Another bulk card acquisition

The things in this picture may look familiar to ONE of you out there but to the rest, let me try to explain in the best way I know how...a long, drawn-out, brain drain of a blog post.

I have been on a strange kick these past couple years with my collecting.  I have had my ups and downs just like everyone out there but a couple years ago (or a year, I don't even remember anymore) I fell off my somewhat disciplined collecting wagon and bought a big collection.  It was what was left of two former dealers that had overextended themselves in the late 90s and early 2000s and simply couldn't hang on anymore.  Of course, they were both from Denver so I can't really say how much Broncos and Rockies stuff is in there (but it is A LOT!!!) but nonetheless, it increased my collection 20 fold.  I even attempted to start a blog just about that collection.  That part hasn't come to fruition.  Neither has the goal of unloading it within a year.

About 8 months ago, I picked up another, lesser collection from a guy trying to make some cash during a stint with unemployment.  I made him a decent offer and ended up on the receiving end of another (14) 3500 count boxes of stuff.  There is a ton of basketball stuff in these boxes from what I can tell.  Very few hockey cards, some football, and a decent amount of baseball; but TONS of basketball.  Since I don't follow the NBA, nor collect basketball cards, and basically lost interest after my "heroes" Barkley, Malone, Jordan, and Bird retired, I really have been unmotivated to sort through these.

Fast forward to about 6 months ago, same scenario (unemployment thing) only this time it was for a large, three-row shoebox (are they still called that?) full of hockey memorabilia and autograph cards (I take that back, all but one...there was a Mark Sanchez Rookie Jersey in there too).  Finally...HOCKEY STUFF!!  Again, this is all cardboard I didn't need but what fun it was to sort through? I found some rare Guerin and Jagr GU cards in there as well as some interesting cards from sets I never even knew existed.

April...I think...came another collection.  This time it was another dealer collection from a guy who only did shows and weekend swap meets.  A few years ago he decided to call it quits and started to dump everything.  That was, of course, in a bad financial time for lots of collectors and he couldn't get what he wanted for it.  So he hung on for a while until now when he found a buyer.  Then somehow I ended up with it through a third party transaction and the guy still didn't get what he wanted for it.  This collection is much more sorted and organized than the previous ones but there are also 20 Home Depot cardboard moving boxes (you know the 20x20x18 ones?) full of various sizes of individual count boxes...all marked, numbered, and apparently sorted.  I haven't even begun to pick this one apart yet.

Which brings me to the photo above (I might even be forgetting something in here too).  As many of you know, Voice Of The Collector, and co-host of the internet based Cardboard Connection Radio, Rob Bertrand put out an appeal to the blogging community not so long ago to help him cut his collection down so he could refocus on what he really wanted to go after.  I, being the "high roller" that I now appear to be, piped up on the hockey cards, we worked out a deal, and now I am the proud owner of what you see above.

We have a complete base set of 2005-06 Upper Deck Hockey, featuring a large array of inserts (over 100 in fact) and game used cards, as well as a huge chunk of the Young Guns intact (no, Crosby and Ovechkin aren't there but I still went for it).  I had this on my set needs list but never actually got around to adding what I wanted.  Now, my work is definitely been diminished.

We have a mostly complete 2006-07 Upper Deck Hockey set (about 30 cards or less short), again complete with a large array of inserts (over 30) and game used cards with a big pile of Young Guns to go with them.  I'm not sure I have the missing ones since I don't have a ton of 2006-07 stuff but I'm sure I have a few.

There is also a 2004-05 SP Authentic Hockey base set with a few of the All-Worlds thrown in.  I didn't have any cards from this set at all before getting these.  In fact, I had never even seen them before.  2004-05 was one of those voided years in collector's heads because of the lockout.  There were only a handful of sets produced by ITG, Upper Deck, and Pacific at the time.  I wouldn't mind finding some of those Young Guns Legends SPs from the flagship Upper Deck set though.

And finally, we have an almost complete base 2010-11 SP Authentic base set with, (even though I already knew, I'm just now realizing) a bunch of the Essentials SPs, a couple Future Watch cards and some HoloFX cards.  I have this set completed less 2 cards, already.  But having another one isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I may even have the missing cards in my doubles since I bought a couple of boxes of these last year trying to get those last 2 cards. 

Basically, this gives me at least two more Upper Deck flagship sets to add to my set needs list as well as a ton of inserts and GU cards that I may or may not hang on to.  Another cool thing is that apparently Rob is just like me when it comes to storing sets, in that he cuts up the box labels and affixes them to the boxes.  I bet 40% of hockey collectors do the same thing.  We should do a poll.

It is all great stuff and I am glad I now have it in my collection.  Thanks again to Rob over at VOTC!!  I really appreciate the opportunity to take this off your hands and help you toward your next collecting goal.

Some PC Pickups By Accident

So I've had quite a few opportunities, as most of you already are aware, to purchase larger collections from ex-dealers and collectors that have bailed on the hobby.  Most of them have been turned down but occasionally I lose my ability to make rational judgements and pull the trigger.  Piles, and piles, and seemingly endless piles of cards, cases, boxes, and albums have been piling up all around the house as I attempt to dissect that last large collection I acquired.

Of course if another one like this came my way, I would politely decline and walk away.  Of course I value my sanity and potentially my health (considering my wife could kill me in my sleep) so the logical answer is no thank you.  Of course that's why I failed to listen to those voices in my head and I went with my gut once again.

This time, it wasn't a 40 ft. moving truck full of stuff though.  It was just one box.  One, singular, unitary shoe box (not the kind that stores shoes).  One shoe box filled with GU and Autos.  A fellow collector was in need of some scratch since, like many of our friends and loved ones, has been out of a job for a while and cards don't pay bills or put food on the table.  So, as an act of humanity toward fellow man (and collector), I helped a guy out.  Plus...400 GU/Auto cards for well under a buck a piece isn't a bad deal. 

Eventually I will start to catalog them all and share them with the masses, but for now, I just wanted to share some PC cards that ended up being in there and I didn't know it.  Three in particular...

 2000-01 UD NHL Legends Legendary Game Jersey J-ML

It is always nice to be able to pick up a Lemieux GU on the cheap.  Usually when you see his stuff at a shop, online, or at a show, it is always priced at 4-5 times what I want to pay for it.  This one is quite nice despite the plain black swatch.  And a NHL Legends card is fitting today as Lemieux was immortalized in bronze on the concourse area outside Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh today.  They held a ceremony around noon and unveiled the statue which features Mario in his patented "split the defender" move which he made quite famous. Here is the video in case anyone wanted to see.

 2003-04 Beehive Beige Border Game Used Sticks BE-35

Honestly, until I opened this box, I was unaware that these even existed.  This set eluded me (although I do have some singles here and there) somehow.  Probably never seen it because I wasn't actively engaged in teh hobby or in procuring any more Jagr.  I was still pretty jaded at that point about him leaving for the Capitals for some beads and small pox infested blankets.

The cards look really cool, in my opinion.  The GU piece is of a game used stick that was cut down or shaved and die cut into the Beehive logo with the "Bee Hive" stamp across it.  They aren't serial numbered but considering that I haven't seen these at all, I doubt there are many out there (and if there are, they are probably in collections...just speculating).  These were issued in Beige Borders, Red Borders, and Blue Borders.

2000-01 Private Stock Game Used Gear #89

I have quite a few of these already but not the Jagr.  I've seen this with a black swatch a bunch on Ebay but I have never won the auction.  Now I don't need to worry about it anymore.  Too bad this wasn't the Patches version numbered out of 388.  Those were a much harder pull back in the day and I only remember ever seeing one cross my path.  At the time it was $60...way too pricey even then.  The card itself isn't very exciting.  It's kind of plain and unassuming but nonetheless, it goes well in my PC.