BLACK FRIDAY HIT, SOME CARDS GOT DISCOUNTED FUTHER (BUT NOT THE ONES I NEEDED TO COMPLETE SOME SETS, GRUMBLE) AND I WENT ON A BARGAIN HUNTING FRENZY. AFTER BUYING A COUPLE DOZEN COOL THINGS FOR CHEAP I STARTED TO HAVE AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS REALIZING THAT THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST TIME I'LL BE ABLE TO PICK UP SOME UNIQUE STUFF FOR A LONG TIME. I SWITCHED GEARS FROM CHEAPOS TO SOME CARDS I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FIND EASILY OR CHEAPLY IN THE WILD, IF AT ALL. I'LL START WITH THE TRULY WEIRD AND GRADUALLY END UP WITH SOME NORMAL STUFF
1979 TCMA THE 1950S WARREN SPAHN PRINTING ERROR
NOW HERE'S A NICE LITTLE NIGHTMARE. I'VE BEEN DABBLING IN GENERAL WEIRDNESS LIKE MISCUT CARDS, MISSING FOIL, BLANK FRONT/BACK ETC. RECENTLY. THESE THINGS USED TO JUST GO STRAIGHT INTO THE TRASH AND I FEEL A LITTLE SORRY FOR THESE DENIZENS OF THE ISLAND OF MISFIT CARDS. BUT THEN THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE NOT SO MUCH AS MISTAKES AS ABOMINATIONS TO THE LORD. I WAS SEARCHING FOR SOME OF THESE CARDBOARD GOOFS WHEN A SEARCH FOR PRINTING ERRORS LEAD ME TO A DEALER WITH A TON OF CARDS FROM THE TCMA THE 50S SET. MY EYEBALLS ALMOST POPPED OUT WHEN I SAW ALL THESE CARDS WITH SINGLE COLORS, OVERPRINTS, OVERPRINTS ON SINGLE COLORS, NO FRONT, NO BACK, WRONG BACK, BACK OVERPRINTED ON THE FRONT, ONLY FRONTS PLUS OVERPRINTS, JUST A BIG PILE OF MESS THAT LOOKED LIKE SOMEONE LET THEIR KID PLAY ON THE PRINTING PRESS ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON TO KEEP THEM QUIET WHILE THEY DID THE BOOKS. I LITERALLY CLICKED ON EVERY SINGLE LISTING TO LOOK AT ALL THE CRAZY VARIATIONS AND EVENTUALLY SETTLED ON THE DON MOSSI CARD WITH THE LOWEST PRICE. THEN ON BLACK FRIDAY I CHECKED BACK OUT OF CURIOSITY AND ALL THE PRICES WERE SLASHED IN HALF AGAIN. I ALMOST HAD A PANIC ATTACK BECAUSE WHILE I COULD LIMIT MYSELF AT ONE CARD AT A BUCK AND CHANGE, AT SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS A POP I WANTED WHOLE RAINBOWS OF ODDBALL CARDS. AFTER DELIBERATING FOR A WHILE, I MADE A DECISION: I WANT THE MOST HORRIBLE WONDERFUL AWFUL CARD THERE IS. I PAID A LITTLE PREMIUM FOR IT BUT I GOT THIS WARREN SPAHN BACKED CARD WITH PICTURES OF WARREN, YOGI BERRA AND FOR SOME REASON WALT MORYN ALL PRINTED ON THE FRONT. THIS CARD IS OBJECTIVELY WORTHLESS BUT I'LL BET YOU COULD NEVER FIND ONE LIKE IT IN A THOUSAND YEARS
LOOK AT THAT PERFECTLY NORMAL BACK. YOU'D NEVER GUESS THERE'S A LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR ON THE FRONT. I DID END UP PICKING UP A COUPLE MORE OF THE THINGS AS I JUST COULDN'T RESIST THE SILLINESS OF IT ALL
1994 CLASSIC PRO LINE LIVE COCA-COLA MONSTERS OF THE GRIDIRON TEMORARY TATTOOS JESSIE TUGGLE
AT ONE POINT IN TIME I WAS THE #1 JESSIE TUGGLE COLLECTOR ON TCDB BUT I HAVE SINCE DROPPED TO #2. THE REAL CHALLENGE WHEN TRYING TO COLLECT A MINOR STAR LIKE THIS WHO PLAYED BEFORE THE TIME OF A BILLION PARALLELS AND AUTORELICS IS TO FIND THE REALLY WEIRD ODDBALL STUFF OF YOUR PLAYER. IT'S NOT EASY TRACKING DOWN EVERY SINGLE BASE CARD, PARALLEL AND INSERT TO BE SURE, BUT SOME OF THE REALLY WEIRD STUFF FROM THE 90S IS NOT ONLY INCREDIBLY SCARCE BUT IF YOU TRY TO ASK ANYONE IF THEY HAVE IT THEY'LL LIKELY LOOK AT YOU LIKE YOU'RE INSANE. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE KIND OF ODDBALLS. IN 1994 COCA-COLA INSERTED A 3 CARD PACK OF MONSTERS OF THE GRIDIRON CARDS IN 12 PACKS OF COKE PRODUCTS. YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE CARDS WHICH HAS A STAR PLAYER FROM EACH TEAM DRESSED UP IN A HALLOWEEN COSTUME (THE KIDS NOWADAYS WOULD CALL IT COSPLAY OR EVEN A FURSUIT). BUT DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS A SECOND PRODUCT WITH PACKS OF PINS AND TEMPORARY TATTOOS? I DRANK A LOT OF DIET COKE BACK IN THE DAY CHASING CARDS AND I HAD NEVER SEEN THOSE PACKS EVER. I HAVE COVETED THIS TATTOO ON COMC FOR YEARS BUT WAS TOO CHEAP TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I COULDN'T LEAVE THIS ONE BEHIND AGAIN AND IT HELPED THAT IT WAS AT THE LOWEST PRICE I'D EVER SEEN FOR IT. NOT SO CHEAP THAT I COULDN'T HAVE COMPLETED MY 1975 TOPPS SET THO. NO RAGRETS
BY THE WAY THAT ETSY SHOP I LINKED HAS A BUNCH OF GREAT OLD CARD PACKS ON IT AND THEY SHIPPED IMMEDIATELY. THEY HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FROM ME FOR SURE
2014 TOPPS HIGH TEK JASON HEYWARD ICE DIFFRACTOR #24/75
JASON HEYWARD IS ANOTHER PLAYER COLLECTION I'M OBSESSED WITH AND CHASING HIS CARDS IS ACTUALLY THE THING THAT STARTED ME BUYING CARDS ON COMC IN THE FIRST PLACE. I REALLY LIKE THE 2014 TOPPS TEK SET AND I SLOWLY GRABBED DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF JASON'S CARDS OF THE SITE AND I DECIDED IT'D BE A COOL PROJECT TO BUILD A COMPLETE PAGE OF HEYWARDS WITH EACH OF THE SIX VARIATIONS PLUS TWO NUMBERED PARALLELS AND AN AUTOGRAPH. WITH THIS ICE DIFFRACTOR (WHATEVER THE HELL THAT MEANS) I NOW HAVE THE TWO PARALLELS. NO AUTOGRAPH YET BUT THE REAL STICKING POINT HERE WILL BE THE ZIG ZAG AND SHATTER STRIPE VARIATIONS WHICH CAN BE JUST AS PRICEY AS AN AUTO IF YOU CAN EVEN FIND IT. I MIGHT JUST GET MOAR NUMBERED PARALLELS INSTEAD
2018 TOPPS HOLIDAY RONALD ACUÑA JR. RC
THIS WAS ONE OF MY LAST PICKUPS AS I HAD GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE I HAD UNDER TEN BUCKS OF CREDIT LEFT IN MY ACCOUNT AND SOMETHING LIKE THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS WORTH OF CARDS OPEN IN TABS. ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS CLOSELY LOOKING AT WAS AN UNCUT BLANK-BACKED 1984 DONRUSS TED WILLIAMS PUZZLE. THE WILLIAMS PUZZLE PIECES WERE ONLY INSERTED INTO JUMBO ALL-STAR PACKS SO THEY ARE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TO FIND AND I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO GET A COMPLETE PUZZLE FOR MY COLLECTION. HOWEVER, THEY ARE ALL FROM ONE SELLER AND I CANN'T FIND ANY INFORMATION ON THESE THINGS ANYWHERE AT ALL. DESPITE SPENDING MONEY ON SOME WEIRDO OVERPRINT NIGHTMARES I COULDN'T QUITE GET MYSELF TO COMMIT TO THIS. I GOT FRUSTRATED TRYING TO DECIDE AND DID A SEARCH FOR RONALD ROOKIES TO SEE IF THERE WAS A COOL ONE IN MY BUDGET. ALL THE CHEAP ONES I SAW I ALREADY HAD. THE STUPID TOPPS SHORT PRINT ROOKIE COSTS THREE FIGURES. I WAS BUMMING OUT WHEN I NOTICED THIS ONE WITH THE EXACT SAME IMAGE AS THE SHORT PRINT BUT JUST A LITTLE FROSTY WAS THREE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. BYE BYE TEDDO. I HAVE NOT BEEN A FAN OF THIS HOLIDAY SET BUT NOW THAT MY TOPPS FLAGSHIP SET BUILDING DAYS ARE COMPLETELY OVER I'M WILLING TO PUT ASIDE PAST DIFFERENCES. YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY THIS IS GOING IN MY BRAVES TOPPS TEAM SET BINDER IN PLACE OF THAT ACCURSED SHORT PRINT
2022 ALLEN & GINTER RONALD ACUÑA JR. BOXLOADER
THE RONALD ROOKIE CHEWED UP ENOUGH OF MY REMAINING CASH TO KNOCK A LARGE NUMBER OF MY OPEN TABS OUT OF CONSIDERATION. I SCOOPED UP A JALEN JOHNSON ROOKIE AND SOME LEMKES I WANTED AND WAS LEFT WITH TWO DOLLARS AND TWENTY CENTS WORTH OF CREDIT. NOW I HAD A DECISION: DO I PICK UP A WHOLE MESS OF 30 CENT CARDS OR PICK UP A COUPLE NICE ONES. I HAD SOME DECENT OPTIONS: AN A&G MINI INSERT OF GEORGIA, AN ODDBALL TRAE YOUNG ROOKIE, A DOMINIQUE WILKINS EX-2000 CARD, AN OLD DONRUSS HOT RODS STICKER. FINDING A COMBINATION OF THESE CARDS THAT WOULD EQUAL $2.20 WAS PROVING DIFFICULT. AFTER WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS ON FOUR POSSIBLE OPTIONS, I REMEMBERED THAT WHEN I WAS LOOKING UP RONALD ROOKIES I WAS ALSO LOOKING AT RONALD INSERTS INCLUDING HIS 2022-2024 ALLEN & GINTER CABINET CARDS. I RECALLED LIKING THE 2022 CARD THE BEST ALTHOUGH THE 2023 CARD WAS THE CHEAPEST. I PULLED UP THE BOOKMARK FOR 2022 AND IT WAS... TWO DOLLARS AND TWENTY CENTS. THERE IS NO BETTER FEELING DURING A CARD BINGE THAN SPENDING EVERY LAST PENNY YOU HAVE ON A CARD YOU REALLY LIKE
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