The newest item for my personal collection has arrived!  After careful consideration, patience and building up a sizable amount of money in my paypal, I've finally added a key rookie card to my collection - the Larry Bird / Magic Johnson rookie card in BVG 8.5.  This has been a key card that I've had my eye on for quite some time, and the final cost was lower than what some of the copies have been selling for recently.  I've been slowly accumulating money from digital card sales, and wanted to really show some patience and wait to buy a bigger item for my collection.  I think this was well worth the wait, and it's in my favorite BVG format - 8.5, which still gets the silver!

What card are YOU saving up for?  Do you think you'll get enough saved to buy it by the end of the year?  What card do you think I'm saving up for next?

I've had some pretty decent luck with winning cool contests on Twitter.  There was the Starlin Castro 1/1 Allen & Ginter card from Topps during the National a few years ago, a Strasburg card (during his peak) from Beckett, the Boggs Autograph...and I recently won a RT contest for a box of Graded Greats Series 2.

If you're not familiar with Graded Greats (@GradedGreats on Twitter), they are self-described on their website as: "As Sports Card Enthusiasts our team has searched the country for a better way to bring the thrill of opening vintage cards and adding great graded cards to the process."  I remember seeing their posts during the Series 1 release, and began to see information about their Series 2 release when I did the RT contest to win a box.  Being a fan of graded cards (mostly BVG/BGS), I took a keen interest but also was a bit hesitant as they are not your typical brand name (i.e. Topps, Panini, Leaf, etc.). Winning this contest gave me a great opportunity to test out the product for myself and get more comfortable with the release.

Series 2 promised ONE graded rookie card of a HOF'er, plus 2 additional graded vintage cards and 1 vintage pack.  Here is the outcome of my box:

1st pack: '87D pack, '89B pack and an '84F pack (pretty cool RC classes: Mattingly, Strawberry, Griffey Jr., Maddux, Bo Jackson, etc.)

2nd pack: '89B pack, '87F pack and a '65T Mantle's Clutch HR card (my 1st vintage Mickey Mantle card - EVER!)

3rd pack: PSA 10 '88F Glossy Eddie Murray (sending this out to my buddy Matt on Twitter, @mattduck21 - HUGE Eddie Murray fan)

4th pack: PSA 9 '85OPC Rod Carew

5th pack: BVG 6 '74T Joe Morgan

6th pack: BVG 6.5 '78T Eddie Murray RC (also sending out to Matt, he'll give it a good home)

All in all, their normal retail price is $59 per box and I'd say I definitely got the value from it.  This is an AWESOME product if you're a graded card collector (key word = collector).  This is not a BIG, MOJO hit repack product like that company that was around a year or two ago and we haven't heard from since (:: cough, Heroes of Sports, cough ::).  This product seems built for collectors by collectors.  

I may give their product a try in the near future - the framework of their Series 3 release seems cool, as there is a 1:10 box chance at some pretty cool vintage cards that are currently at PSA for grading.  This is a great step forward in being more transparent about what hits / cards can be found in their product - which I think is always the biggest concern with repack companies.  Personally, I feel like the more you know about what may be IN your box, the more likely you are to buy.

Here's the link to Graded Greats if you have an interest: http://www.gradedgreats.com

My #WalletCard runs on Dunkin Donuts!

2014 Topps Tek was one of the hottest releases in 2014, and the cards were highly sought after by collectors at the time of release. I've tried to narrow my collecting focus, so purchasing a box just didn't make sense to me. A box of 2014 Topps Tek yields 8 cards, one of which will be an autograph, another will be a base parallel #'d to 99 or less. A box of 2014 Topps Tek is priced in D&A Card World for $72.95, and your autograph can range anywhere from a dollar bin scrub (highly likely) to a vintage or current superstar (much less likely).

After looking at the checklist, there were three PC guys that I collect (Pedroia, Garciaparra & Griffey Jr.) and a few other Boston Red Sox players in the set. Rather than risking $65-$75 on a box where I probably would get (at most) one card I'd want for my PC, I decided to take my $70 and see what i could get if I built my own custom "box" of Tek cards.

How did I do on my "box"? I have spent $63.06 so far ($8.75 of which is S&H), and here are the cards I've gotten:

Dustin Pedroia: Shattered Glass Base, Spiral Base, Gold Diffractor (#/99), Disco Diffractor (#/50) and Cloud Diffractor (#/25)

Ken Griffey Jr.: Spiral Base and Wave Base

Mike Napoli: Wave Base and Autograph

Nomar Garciaparra: Wave Base, Cracked Ice Diffractor (#/75), Tektonics Insert (#/50) and Autograph

I'm not a fan of doing "year in review" during the year you're looking to review, but I wanted to share my "Top 5" list of items that I added to my PC in 2014.  These are presented in no particular order:

1. BVG 8.5 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC

This one hit a few of my PC areas: Graded + Vintage + Rookie Card (especially 8.5's).  This is the first (in reverse order) of the key vintage HOF Rookie Cards and such an iconic card.  I'm psyched to add it to my collection, and you can re-live the addition via the original blog that I wrote about when I acquired it (Newest BVG Graded RC for my PC).

2. PSA 10 1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue Mike Greenwell

Again, this one hit a few of my PC areas: Graded + Red Sox + '90s Insert (bonus points for a PSA 10, would prefer a BGS 9.5).  I honestly can't believe that I own a 1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue - do you realize how insanely rare & expensive these cards were back in 1993??  Unreal, and again, you can relieve my acquisition via the blog post I made at the time (I've Never Owned One Before, So...).

3. BVG 5 1933 Goudey Rick Ferrell RC

Another great card that hit a few PC areas: Graded + Vintage + Red Sox + Rookie Card.  Pretty awesome addition, my oldest vintage graded card in my PC and one of the pillar Red Sox rookie cards.  Not a ton of these graded by BVG, so a BVG 5 is not too bad - only one 5.5 and one 6 graded above it by BVG and odds are I was never going to see either of those in my lifetime.  I'm super happy with the 5, it's beautiful and easily one of the top five PC cards that I added this year.

4. 2001 Greats of the Game Autograph #88 Hoyt Wilhelm

This one was a personal PC goal for me, getting an autograph of Hoyt Wilhelm.  You're probably wondering what the significance of Hoyt Wilhelm is, considering he's not a Red Sox player.  As a kid, my dad's nickname was Hoyt, after Hoyt Wilhelm.  He was one of his favorite players as a kid and my dad was always supportive of my collecting habit, even though he wasn't a collector himself.  As a result, I've had a little side PC of Hoyt Wilhelm cards that I've been slowly accumulating.  I'm not organized or keep a list of what I need, but I try to pick up his cards when I can find them on the cheap.

5. 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter Autograph #PGA Peter Gammons

I've been wanting to get a Peter Gammons autograph for awhile now.  He's one of my favorite baseball writers, a prominent figure in Boston sports and just seems like a cool, nice guy.  Plus, I'm a fan of the Allen and Ginter brand and the framed autographs are typically in great condition and grade well, so maybe some day I'll submit this to BGS for it's BGS 9.5 grade! :)

Well, those are my top five - what were you favorite PC additions to your collection in 2015!

Tim Wakefield and I pick up sushi for dinner.

Inspired by this blog post by @breakdowncards (on Twitter), I wanted to participate in the hottest new collecting trend - wallet card!  It reminds me of when I was a kid playing little league, I used to put a Wade Boggs card in my hat every year (in the little flip down part inside).  Also, while going down memory lane, I used to write the names and uniform numbers of the players on the Red Sox that season on the bottom of my brim (the green part).  Back on track, I was psyched to do the wallet card, but I really wanted to take time to think of the perfect card.  It took me a few days to think it over, but I am finally very happy with my selection.  My choice for my wallet card is...

2010 Topps National Chicle #22 Tim Wakefield

This is the PERFECT card for me, I've been obsessed with the image on this card from the moment that I saw it.  Tim Wakefield is one of my favorite Red Sox players of all time, the painting is outstanding and I love the knuckleballer's picture here where he's biting the ball & holding it with a knuckleballer grip.  It's easily one of the coolest baseball cards ever produced, at least in my eyes, and now it'll travel 

What is YOUR wallet card???

For whatever reason, I seem to find the best deals at the Aetna Hall card show in Newark, DE.  This is the third time I've gone, the first time I went I shared some of the great purchases that I made (see: Newark, DE Show Recap and New Set Needs!).  The second time I went there, I ended up meeting up with Stale Gum (@StaleGum on Twitter) but the show was a little slower that trip.  You know what they say, third time's the charm, or something like that.  Here is what I picked up at the show: 

1) My first stop was the customary "10 cards for $1" table with a ton of 2013 Bowman Chrome.  I picked up 8 Red Sox cards (Buttery, Light, Lin, De La Cruz, Owens, Marrero x3), a '08 UD Masterpiece I need for the set and a '93 Topps Finest Jose Canseco.  I got the Canseco because it's from the early '90s, it's Jose Canseco and it's a cool looking set.  No pictures for you here, pretty basic stuff.  TOTAL COST: $1

2) My next purchase was a pretty cool find.  Guy had a box of stuff, anything in a penny sleeve was $.25 and everything else was $1 each.  Picked up four $.25 cards: '91 UD Bagwell RC, '13 Archives Brock Holt RC, and two '14 A&G cards I need for the set (Walker RC & Griffey insert).  Then I hit up the $1 cards to find these basketball cards: '89F Jordan All Star Sticker, '89H Jordan, '92/93 Ultra All-Rookie Shaq & '93/94 TSC Drexler FF 1st Day Issue.  I used to be a heavy basketball collector around those years and you saw my blog the other day about never having owned a 1st Day Issue.  Anytime you can get older Jordan cards for $1 each, plus one of the premier Shaq inserts from that time & a 1st Day Issue - you pull the trigger!  Next up, the rookie cards: '83D Sandberg, '89B Griffey Jr., '91TT Giambi USA & '89UD Biggio - again, $1 each and they fit my RC focus right now, plus the Sandberg is in really good shape, probably BGS 8.5.  Next was the '90s inserts: '90UD Ryan Heroes montage card, '96F Lumber Company Griffey Jr., '93 Ultra All-Star Puckett & Bonds and '00 Ultra Swing King Chipper Jones.  I love the '92 & '93 Ultra inserts as I used to chase these guys like crazy back in the day, and they used to cost a fortune.  The Swing King was an AWESOME find - it's acetate which is very '90s and I never knew this insert set existed.  Needless to say I'll be hitting up Check Out My Cards to finish that insert set after I'm done writing this.  Lastly, I picked up some '13 Panini Pinnacle inserts, because they're very '90s and I never had a chance to check out the inserts until today - pretty cool stuff!  I think I'd like to crack a box of '13 Pinnacle if the price was right.  I picked up: Aces Kershaw, Swing for Fences Beltre, Team Pinnacle Strasburg / Nolan Ryan and Success Braun & Verlander.  At $1 each, may have over paid, not sure how much they are selling for but they are really cool cards and I'll likely try to chase these sets.  TOTAL COST: $19

3) The last purchase I made was some awesome vintage and '80s goodness.  Picked up the following goodies: '55B Eddie Waitkus (if you don't know why this is a cool card, check Chris Olds article on Beckett.com A Baseball Card With A Story To Tell), '70T Bill Buckner RC, '75T mini Steve Swisher (sending this one to Chris Olds at Beckett, @ChrisOlds2009 on Twitter), '81F Jeff Reardon RC, '81T Mookie Wilson RC, '81T Tim Raines RC, '82D Yount, '82T Kent Hrbek RC, '83T Yastrzemski, '84F Tony Fernandez RC, '84F Darryl Strawberry RC, '85F Eric Davis RC, '85F Terry Pendleton RC, '86F Andres Galarraga RC.  Plus I picked up two cards for my buddy Nick (@YanksandBeans on Twitter and owner of The Cardboard Dugout): '77T Cloth Thurman Munson & '13 A&G Paul O'Neill Relic w/pinstripe!  TOTAL COST: $20

Gallery of cards below, sorry for the quality but I'm too lazy to scan them today.