Completed 19 sets in one day! What's the longest you've chased a card?

I could have titled this COMC bonanza...June 22nd, 2016 is a date that is going to go down in history for me, as I completed 19 sets...and one 220 card parallel, which is just about the same as completing a major set!

I was gifted some money and instead of being a responsible adult, I put it all towards COMC's Spring Cleaning sale. The cards added to my collection will spawn several posts- some of them will even be combined with the last COMC order I made back at the start of May, the one I posted about titled "What dreams are made of". I'm getting backlogged here! But that's not a bad thing at all.

This post is JUST going to be about the cards that completed sets. It's my new personal record, and here's a collage of all 20 of them, counting the parallel, followed up by each card and some notes on each one.

This one makes me wonder, what's the longest time you've hunted one card?

For me, this one is it. When I created my paper listing in 1998, I already had all the other cards from this set. I have been actively chasing this one for 18+ years! Somebody on the Beckett forum once told me that they had it but wouldn't send it to me because it "wasn't worth the effort". (Any wonder I no longer post there?) The long hunt is finally over, and I finally got it!

1994-95 Topps Embossed #57

The first card out of the box completed 1992-93 Topps Archives. This is the first set where I completed a parallel before I completed the base set. I purchased the Factory set, which has a special gold foil logo, back in 1996. It was likely the first NBA set I ever completed, although it didn't count on my list of completed sets as it was a parallel. I had been 5 cards short on the base set for quite some time, then last year I traded for two on the Database, this year I traded for two more, and just broke down and bought this Ewing.

1992-93 Topps Archives #64

1987-88 Fleer was the second set of the "modern era" (I break it with the Star company sets) and I was one card short. This set also includes the earliest Michael Jordan card I'll ever be able to have. His Fleer card from 1986-87 and his Star cards (his TRUE RC!) are WELL out of my price range.

1987-88 Fleer #125

2010 Stealth was a nice set-every card is holofoil. I chased it extensively when it came out (in actuality, I got almost the entire set via one blaster box) and I came one card short. Buescher, who won a Truck championship just a couple of years ago, is out of the sport. I also got the third and final Salute to Dale insert card, which will appear in a near future post.

2010 Stealth #39

Honestly, I thought I had completed 2002-03 Topps a long time ago, but it turned out I was short one card.

2002-03 Topps #54

2005 VIP was a set I did a box of when new, but came up several cards short. I was able to trade for the others I needed but could not locate this one.

2005 VIP #44

2002 Stealth is another set I thought I had completed, but I was mistaken. It turned out that this was the only card I needed. I truly hate the censorship on many NASCAR sets, including every single Dale Earnhardt Jr. card produced between 2000-2007.

2002 Stealth #55

1993-94 Skybox is the second-largest set I completed that day, coming it at 341 cards. In truth, I already had the two cards I needed but they arrived to me badly damaged and it was the same as not having them.

1993-94 Skybox #182

2005 High Gear was a set I was two cards short on, and I got them both. The other card not shown was #80, a Jeff Gordon subset card. The High Gear brand is the only one where Press Pass bothered to include statistics, and when they killed it after 2008, there were no NASCAR sets that showed statistics, for the 2009-15 releases.

2005 Wheels High Gear #27

1988-89 Fleer is a set I've always liked (despite it's small size at 132 cards), mainly for two reasons- the green theme of the set (on the card backs) and when I was first getting into the NBA, they were some of the first older cards I got. While not particularly rare, the sets become much easier to find with the 1989-90 releases. I was three cards short, and I debated weather or not I wanted to finish this one- one of the cards missing was one of the most important from the set, the first Reggie Miller card. I am not a fan of Miller at all and only grudgingly spent the $6 on the card. But I did...
This is the only set in my lifetime to actually list the Knicks as "Knickerbockers", which is the proper name of the team. The only other sets to do that were 1948-49 Bowman and 1961-62 Fleer.

1988-89 Fleer #80

2002-03 Topps Chrome...this is a big one. The Chrome sets are tough, and in fact this is the first one I've completed, despite the fact that it had a run that lasted from 1996-97 through 2008-09. I was close, as I did TWO boxes when it was new, but I was short three cards. It's only a 175 card set, but it's still tough- of all the sets I've completed, this is the third hardest to complete, after 2002-03 SP Authentic (with all RC and SN subset!) and 1925 Lambert & Butler Motor Cars. There were 10 rookies in the set with versions in English and their native language, I was short two native versions and one English version, and I got them all. The 2003-04 Chrome set is one I could probably complete, as I was lucky enough to pull the big three rookies when the set was new (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade). With those three down the rest shouldn't be too hard to track down. But for now I am going to just enjoy the fact that I completed a Topps Chrome set for the first time- the next to last major multi-year brand I had never completed any years from. Ironically, the last one left is Ultra, which is my favorite brand! (Post Preview edit: I have not completed any EX sets, either)

2002-03 Topps Chrome #165 B

1994 Maxx is the largest NASCAR set ever produced, at 340 cards. As I've stated numerous times, I like large sets...the larger the better. I had been one card short now since 2010 and I finally got it!

1994 Maxx #328

This was a frustrating set to complete, because I bought a box, and came up with a stack of duplicates about 40 cards high...but was missing 4 cards. I was able to trade for three of them, but this Waltrip eluded me. Even though 1993 is the year I began collecting NASCAR cards, this is only the 2nd set from the season I've completed, and I didn't complete the first until 2011!

1993 Maxx Premier Plus #30

2010 Premium is the set I was farthest away from at the start of this set-completing bonanza. I was 11 cards short, including 7 of the 10 short prints (Cards #91-100). I got them all. I don't know why but this set really struck me when it was new, I've been a fan since day 1. A large part of that is the fact that it's one of the few sets where Press Pass actually realized that you should show photos of cars in a NASCAR set!

2010 Premium #47

2010 Legends is a set that really made me very angry when it was new. More than half the set is made up of current drivers. I saved up to buy a box, (They sold for roughly $150) and my autographs were: Kurt Busch, Brandon Bernstein (both active, Bernstein is not even NASCAR!) and the only thing that saved it, the one card I wanted most out of the set, Ernie Irvan. Even so, I was so unhappy with this box, and set, that I basically walked away from NASCAR cards for a while, and concentrated solely on non-sports for the next year or so. Of course, it came back to kick me in the rear, because the 2011 Press Pass set is one of the few they actually got right, and by time I found that out they were off the retail shelves and hard to find.
I was two cards short, and I did not want to see this set at the top of my list of Sets Close to Completion, so I did it...even though one of the cards I was missing is of an active driver, not a legend. I did not buy another box of Legends after this, even though it was produced up through 2013.

2010 Legends #10

Bowman's Best was, I believe, the second Finest-style set, after Finest. It and Topps Chrome were both added to the NBA family in 1996-97, but my memory is telling me that Bowman's Best was released first. I didn't yet keep records of when I added cards to my collection and my Beckett collection is missing somewhere in storage, so my memory could be wrong. I completed the 1996-97 set when it was new (luckily, I was able to get the big rookies before they got really expensive [Kobe, Iverson, etc]) The 1997-98 set, which this one is, was 1 card short after a friend gifted me the other card I needed in January 2015, without knowing that I needed it!

1997-98 Bowman's Best #32

I also completed 1999-00 Bowman's Best from the same package! I was 4 cards short, so it was really just pure luck that the last one I needed that came out of the box was Elton Brand, my all-time favorite player!

1999-00 Bowman's Best #101

1997 Press Pass ActionVision was a concept I really liked, even if it does not translate well to scans. They were clear plastic cards, and when you turned them, the image would move. The set was only 12 cards, issued in single-card mini-boxes. I was 2 short, and got them both- plus the Bobby Labonte promo I didn't even know existed! I am going to try and take little movies of each of the cards but I don't know if it will work, and I don't want to hold the post off until I can find out, so for now just take my word for it that this image shows Dale Earnhardt's #3 car crossing the finish line to win a race at Daytona. At 12 cards, this is the smallest set I consider listing as an officially completed set. It was pack based, and it took me 19 years to complete it, so yes, for sure it counts. The technology used to make these cards was never used again, to my knowledge.

1997 Press Pass ActionVision #3

1995-96 Hoops is a very special set to me, as it was the 2nd NBA set to enter my collection. It's also the first NBA set I was conscious of having an insert from, and I consider the specific card to be my first NBA insert- even though I know it was in fact NOT, as 1995-96 Fleer included an insert in every pack. This set was also the first one I got a coach card from- Jim Lynam of the Bullets. I am a BIG proponent of coach cards. This is a 400 card set, the largest of those I completed on 6/22/16. I was 6 short. One of my long-term goals is to complete every base set of 1995-96 (well, to be honest, every year, but I'm talking realistically here) and this is one of the key sets to me.

1995-96 Hoops #120

While this one does not count on my official list of complete sets, it's still a major accomplishment. It's the 2009 Press Pass Blue set, which is 220 cards, and was issued one per retail pack of both series 1 and series 2. The 2009 set is the largest one Press Pass ever produced, and is available in 5 versions- silver foil, which is the base card (Completed in 2015), Red foil, which is Factory Set exclusive (Completed 2013), Gold foil, one per hobby pack (I have 56 of 220) and Holofoil, serially numbered to 100, of which I have 26 of 220, which is my personal best for any serially numbered parallel from any subject, not just NASCAR. If I eventually complete all 5 versions, that will be 1100 cards. With the 3 versions now completed, plus all the inserts, (and I have a lot of them!) this set is already the largest in my NASCAR collection with over 700 unique cards. I got roughly 90% of the blue parallels from the NUTS forum.

2009 Press Pass Blue #92

That's it from the sets I completed from this COMC bonanza. There will be at least two more posts in this series, probably more. And typing this one up gave me an idea for another topic to post, which will require me to do some actual thinking (gasp!) but it's something I've never really thought about before...stay tuned, because I will probably not post that one until sometime in July.

Thanks for reading!

Hot off the Scanner Tray Week 10

1996-97 Skybox Intimidators #1. I remember pulling this card when it was new. My memory is shot but I think it may have been my first card of him.

 I've always loved the 1997-98 Ultra Gold Medallions.

Great photography on this 2004-05 Ultra card.

I don't usually spend time scanning cards that are from sets already done on the Database, I set them aside to do later. But when I found that my copy of this card didn't have the haze that is usually found on all 1997-98 Bowman's Best cards, I had to scan it. My card came damaged out of the pack, with some creasing, clearly an issue with the paper used in production. I wonder if that had anything to do with it?

This is a great card. 1998-99 Ultra World Premieres.

 It doesn't show well in the scan but the card is embossed and all holofoil. The player, the words and the outlines on the planet shape. Olowokandi was the #1 pick in a draft that included Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and others...had that draft happened now things would be very different.

Taste the Rainbow

Rainbow collecting is popular these days, which multi-color parallels of varying rarity being the current trend. I'm not really doing much of that- sure, I'd love to if I had the money- but base cards remain my focus.

(Don't forget you can click on an image to make it larger)

I'm not sure if three cards counts as a rainbow, but this is one of only three times I'm aware of where I have all versions of a card with more than one parallel. The Tiffany card- on the far right- is actually a hard one to find. They were not serially numbered, but they were 1 per box. With a 200 card series 1, finding each card is a challenge. In fact, I only have two...from the entire set (Series 1 and 2). This is the only one I got new. I didn't remember having the Crystal version, in the middle, but I did. This series of scans also shows well how the finish on the base cards scans differently than the normal glossy coating- all three images were pulled from the same scan. It may be difficult to tell, especially in the smaller presentation form that the collage makes, but the base card has gold foil, the Crystal in the middle has silver, and the Tiffany has blue holofoil.

1997-98 Fleer #90 Rainbow

I pulled all three versions of the 1997-98 Bowman's Best checklist from packs. I assume I did for the Vrankovic as well, but since I don't remember getting the Crystal version, I can't be sure.
With how much I love Refractors, I'm truly surprised I don't have the full rainbow of any others. There are a couple from 2002-03 Topps Chrome that I am one away from, though. I've said it before, but it bears repeating- I LOVE checklists, and I miss them being made.The Atomic Refractor does not scan as nice as it is in person- none of the Finest/Chrome/Bowman's Best cards really do.

1997-98 Bowman's Best #22 Rainbow

My only 4-color rainbow is of my all-time favorite player, Elton Brand. I kind of cheated here, though, in that I bought all the parallels, not pulling a single one. (I never had a lot of luck pulling Elton cards for some reason)
This is also the only rainbow I've completed with serially numbered parallels. The base card is unnumbered, the Club Box to 250, the Balcony to 100, and the Standing Room Only to 25.
I really liked all 4 years of Fleer Authentix when it was new, but as time has gone I don't really consider it as great as I once did; as I've matured (?), I've realized how much more I value an actual photo, not some digitally created thing like these were. I'm still thrilled to have as many of them as I do, of course, but they don't rank as some of my all-time favorite sets anymore, as they once did.

2003-04 Fleer Authentix #81 Rainbow

And that's it. Of all the thousands of cards produced for both the NBA and NASCAR, these are the only three where more than two versions were made and I have them all. Some of the rainbow stuff is getting a little out of hand- for instance, in the 2014-15 Select set, there were 37 parallels. Yes, that's not a typo. Three. Seven. Completing a rainbow would be near impossible, especially as it includes at least three cards numbered to 10 or less, including at least 1 1 of 1.

By the way, the thread title is indeed a nod to Skittles...AKA, my Kryptonite. I used to "taste the rainbow" a little too often...one or more large bag a week...which is why my blood sugar was over 1000 when I collapsed and came literally 5 minutes short of dying in 2013. (The desired blood sugar number is 80-120; the ambulance couldn't even read how high my number was). Also, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, thank you readers, and even bigger thank you to commenters, as I make my 100th post of 2015.

Easter Memory

As I've mentioned before, my family usually gives me cards on all gift giving occasions. Easter is no exception, and there is one card I specifically remember getting as an Easter gift, back when the card was new. I actually received a pack and pulled it. I don't remember what else was in that pack...and in fact, pulling this card is the only memory I have of Easter 1998.

1997-98 Bowman's Best Atomic Refractor #20

The scan does not do it justice. Atomic Refractors are incredible to view in hand, but they don't scan all that well.

Still, it's a great memory that has stuck with me all these years- and unfortunately I have very few memories of 1998.

My Mom comes through again this year- after I posted my Page showing the people missing from my collection, it showed 80 NASCAR people. When I woke up today, it was still at 80. Now, though...now it's at 41! And it would have been one less if I hadn't messed up and included somebody as missing that I actually already had.

That's a pretty big deal to me- in all the NASCAR cards ever issued, from 1972-2015, there have only been cards of 41 different people that I have not been able to hunt down.