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN THE TOILET. AIN'T NOBODY CARE ABOUT STEROIDS ANYMORE. MAYBE THE VETS COMMITTEE WILL LET MANNY IN BEFORE I DIE, UNTIL THEN I'LL KEEP PICKING UP CHEAP PRETTY MANNY CARDS

1998 LEAF BIP ROBERTS FRACTAL MATRIX PARALLEL CARD

SO YEAH I'M OFFICIALLY COLLECTING BIP ROBERTS CARDS NOW. I ALREADY HAVE SEVERAL DOZEN UNIQUE ONES NOT COUNTING ONES STUCK INSIDE SET BOXES. RECENTLY I'VE GONE FROM MERELY YELLING OH NOEZ! WHEN I STUMBLED ACROSS ANOTHER BIP WHILE SORTING TO ACTIVELY HUNTING OUT WEIRD BIPS. THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE WEIRDER ONES. 1998 LEAF HAD PARALLELS CALLED FRACTAL MATRIX. THE FRACTAL PART COMES FROM THE THREE DIFFERENT FOIL COLORS THE CARD COULD BE (BRONZE, SILVER, GOLD) AND THE THREE DIFFERENT DIE CUTS IT COULD HAVE (X-AXIS, Y-AXIS, Z-AXIS). IT'S ALL VERY COMPLICATED, BUT IN REALITY EACH CARD COULD ONLY HAVE ONE TYPE OF FOIL COLOR WITH ONE TYPE OF DIE CUT. BIP GOT THE MOST COMMON FOIL TYPE OF BRONZE** AND THIS ISN'T DIE CUT ANYWAY SO IT DOESN'T MATTER. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW HOW IT ALL WORKS BASEBALLCARDPEDIA DOES A GOOD JOB EXPLAINING THE MESS

1998 LEAF IS A SNEAKY GOOD SET. IT'S GOT A NICE DESIGN, GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY, AND SOME AMAZING INSERTS. THE BASE SET IS A LITTLE SMALL WITH SOME SHORT PRINTED SUBSETS, BUT IT'S A NICE CAP TO THE ORIGINAL 1990-1998 LEAF RUN. IF THE SHORT PRINTS AND PARALLELS PUT YOU OFF THE BASE SET, YOU SHOULD AT LEAST LOOK OUT FOR THE INSERT CARDS. STATISTICAL STANDOUTS, STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND ESPECIALLY HEADING FOR THE HALL ARE THREE OF THE BEST LOOKING INSERT SETS OF THE 90S. TOP TOPS STUFF. THE BRONZE PARALLELS ARE PRETTY NICE THEMSELVES, THIS IS THE CLOSEST THING YOU'LL PROBABLY EVER GET TO A BIP ROBERTS SUPERFRACTOR

ALL IN ALL THIS WAS A SUCCESSFUL WASTE OF AN AFTERNOON. ALSO PURCHASED WAS THAT PACK OF 1987 DONRUSS ALL-STARS, A JAMES BOND DVD AND AN OLD LEGENDS COLLECTABLES PRICE GUIDE WITH GRIFFEY ON THE COVER. FUN STUFF AND MUCH BETTER THAN A NEW STORE WITH A BUNCH OF SLABS

*REMIND ME TO DO A SERIES OF POSTS FOR THE CHAOS BINDERS ON HERE. THE PREVIOUS ONES WERE THREADS ON TWITTER AND WHO KNOWS HOW LONG THAT PLACE IS GONNA LAST

**MAN, THE ATLANTA OLYMPICS REALLY DID A NUMBER ON TRADING CARDS. HOW MANY LATE 90S SETS HAVE A BRONZE/SILVER/GOLD THEME WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RARITY. HOW MANY SETS STILL DO THIS NONSENSE