He's at it again: Another surprise box of cards shows up!

I said to my family earlier today, before checking the PO box, that I wasn't expecting anything, but that doesn't always mean there won't be something there anyway, and sure enough...what was waiting for me but another box of cards and stuff, all the way from Germany, and SumoMenkoMan!

If you have been following A Pack to be Named Later, you'll see that Ryan has been posting a lot of oddball stuff, random non-sports cards and some lesser-known sports like Sled Dog racing. Well, guess who now has most of those cards in his possession? If you guessed me, you guessed correctly!

There's actually some brand new sports for me in here, too...it's not every day that I can add a brand new sport...let alone more than one...in one day! I'm especially intrigued by the handball set, shown in the bottom right, as it's kind of a cross between basketball and hockey, from what little I know of it. (I know they were trying to recruit LeBron James to come play in their league at one point!)

An added bonus, most if not all of the people in these packs (minus the Beach Boys, a set I REALLY need to work on) will be all new for my collection. As you saw in my Blog Bat Around getting as many different people as possible is a project I'm working on.

It's going to take me a while to get into all these, because as is my style lately I'm spreading out everything...at least for the remainder of this year.

But it wasn't all cards...oh no..

German Chocolate! Legendary. These too will be parceled out slowly...but I know they are going to be good. as soon as I saw the customs form, and the contents of the box, my mind flashed to one thing...

Homer's "Land of Chocolate" fantasy when some Germans bought the power plant way back in season 3. (As an aside, I wish the Frinkiac gif generator could have gotten the whole scene, it's one of my favorites of that season)

And then there is this cool NBA/Spalding branded notepad. I have no idea where you'd ever find something like this, or what year it's from, but it's really cool. I'll probably keep it as a collectible rather than actually use it, to be honest. The David J. Stern signature impression dates it somewhere between 1984 and 2014, at least.

Thank you so much my friend, I still don't know how I got to be on the receiving end of such kindness, but I am forever grateful! 

Error Gallery: Printing Error

Printing errors can be a wide variety of different things. The most common is blobs of ink spread out over the card, but it's not the only printing error you can find.

1992 Racing Champions Bristol Motor Speedway

This one is not a duplicate, a rarity among my error collection. I believe it is the only NASCAR error I do not have a normal version of.

1991 Traks

 Note the blue ink runs at the top and bottom and most of left side.

1981 Topps #390

 The entire jersey and the name banner should be solid red, like his left sleeve and the area behind his last name. Card contributed to my collection by C2Cigars on the Trading Card Database.

1993-94 Hoops #77

 This Matt Bullard card was one of my earlier errors, coming from a repack in 1996.

1993-94 Upper Deck #28

 A subtle error. Note the line of ink that crosses the K in Oakley.

1996-97 Fleer #108

 I believe this was the first error I pulled from a pack, and began my error collection and fascination, which is still going on more than 20 years later.

1997-98 Ultra #56

 A run in the black ink. Note that it goes under the holofoil name.

2000-01 Fleer Tradition Glossy

 One of the few Errors in my collection I do not have a non-error example of. This is a large run in the maroon ink used for the border.

2000-01 Upper Deck Encore #17

 This set has quite a few ink runs, I have at least three in my collection, and still need non-error versions of all of them.

Empire Strikes Back #134

 A rarity in that I have two separate copies of this card with two distinctly unique errors. This one has a print flaw which shows up as red on the black and the blue almost totally missing.

Empire Strikes Back #139

 Obviously with the same flaw as the card above, there must have been a run where they did not print properly. While these are the only two I have, it's safe to say there are others out there.

Error Gallery: Improperly Cut

There are two kinds of improperly cut cards. The less common is when the cutting device used by the card company doesn't get the entire card, leaving a piece of another card present.

Interestingly, of the three versions of this in my collection, two come from 2001-02 SP Authentic.

1994-95 Skybox provides the third.

The more common cutting error is Diamond Cut. This was much more common in the 1970s, and many people consider this damage. It's not, though, it's a genuine error caused by the cards not being lined up properly when sent to the machine that cuts them. It's fairly rare but when you do see it in the 1990s, it's almost always from Upper Deck, and tends to run in waves.
I opened a box of 1993-94 Upper Deck Special Edition and got dozens of them, most of which are still awaiting scans.

Here's two examples from 1993-94 Upper Deck Special Edition and 1999-00 Upper Deck (flagship). The 1999-00 UD set is the most recent of these I've ever seen.

The last time a NASCAR race was postponed by snow...

Something very unusual happened today. The NASCAR Cup race from Martinsville, Virginia was postponed until tomorrow by snow. This isn't unheard of, but it's a pretty rare occurrence- the last time it happened was in March, 1993, and the race that was postponed was only the 4th I ever saw.

Since it was the 1990s and everything was great back then, the snowout actually got it's own card.

The front of the card shows Geoff Bodine's Bud Moore Engineering Ford under the car cover.  I'm not sure why nobody thought to close the garage doors, but it led to this great photograph and very memorable card, which is from 1994 Maxx Premier Series.



Just because it's relevant to the post, here is the card of Morgan Shepherd in victory lane after winning, card #269 from the same set:

I was new to the sport and kind of young, so I don't remember too much about that race, but I do remember seeing Morgan Shepherd winning, and I remember some of the on track action.

Amazingly, Morgan Shepherd- now 78 years old- still shows up for some of the Xfinity races, although the last time he was actually competitive was 1997. He holds the record for the oldest driver to start a Cup race. He and Derrike Cope are the only drivers left from 1993 when I started watching to even try to race, although neither have had a full-time ride since the late 1990s, and neither has won a race since Shepherd won in 1993.

Error Gallery: Two cards combined into one

 These are some of the more dramatic errors. Created when the sheets are not sent through the printing press in the proper order, you get the front of one card combined with the back of another- or the card goes through the foil machine incorrectly and gets stamped with another card's foil.

 When I originally got this one, out of a repack, I was sure it was two cards stuck together. Upon further examination, it was not- the front of the card was Loy Vaught, the back was Mark Price! This is from 1993-94 Topps.

 From 1996-97 Upper Deck, you have the front of Derrick Coleman,  but the back- and foil- of Elden Campbell. This one is interesting because you have the Lakers logo on the front, which was a dead giveaway that this one was an error. When turning it over, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was a mismatched card, rather than simply a foil error!

This one kind of hurt...these Hot Shots cards were pretty rare in 1996-97 Fleer Showcase. They were for sure a box hit, perhaps a case hit. This is from the time when creative diecutting was at it's peak...and you have multiple textures on the card as well. Premium stuff then and now. When I pulled Clyde, I was happy...but then I saw that it carried Joe Smith's name and foil. Most of the errors in my collection are duplicates, but this one is not. However, it was one of the first errors I was conscious of pulling from a pack of NBA cards myself, so there's that.

Interestingly, I have not seen any errors of this type ever from Press Pass in NASCAR.

I hope I'm not making an "error" by publishing this at 7:30 on a Friday night...

Cards from Kin

I got a somewhat surprise mailing from the similarly named but probably not related Kin Kinsley yesterday, of I Feel Like A Collector Again and Bean's Ballcard Blog fame. (My family name only had the G added circa 1905, so it can't be ruled out that we might be distant cousins)

If he hadn't told me it was coming, it would have been a total surprise, total total because I can't remember giving him my address before, although it's possible I did and just forgot...enough people have it that it's not hard to get though, it's even posted on (a members only) section of the NASCAR card forum.

There was an eclectic, good mix of cards in the mailer-

Two promo panels- one a three-card, three sport panel, the other a two card panel. The 3-card panel is on record as my Card of the Day for March 20th so you will see a scan of it in the post for the month. Bird Averitt is clearly enjoying the photography process.
In photo 2, probably my favorite card is the Howlet Monkey. I'm a big fan of monkeys, though I don't think I've ever mentioned that on the blog. (although maybe I did as I already had a tag for them on here) The Shane Doan pre-NHL card is my first from the set. I don't think I realized the Pinnacle set had different photography in the American and Canadian versions until just now. The "card" showing Dirk is actually a pocket schedule- a rarity to add to my collection. This is my first for the Mavs. I only have about 10 total. The Player of the Day promotion was not done locally so I am glad to get them. And is there anything that says 1970s more than a card of John Travolta combing his hair?

If there is, I don't want to know.

The Saturday Night Fever set is also new to my collection...getting two new sets in a single mailing, especially one that wasn't a hashed out trade, is actually pretty rare.

Thanks Kin, it's much appreciated! Now that I have your address, don't be too surprised to find a Blackhawk or two winging it's way to your collection....eventually! (Speed is not my strong suit)

I had planned on doing my whole Error Gallery series consecutively, but had to take a quick break to get a thank you post up...what you have seen is just the beginning.

Error Gallery: Double Print

Here's another pretty rare error. I've shown this one before, I saved it from being thrown away by a member of the Trading Card Database.

Don't look too long, or you may find your eyes going different directions!

Interestingly, the front of the card was fine. You couldn't tell there was anything abnormal at all.

Error Gallery: Missing Side

Perhaps the second rarest error in the NBA, less so in other forms of cards, it seems. In the NBA, I have 2, that's all, and only one of which has been scanned. (I'm less than halfway through scanning my errors- so someday you can expect updates).

Make sure, though, that if you are buying one of these, it's an actual error card, and not a card somebody cut off a box, as there are some boxes that have a an image of the card in standard size on the packaging.

I pulled this one from a pack myself, so I know it's legit.

1995-96 Hoops, NNO

This card is extra thin, as well. Clearly, multiple sheets were stuck together during the printing and production stage.

The other card in my collection with this error is from 1994-95 Topps Embossed, which was made of two halves glued (assuming, I've never taken any apart) so one missing half is not totally unexpected.

Introduction to Error card collecting, and Printed Fold

I originally wrote this up as a guide for new collectors on a Basketball card collecting Facebook group back in December 2015. With some modification, I'm pasting it here and will give each kind of error it's own post. Also keep in mind that the rarity refers to NBA and NASCAR only. I am aware some errors are more common in baseball.

Production Errors are a specialized aspect of the hobby which takes luck and persistence to chase, as errors by nature are usually unique, but not always. I once opened a box of 1995-96 Hoops Series II where almost every single card was an error. There are 11 basic kinds of production error, some of which are easy to find, some of which are incredibly rare.
In order of most common to least common:
1. Off-center, with part of another card. These are not as common as they once were, but common to find in the 1990s. I have never found one in the Panini era. I have over 100 of these in my collection, including multiple sets with dozens of them.
2. Caught in packaging. Some people consider these damaged, but that isn't correct. The cards come out of packs this way, and in quite a few cases they were not actually caught in the pack but didn't cut properly, both are referred to as caught in packaging. This is just as much a production error as any of the others on this list.
3. Missing foil. Foil first appeared on cards with 1991-92 Upper Deck, which had a foil hologram on the back of each card. Almost instantly cards without foil started to appear (and yes, there are cards from UD known missing the hologram). These can be spectacular, which I will show in future posts, to just having a missing stripe. There are cards known missing all foil and some known just missing parts of foil.
4. Missing or mis-applied UV coating. The shiny UV coating on cards can be applied wrong just like foil can be. These are the 4th most common in my collection, but I got an entire blaster of 2001-02 EX where every card had the UV coating applied wrong. This is the hardest error to capture in a scan.
5. Mis-aligned foil or effects. Each card that has foil, or other various effects, can have them mis-aligned. This also includes cards with the wrong card's foil applied. I have a 2009-10 Upper Deck Jameer Nelson card with Baron Davis's foil, for example. Mis-aligned foil is a common error.
6. Assorted printing error. This can be many different things, but the most common in a run in the ink.
7. Miscut. There are two different kinds of miscut cards. One is when the card is not lined up properly when it is being cut from the printing sheet, leaving the card not quite a proper rectangle. The other is when the card is normal shaped, but includes a small portion of another card. I will post both examples.
8. Two cards combined. This is a rare error- I know of less than 10 that exist total, I have two of them in my collection. This is where the front of one card is a different card than the back.
9. Single side printed. Another very rare error, this is where one side of the card is printed like normal, and the back of the card (or front) is totally blank. I know of only 6 that exist, 2 of which I pulled from packs. NOTE: some sets have blank backed versions that are not errors, but part of the packaging that has been trimmed down to card size.
10. Printed fold. These are the most rare errors...I know of a grand total of 1, that is in my collection. I've never even seen another version online. It's so rare that I have never seen an NBA card with this error, the example I will show is a NASCAR card. This happens when the paper that makes the card is fed into the machine that does the printing and it's not flat.
As a bonus, you can occasionally find a card with more than one of these errors occurring on the very same card. They are rare but not impossible to find.

 I know that most people who read Cardboard History probably know most of the above already, but I always meant to share this in a post here. I didn't expect it to take me 3 years to do so.

First- one of the most unique errors I have, is Printed Fold. It's a rarity for sure- I didn't even see one in person until my 25th year in the hobby, and it remains the only one I've ever seen. I got it in a lot of NASCAR cards I purchased from a member of the Trading Card Database who was no longer collecting the sport.

2004 Press Pass Dale Earnhardt Victories #32

You can see it on the left side of the card, and it runs from top almost to bottom. Amazingly, the version I have is from a tin-issued set, so I've never seen a pack pulled example.

Stay tuned because I'm going to run through each different kind of error I list in that countdown with it's own post.

The Kindness of Strangers - Playing catchup with 7 months worth of cardboard gifts

I have to apologize to everyone you are going to see mentioned in this post. Some more than others, as I'm so far behind...it's actually embarrassing.

The Kindness of Strangers series is something I started a while back to thank and honor the people who sent me stuff just out of the kindness of their hearts- not as part of a trade or purchase. But, I soon got backlogged, then it started piling up worse and worse, and now I've got more than half a year's worth of people who need to be thanked. I'm going to try and cover everyone in here, but if I miss somebody- it's not a slight, it's me being overwhelmed and making a mistake. I am only human, unfortunately.

I'm going to try and go chronologically so the people who sent the soonest show up first in the post.

First up comes Herbinator on the Trading Card Database. He sent me 39 cards all the way back on September 2nd, which arrived just before the craziest week of my life, when I took over 4000 pictures in a 8 day span. 30 of the 39 were from the 1991-92 Skybox Canadian Mini set, which I didn't know about until I saw them on the Trading Card Database. Not having ever been to Canada, and not yet collecting the NBA in 1991-92, these had totally slipped through my attention. As I found out, they were sealed in individual bags and placed in potato chip packages. All of them that he sent me were still in the original bags, some still containing potato chip residue, but I cut them all out. Instead of trying to describe the size of them, I happened to have the full-size card of one of them out and on my table right then when they arrived so I photographed them together.

When they are referred to as Mini, it's not an exaggeration!
The remainder of the cards he sent me were from the 1988-89 Esso NHL Superstars set. These are kind of unusual in that they have adhesive backs.

Next comes C2Cigars, who isn't really a stranger any more as I actually met him at a car show, totally randomly. Let me tell you, it's kind of a weird feeling when somebody you've never met recognizes you and calls you by name, but it was cool. and I do use a photo of myself as my profile picture on the Database, so it's not like I'm hard to ID. Chuck had sent me a cool error card that actually crossed paths- he put it in the mail, then met me at the car show before it arrived!

I may not be a huge baseball guy but I do love error cards, and from 1963, this is the oldest error in my collection!

I can't remember if the next one was a gift or a trade, but Hittinaway on the Database sent me three cards which arrived on September 27th.
Here's one of them, which is kind of important to me- I am a direct descendant of King John. (Also about half of the people who caused the Magna Carta in the first place, and pictured here). At some point I'm going to do a cardboard genealogy post.

Next up was Adam of Cardboard Clubhouse, who sent me the entire Guardians of the Galaxy 2 IMAX promo set, which is an oversize 10 card set apparently given out at IMAX theatres. 9 of the 10 cards form a big poster, with the 10th being a checklist. Due to the magic of PhotoScape, I put all nine puzzle pieces together to create the poster puzzle.

I had originally created this when they arrived back on September 27th, but lost it. I had to recreate it for this post...would not have been a problem if I wasn't so much of a slacker!

Now, moving on to October, comes a package from Chris of The Collector. Chris had actually sent me two packages of cards before I sent him one, and this is the second- I think I covered the first some previous post. I can't remember. The highlight of this one, and the one that got the ball rolling this time, was another error card from a sport I don't actively collect, this time football.

The 1992-93 Ultra design is one of my all-time favorites, and as I am getting older, I'm appreciating it more and more. Luckily for me, Fleer used the same design with some minor differences in 4 different sports. This one went through the foil-stamping machine in the wrong position. Misapplied foil is the second most common error, and it's always visually stunning. Interestingly, I think this may be the first New Orleans Saints card I've ever shown on Cardboard History, and I'm writing it up the night that team owner Tom Benson passed away. That's a total coincidence, as I've been pushing this off since September.
Another highlight of Chris's package was this Wayne Gretzky card- which Chris actually apologized for! It's slightly bent...but I don't mind. I'd always rather have a damaged card than no card at all, and this one is my first Wayne Gretzky card issued while he was with the Oilers! It's not my first card of him with that team- but my first of him from when he was still with that team. I always put more "weight" on cards issued during the time they are depicting, over post-career retrospective cards.

Now, this next person...I owe a huge apology to. Joel Freedman, who I've mentioned before, is not a blogger but does read some of them sometimes. Back in October...he sent me a 21 pound box of random cards! I learned a very valuable lesson here but I still felt like a heel. I wanted to thank him and say how many new cards and people and sets he contributed to my collection...but, as I am the world's worst time estimator, it took me longer than I anticipated, and I knew I couldn't wait any longer and went to send him a thank you message...but by that point he had already sent me a message asking if it showed up. I felt like a fool. I still do. The final tally? 1248 new cards, 5th most I've ever gotten in a single day! 47 new NHL players, and 15 new sets, all of which came from my favorite era in the hobby. (They covered 1984-96)
I really, truly feel terrible that it took me so long to let him know, and I've made sure that I wouldn't do anything that way again- which is why you've already seen the two most recent large "Kindness of Strangers" mailings, from SumoMenkoMan and Jon, respectively.
I have not scanned most of what he sent me yet. A lot of it was baseball and football, which are all well-covered on the Trading Card Database, so I set them aside to scan later. That time has not gotten here yet, but I did scan a couple.

 Wouldn't it be funny if this guy's middle initial was N? Alan N. Zinter? Get it?

Love the ads on the boards, and his name being lit up on the scoreboard was cool too, so I had to scan this one pretty much first.
Here's a football card I scanned that he sent me, just because it was on top of the stack when I stacked them up. OK, the fact that it was mostly green played a little role.

It wasn't just baseball and football, though, there was NHL and NBA, and even a couple NASCAR in the mix too. Joel has been the biggest contributor to my Names Project for baseball and football, by the way. Thank you again, Joel!

Next up comes Shane from Shoebox Legends. Shane actually sent me a big package, but I only opened one of the team bags, saving the rest for my 2018 Card of the Day project- and I have not even touched them yet! (I may have set aside too many cards for that, but I'd rather have that problem then not enough). In that one team bag, Shane sent along 49 new NHL cards for my collection. Here's just a couple that I scanned.

Most of the cards, already done on the Database, got set aside to scan later, which again, has not happened yet.

Next came a 4-card mailing from Doe MG of Now and Zen and the Trading Card Database. She has been a little quiet lately, hope everything is OK. Unfortunately, I can't show any scans because I have not scanned the cards yet- they were all done on the Database and I filed them away for future scanning, not remembering that I needed them for a post. Big DUH on my part! I've been doing a lot of stuff with 900 count boxes and they (and one of the other cards below) got mixed in accidentally...there are about a dozen full 900 counters they could be in. Eek. I know that I could start looking for them, but I don't want to push this post back any longer. I'll find some way to work them in when I get them out again.

On the same day I got a box from Ranford Fan on the Trading Card Database. The self-described "Crazy Canadian" is a regular on the forum there and it's actually because of him that I got into the NHL. He started a thread about the Golden Knights' logo, and I wanted to see it so I put on NHL Network and got hooked, The rest as they say is history! Well, he sent me some hockey cards and some other cards I wasn't expecting, like some Superman cards and some NHRA cards...

But most of what he sent me was NHL, of course, and all of it was promos- mostly from the National Hockey Card Day's Canadian exclusives, which being in the USA I don't have access to, but also an even rarer promo-

These Heritage Classic cards were only available at the outdoor game held just weeks before I became a fan of the sport. They came in clear cellophane, which I of course opened to get at the cards, but there is a rare Jesse Puljujarvi that neither of us have that you had to do something at the game to get...but we don't know what. There's pretty much zero chance I would have ever even known they existed if he didn't send them to me, so I think they are my favorites from that mailing.

Next comes a single card mailing from jmiller4 on the Trading Card Database. He pulled an error card from the 2017 Topps baseball set, and was going to toss it but I claimed it. I forgot to scan it so no scan either, it's somewhere in one of my "To be scanned" boxes, so when I do, it will appear in a future Error Gallery post.

Now in December, I got a Christmas Card from Angus of Dawg Day Cards. Inside was my first card from 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee, and two from 1935's Player's Sea Fishes!

Cool stuff, I love the tobacco era cards as is well documented! And my new-found fondness for the NHL has taken up about half my posts since the start of 2017, if not moreso.

There were a couple I didn't cover because the sender has asked to remain nameless, but it's somebody from the Database.

That concludes 2017....and overall, that's 1448 new cards added to my collection between September and December 2017...just as gifts from fellow collectors!

The new year, and the current year, have also seen cards rolling in to me. Before the first week of the year, the same anonymous Database member had sent me 7 cards...C2Cigars and Switzr1 on the Database both sent me cards for my 2018 Card of the Day Project, both of which I have not finished going through yet.
CrazieJoe, SumoMenkoMan, Scribbled Ink, Celticwolfco, Jason German, Jon from A Penny Sleeve For your Thoughts, all have sent me cards just because they are good people, but I've shown them all already. (Well, not ALL all, but each mailing has been covered, either in specific posts or in my Card of the Day monthly recaps)

The one from this year I didn't cover yet is rmpaq on the Trading Card Database. He sent me a PWE that had some 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee hockey, and my first issues of the 2008-09 Toys R Us Power Players adhesives.
I had no idea they existed, but I am happy to have them, and one of them was even my first card of the guy. Eric Perrin. (On that note- I'm really sad that TRU is closing. More on that in a future post)

Already in 2018 I've added 120 new cards to my collection that came as gifts from fellow collectors, and the number is going to skyrocket as I still have most of the boxes that Ryan/SumoMenkoMan sent me ahead of me...plus cards from Angus, Shoebox Legends, CrazieJoe and more, all stashed away to make sure my project of getting at least one new card every day of the year this year is a success. Some of the cards I've got stashed away have been in my possession since 2015, and I'm sure I've forgotten who sent them all to me, actually!

I really do thank everyone who has sent me stuff, from one card PWEs all the way up to 10 hobby box mailings, both of which have happened to me in the past 7 months. This hobby is filled with some really great people, and I'm not sure what I've done to be on the receiving end of such kindness, but I am eternally grateful! I always say, if more people were like card people, the world would be a better place.