Thursday, December 11, 2014

I've been busy...but it's all card-related

It's been a while since I posted, but I have been working on a project I've been putting off for a few years, and that is posting my duplicates to my tradelist on the Database. It took a long time, because I have nearly 10,000 duplicates...more than some people's collections. (I have been very lucky to build a great collection). The cards I went through are just the ones I typed into my Excel file years ago- 2012 I think. (based on the fact that the last thing typed in was early 2012 cards). But it was frustrating, because so many cards were damaged- nearly if not equal to what wasn't damaged. I did get the majority of them second or third hand (or more) and it seems most people don't really care enough to treat their cards well. Many had bad corners, many had scratches, most had both. Some had water damage, creases, or some combination of all the above.  I now have three boxes of cards I deem untradeable. The cards entered into the Tradelist on the Database are cards that are in excellent shape- cards that you wouldn't need to look for a replacement for, like the just came out of a pack.

It was frustrating work, but not without rewards. I discovered at least 5 variations that I didn't realize I had both of. Possibly more, I won't know until I get my collection out and cross check them. I scanned the fronts in 2009-10 but many of the variations are on the back. My paper listings, which I will detail in time, only show me if I have an example of the card- there is usually no way for me to know if there are variations, let alone which one I have, unless I get both at the same time, which has happened.
here are two examples of variations that I discovered in my duplicates stash, in both cases the corrections (on the right) were in my duplicate stash, and the error was in my collection previously.
1991 Traks #134 Allen Bestwick. This set I believe has the most error and variations of any NASCAR set, with at least 11 different cards having at least 2 variations.
The only difference is the color his name is written in.

This one is a true error, more than the above, which is more of a variation. They misspelled Musgrave as "Mugrave" on the first print, and corrected it later.
And then there's the main reason to maintain a tradelist...trading! I have made three trades, and have another proposed, all since my last post. Two are with the same person, and once the package arrives to me, I will have both sent and received more than 100 cards from this one person. That's a lot- I normally don't succeed in making many trades for a few reasons- mainly that I only trade duplicates, without exception, and I mostly do (Have and want) base cards, which a lot of people just simply can't be bothered with. But occasionally I'll meet someone who needs some of the cards I have, and a trade can be made. (I have over 100 completed trades on Trader's Retreat but none in years, and more than 25 on NUTS, the NASCAR exclusive trading board. These stats date back to back to 2003. The trades I made this month were on NUTS and the Database).
The 1st trade yielded me 78 new cards, 68 of which are NASCAR, the rest being NBA, baseball (sort of...) and Olympics. Some of the NASCAR sets I hadn't gotten any new cards from since 2004! I will take me a few days to scan all of them, but there are some that stand out- mainly the three that completed sets for me! I love to complete sets. Completing three in a day is a big deal, it's only the third or fourth time since I started keeping my paper listing in 1998 that it has happened! (I used to remember that sort of thing for sure, but now I can't...)
2007 Press Pass. A 120 card set, I got a box for Christmas but came up a few cards short. I acquired most of them over the years but came up one card short- #73, Jeff Gordon's car.
2012 Press Pass. A 100 card set, the standard for Press Pass for the past several years- too small to really cover the sport. I did this one mostly through retail. I had been 2 short.
2010 Eclipse...a 90 card set, I did this one the hard way- through retail and trading. Not a single card in this set came to me from a hobby pack. I really didn't care for the cards when they were introduced, but now I kind of like them. The canvas texture is unique and interesting. I had been 4 short.
Oddly, two of the cards that completed sets were #73. The trade also got me to within 1 card short on 2014 Press Pass. I need only #80, Kevin Harvick, to complete the set. (That includes the rare #0 card, which I do have)

In the time since my last post, I also received two RAOK, or Random Acts of Kindness.
The first was 9 cards from 2015 Press Pass Cup Chase, the hobby version. I would not have gotten any of these otherwise, as the hobby box is too expensive. I knew these were coming. Here is an example of the hobby card with the retail card, hobby on the left.
The hobby version is foil and has a Cup Chase logo on the card front. I actually prefer the retail cards.

The second RAOK was a big surprise, as I did not know it was coming- just a gift from a friend! While I got quite a few cards in the group, these three are my favorites, three short prints from 2009 Premium. They are printed with a really cool foil pattern which is not really captured in the scan.
Now, the "Sort of Baseball" cards I mentioned...Topps usually includes some historical subjects in the Allen & Ginter release...so many that I've even debated purchasing some packs even though roughly 75% of the cards would be baseball players. I've added most of the historical subjects to my wantlist on the Database, and these three are the first I've added to my collection.
Now, the question is, do I sort them with my small baseball collection, or with my non-sports collection? I have not decided yet. I'm open to input!
 
 
As always, thanks for reading!




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