More Card Shop Booty

No, not THAT booty. Like pirate booty. Treasure. Trinkets. Valuables.

These valuables came out of more of the half-price packs that were on sale, in order to clear out inventory. This time: 2009 SP Authentic. Almost all of the packs were still in the box, and I'm allowed to hold the packs, though I don't do "pack-searching" by any stretch of the imagination. I tried that once, at Tar-jhay, and it was a complete failure. But with the SP, I thought I could distinguish between the dummy cards, which are getting thicker and thicker, and the By-the-Letter autographs. So, out of seven packs, I came up with these three finds:

Pretty good haul, I'd say. AAARRRR! Um, sorry. I couldn't resist. A Trevor Crowe BTL autograph, a Ryan Braun BTL autograph, numbered 10/10!, and a redemption for a rookie BTL autograph of David Patton of the Cubs. I'd say I got my money's worth!

Weird thing about these BTL autos, though. What do they spell. I now have two Crowes, a "U" and an "S", neither of which is in his name! I think that the higher-numbered versions spell "SP AUTHENTIC," but what about the Braun? "R" is in his name, so maybe the lower-numbered versions spell the names.

Additionally, there is no mention in the Beckett guide (sorry, but I use it for trading) of a lower-numbered version of the BTL autos. The Braun listed is also out of 65, I think, so what is this version? It is gold-trimmed, but there is no mention of it.

Eat Your Hearts Out, Night Owl and GCRL!

...or make me an offer I can't refuse.

I bought the redemption for this at a CollectorFest for $6, I think, and I just got it in the mail today. I've got three of these now: Masterson, Samarzdja and Kershaw.

WBC Redemption

My WBC redemption came in the mail yesterday. (It's a pretty good week for mail when you get two Sweet Spot autographs and a WBC refractor in the mail, all for free!) Ever since reading the ESPN article on Yu Darvish, I've wanted to get a card of his.

This is my first Yu Darvish card.

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These refractors are difficult to scan with correct color. His jersey and glove are a deeper blue, but the skin tones and reds look pretty good.

Sweet (Spot) Redemption

When I joined the UD Heroes box break over at Jawdy's Basement, I was hoping to get something good for my Indians collection. I did pretty well with the regular break, getting a Vizquel relic, but the big hit for me, and maybe for the entire break, was the Sweet Spot dual signature redemption of Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. 

Along with the three other packages from Phungo, the Ghost of CS, and Dubbs was my card from Upper Deck. 

As has been discussed recently, Upper Deck needs to work on their pen selection for these autographs, since in ten years we all may have Great Disappearing Autographs. The ink is certainly fading from blue/black to purplish. 

Even so, this is one way cool card. I've never seen one in person, and the ball material actually feels leathery, although I'm certain that it is not a game-used ball. (Wouldn't that be cool?!) I like how the card is designed to hold the piece from the ball. And it is one of only 15! #13 to boot, Joshua's favorite number!

Instantly, this is near the top of my favorite cards list.

Topps Does It Again!

Well, Topps did it to me. They didn't have the card that I got for a redemption, so they sent me a card with a commensurate value. Hmmm, does it really? Some cards, while they might be the same "value," have more or less emotional value. Wouldn't you rather have an auto of a star than a superfractor auto relic DNA card of the assistant left field ball girl?

Here is what I got in the mail yesterday:

And here is what I got instead:

What do you think? Is this fair compensation? If I offered this Pawelek card as a trade for a Koby Clemens auto, would you take it?