Box Break - - 2002-03 Pacific Vanguard Hobby (Another Forgotten Post)

This is another post that was sitting in the unpublished draft graveyard just waiting for the day it would be found again.  I guess today is that day.  It's only 5 months late.  I decided to try and get caught up on all the posts that I started and never finished.  This could take a while.

This is another box from Atlanta Sports Cards that I picked up at the National show on the 6th of August.  Once again, this was a set that fell into the time frame where the last thing on my mind was card collecting.

Features of the set include a base set with 100 cards as well as 36 rookies that are all serial-numbered, most out of 1650.  Rookie cards of Mike Cammalleri, Steve Ott, Jay Bouwmeester, and Ryan Miller can be found in this set.  In addition, there are Pacific Complete cards inserted 1 per pack.  Pacific Complete was a monster sized set (600 cards) that was broken up and inserted into each of the six major Pacific releases that year.  100 cards from the set are randomly inserted in Vanguard, those numbered 201-300.  While the set itself doesn't have a ton of value, the more rare "Red" parallel versions can be found at almost 10x the value of the regular base cards.


There is also a Vanguard LTD variation of all 136 base cards.  These cards are the same as the base versions with the words "Vanguard LTD" watermarked in a silvery stripe across the fronts of the cards.  They are also all serial-numbered out of 450.

The game used cards fall at approximately 3 per box with an opportunity to pull the gold versions which are numbered to 50.  The GU themselves are serial numbered too but the numbers vary depending on the player.  There are 50 cards total in that set.

As for the rest of the inserts, there is an East Meets West set which features, you guessed it, an Eastern Conference star paired up with a Western Conference star.  These usually come 2 per box.  There are also V-Team and In Focus cards that fall about 1 per box.  The V-Teams in particular have #'s 1-6 in the Hobby Packs, #7-12 in the Retail version.

Prime Prospects is a 20 card insert set that falls about 3-4 per box and features some of the bigger young stars in the making (at least at the time because in hind sight, the checklist is brutal).  Finally, my favorite insert set in this release features our goalie friends, called Stonewallers.  These cards show a brick wall with a silver foil center and the player overlayed on top.  They actually look really nice in person.  You can also find 3-4 of these in a box as well.   

The base cards are printed using the foil-board that was prevalent in releases between 2001-2004 and has a mirror finish.  The Players name is printed vertically down the right side of the card in the team colors.  There is also a stripe directly to the left that features the product logo, very small at the top, and the players team and position.  The interesting thing is the way it is phrased.  Instead of listing the typical letter designation for position or even spelling it out, the cards say, for example, "Center For The Montreal Canadiens" (that's on the Saku Koivu card).  It's something different.  The rest of the card has the player cropped out of an action shot on top of the mirror foil with a team colored pattern design.  

Box Breakdown:
6 Cards/Pack
24 Packs/Box
144 Total Cards

Here are some of the highlights to the box.

 Ryan Miller and Mike Cammalleri Rookies

Jay Bouwmeester LTD Rookie.  You can kind of see the "Vanguard LTD" symbol going across the middle.

Here were my lackluster Game Used cards.  That's why I made them so small because they are kind of embarrassing.  The best one here, numbering wise is the Klesla card out of 50.  They are all small swatches, they are all white, and they are all from players that have little to no interest to me or anyone else on planet Earth.

The Stonewallers, as I said already, are my favorites in this set.  I pulled Luongo, Potvin, and Patrick Lalime.  I remember when he debuted for the Pens way back when.  He was unstoppable then.  Also, I pulled one V-Team of Marty Turco.  I seem to always pull some kind of Turco insert.

 

There were two Prime Prospects inserts in this box.  I pulled Rick Nash and Jay Bouwmeester.  These aren't too bad to look at either but again, these are two of the better cards on the checklist.

Finally, I pulled one East/West card of Vinny Lecavalier and Joe Sakic, as well as one In Focus also of Mr. Sakic.  

Overall, this was a good pick up for the price tag.  You get a bunch of nice looking inserts, a few GU that you will probably wish you hadn't, and a chance at some nice rookie cards.  It was a fun break to do as well and I wish I would have gotten it on video but as most of you already know, my video skills are non existent.  If you do pick one up, just be careful with the cards because all that foil has a tendency to stick to itself after almost 10 years trapped in a pack.

Box Break - -2002-03 Pacific Heads-Up Hobby

(Here is another in a long line of posts that were started yet never finished.)

 

We yet again have another box from Atlanta Sports Cards, another box from the National, another box from a time when I wasn't collecting, and another box from Pacific.  Anyone see a theme brewing with these box breaks lately?

 

The hobby boxes of Heads-Up had the unique inclusion of a bobble head doll inside each box.  So obviously, the boxes are fairly large.  Back when these came out, it was a novelty that collector's hadn't really seen before and the set was quite popular.  I remember seeing a dealer some years later that must have had 40-50 of these from the abundance of boxes that they opened.  Most of the figures are listed for between $15-25 but there are a few of the major stars of the time with a $40-50 price tag.  Of course I wasn't fortunate enough to pull a big name.  Can you guess who was in mine?

Here's a hint...

It's none other than former Edmonton Oiler, Mike Comrie.  Hooray!!  Too bad it wasn't a bobble head of his wife.  Come to think of it, she is kind of like a life size bobble head.  Okay, moving on.

As for the base cards, this is a 125 card set that once again features the mirror foil background printing.  The players this time, however, are featured in an action shot with the background blended into the foil and the player in the foreground.  The team name and player name and position are along the bottom stamped in gold foil.  The backs of the cards have a color scheme that goes with the team, there is a small headshot photo of the player in the upper corner (different from the front shot) and a brief bit of info about the player.  Although stats are summarized, they do show the previous years worth of information.

There are quite a few parallel versions of the base cards.  You will find randomly inserted into packs, Red at about 1 per box, Blue at about 2 per box, and Purple that come about 1 per case.  Although they are parallel, the mirror foil isn't what is colored, despite how cool that might have been.  Its the foil stamped team and player name that are the other colors.  Also, each parallel is serial numbered on the back, Red #/80, Blue #/240, and Purple...I don't really know.  They aren't listed.  There are examples of the Regular, Red, and Blue in the images above.

As for the Game Worn Jersey cards, they are all Quads.  There are a total of 36 and they feature four players from the same team on most cards, as well as some creative groupings on some of the higher numbers.  The main cards feature a silver border around the sweater pieces and are not serial numbered.  There is, however, a gold version that is numbered /30.  These are listed anywhere from 2-3 times their regular counterparts because of their scarcity at not quite 1 per case.

 Gold Parallel Jersey Version (Front & Back)

Regular Jersey Version (Front & Back)

As for inserts, Head First features players that have been recently drafted to their prospective teams.  These show up about 1 per box.  There are also Inside the Numbers cards which break down a players stats on the front and back and have a concentric circle design imprinted into the mirror foil background.  The backs are also a little different than the base card design.

Stephen Weiss Head First...of all the cards you have to be kidding me.

 

This is the Inside the Numbers insert.  I actually pulled two Haseks, not different cards either.  Yes, my friends...Insert duplicates!!

Post Season Picks fall about 1 per box and a half and have a a player on the front that is generally a role player come playoff time.  The cards are also mirror foil but have a two picture shot of the player in action and a headshot on the front with "Post Season Picks" imprinted into the foil.  Showstoppers is another all goalie set that falls about two per box with 20 cards total.  The backgrounds look like a mirror hockey net with the player on top.  These have a very clean looking design.  Finally, Stat Masters fall about 1 per case and the super rare 15 card set of Etched In Time are all serial numbered and fall about 1:289 packs. 

Overall, I think the set itself could have used some work in the design category but for my money, the inserts are top notch.  I like any set that features a goalie only insert and the Showstoppers are really well put together.  The Postseason Picks cards are really well done too, although my scan doesn't do them justice.  The Inside The Numbers cards I could have done without and the Heads Firsts seem to be lacking something but I'm not sure what exactly.  I think the GU cards are really well done and the inclusion of a short printed gold version makes them even nicer in my book.  Player selection is a bit iffy but anytime you get both Sedin's on a card, you are doing okay (still not a fan though).  The bobble head is a great concept but I'm a little disappointed in my player selection.  I was actually hoping to pull the Johan Hedberg which I have seen before in my LCS.  I wonder if he will trade Moose for Comrie straight up?  Hmmmm?

I say, great value box with insert appeal and novelty.  If you can get one under $35 pick one up.

Here are the vitals from the box.

Box Breakdown:

18 Packs/Box
5 Cards/Pack
90 Cards/Box + 1 Bobble Head Doll

I pulled:

76/125 Base Cards (61%)
3 Duplicates
6 Inserts - 2 Showstoppers (Thibault, Joseph); 1 Postseason Picks (Yzerman); 1 Head First (Weiss); 2 Inside The Numbers (both of them Hasek, which seems to be a mistake since I got 91 cards instead of 90...Weird!)
2 Quad Game Used Jerseys - #15 Montreal Canadiens (Berezin/Koivu/Theodore/Perreault); #27 Vancouver Canucks GOLD VERSION #'d/30 (D. Sedin/H. Sedin/Cloutier/Bertuzzi)
3 Parallels - 1 Red (Doug Gilmour); 2 Blue (Denis Arkhipov, Mark Recchi)
1 Bobble Head Doll - Mike Comrie

Video Box Break - - 2002-03 Pacific Hockey Hobby Box

Here is another box I picked up from the National when it was held in Chicago.  These came from the guys at Atlanta Sports Cards just like most of the boxes I purchased.  I decided since it was sooooo much fun, eh em...doing a video box break for the last one, why not try it again.

So with crappy webcam, no video recording ability, and shoddy editing skills I give you my break of 2002-03 Pacific Hockey.

Video Box Break - - 2001-02 Pacific Private Stock Titanium Hobby

The National is over and what a fun time it was.  I got to see lots of cool stuff, meet a lot of fun and interesting people, pick up some stuff I didn't think I would, and of course, add to my box break inventory.

All the times I have been on Atlanta Sports Cards website, filling up my cart with all sorts of boxes from an age where collecting was the farthest thing from my mind, and I never once actually completed my order.  I don't know why.  I just didn't.  Seeing that they were actually at the National show, I didn't think for one minute that they would have any of what I wanted.  Well I was wrong.  They had everything, and then some.

I've been a little burned out on new product (that's not to say I didn't get any) so I wanted to boost my collection a bit with early 00's stuff, namely 2000-01 through 2004-05.  The first box I purchased was 2001-02 Pacific Private Stock Titanium.

Not the best year for cards but the Titanium set had such a limited print run of rookie cards, that they all carry a pretty high demand and dollar value. Plus, this was a premium set at the time with only 6 packs and a "hit" in every pack. That hit is a dual sided GU jersey card of various teammates around the league.  There is also usually an insert card in each pack as well consisting of a Premier Date parallel, Hobby parallel, All Star, Rookie Team, Saturday Knights, or 3-Star Selection.

I decided to try my hand at another Video Box Break just because I am a glutton for punishment and really have no idea what I am doing.  So maybe the practice will help.  Check it out if you need to waste 12 minutes of your life on something.